The Food Biz: Yolo coming to Green Hills

Also: East Nashville Greek eatery prepping comeback and national pasta chain eyes area [From our print edition featured in Monday's City Paper]

Email | Print By NashvillePost.com Staff

Yolo, a contemporary upscale restaurant, is scheduled to open this fall at 3805 Green Hills Village Drive in the building adjacent to the Green Hills Regal cinema complex. If construction and training go according to schedule, the restaurant will open softly on Nov. 2.

Chase Kelley is the managing partner of the restaurant, which is a sister to the family-owned Mariah’s restaurant and Buckhead Cafe, both in Bowling Green, Ky. Executive chef Ray Waits will oversee a menu of wraps, sandwiches, steaks, seafood, pasta and flatbreads. Kelley predicts the average meal to ring in between $8 and $24.

The building, which formerly housed Fire of Brazil and Green Hills Grille, has been reconfigured with a central bar outfitted with flat-screen TVs and garage doors that open to create an outdoor dining space.

Yolo — an acronym for You Only Live Once — will serve lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The bar will be open until midnight on Friday and Saturday.

A shut-and-open case

Upon reading the news in the food blogosphere that Zavós had been padlocked and “Seized by the U.S. Government” earlier this month, Greek food fans were bidding yassos to the popular East Nashville restaurant.

But within days of reports about the closure, David Gehrke, who owns Zavós with brother Niko, announced that the restaurant would reopen as soon as a few bookkeeping issues got straightened out.

“There are a lot of financial challenges opening a new business,” Gehrke said. “It’s a setback, and it’s a lesson learned. It definitely sets your priorities straight on which bills get paid first.”

The Gehrkes (whose mother Eleni is the culinary mastermind behind the food) are still moving forward with plans to get a liquor license. For now, the restaurant will be open Thursday through Saturday. Once they get a liquor license, they’ll be open Monday through Saturday.

Pasta chain eyes Nashville network

Nashville is one of a handful of cities on the wish list of Colorado-based Noodles & Co. The chain, which runs more than 200 stores around the country, last week said it has its sights set on expanding its franchising network into a number of new markets.

Those target areas range from Southern California to large cities such as Dallas and mid-sized markets like Nashville, Memphis and Oklahoma City. Company officials envision opening at least 10 stores in those markets, with each employing between 18 and 25 people. Unlike many dining concepts, Noodles & Co. is growing its footprint during the recession and is on track to add about 25 stores this year.

— For more on Nashville’s restaurant scene, visit blogs.nashvillescene.com/bites.