Let's get (East) nasty!

Generally speaking our Saturday’s are reserved for recovery from a wild Friday night out. But this time around, we decided to get a good night’s sleep, and use our Saturday to explore new parks, shops, and restaurants right in our own city. Our mission was East Nashville. While we’ve been around here and there, to grab a legendary slice of pizza from Five Points Pizza, or to partake in the annual Tomato Art Festival fun, we have never really spend a significant time looking in depth into this neighborhood. Often referred to by the name “East Nasty,” this neighborhood is filled with diverse options for all.

East Nashville is broken down into sub-neighborhoods, mainly broken down into: Five Points, Cleveland Park, Historic Edgefield, Inglewood, Lockeland Springs, McFerrin Park, Porter Heights, Shelby Village, Eastwood, and Rosebank Park.

Shelby Bottoms Park

With that summer heat and humidity we woke up with the sun, and headed to East Nashville’s most beautiful green space--Shelby Bottoms Park. The weather was still light and cool when we got there around 8AM. When we got there, we were surprised to see how many people crowded the park, we got there just in time to see a 5K begin! We took a nice stroll along the Cumberland River, catching up and chit chatting about all things travel, career, and (of course) boy related. It was such a beautiful walk, and we will definitely come back to check out all the other trails that they have! After about 4 miles, our stomachs were rumbling and we knew it was time to grab a bite to eat.

Marche Artisan Foods

We have heard people RAVE about this place for years, and it was finally time for us to jump on this brunch bandwagon. Weekend brunch is their bread and butter, so expect to wait in line--OR you can “join the waitlist,” through Yelp and avoid rush hour. Parking is definitely sparse, they have a small back lot, some street parking around the front, and a large paid lot across the street. Once in the door we were welcomed by smiling faces, and incredible smells. The menu looked so good, we didn’t know what to order! Luckily, we have similar tastes and were able to share a few dishes.

The best thing about East Nashville is the walkability! Despite how large the neighborhood is, it’s the most walkable Nashville neighborhood in our opinion. We took advantage of the free parking at Marche, left our cars and spent the rest of the day walking and exploring. On our way to the third spot of the day we saw mural after mural decorating the walls of the neighborhood.

 

Shoppes on Fatherland

This was just a short 15 minute walk from Marche, and after how much food we ate...we needed it. The Shoppes on Fatherland is a strip of shopping and dining options, and we had so much fun exploring this cove of small businesses. We passed by SO many different shops, from clothing boutiques, gift shops, home goods stores, cheesecake bakeries, cheese stores, antique shops, hair and nail salons and so much more. Everything and anything that makes for such a fun afternoon, you can find on this strip!

 

Our favorites of the day were: 

• M Fleurs Nashville, an eternal rose company that had complimentary cheese boards, macaroons, and wine in store, and after our purchase they also sent us home with single roses!

• Wax Nashville, so we have both always been semi-interested in the idea of body waxing...but also semi-afraid of the pain of it. We decided to wander into Wax Nashville to check it out, and get some more information. We were blown away by how welcoming it felt--bonus points because they offer shots with your waxing services!

• Longevity, is the cream of the crop in terms of fitness fashion. They have all the in-style leggings, sports bra, and trendy accessories--water bottles, socks, headbands. As most boutique shopping goes, it runs on the pricey side (but we took well advantage of their $20 rack and snagged a couple pair of cute leggings!!

 

• Gift Horse, the perfect little shop for locally sourced goodies for all your birthday, wedding shower, holiday, or “just because” gifting needs. They have art prints, notebooks, earrings, cards, stickers, and everything in between. It is such a fun shop to wander into, and buy stuff made from people all across the city.

 

• Ellie Monster Clothing, is not your average boutique or thrift store. It’s really a collaboration of both in the Western World. She throws her own spin to Western wear, adding a bit of flair, with customizable buttons and fabrics!

• Whiskey Water, of the plentiful boutique shops in this city this has to be one of my favorites. With such cute, seasonal picks they have edgey options if you’re looking for clothes, accessories, and home goods. Definitely a must-visit if you’re looking for a cute weekend outfit.

Idea Hatchery

We cannot believe that we have lived in Nashville for SO many years, and have never been, or even heard of this wonderland. Similar to the Shoppes at Fatherland, the Idea Hatchery is an eclectic collection of shops. The main difference between the two shopping strips is that the Idea Hatchery has a much homier feel to it, very mom & pop vibes, we had a blast exploring through this nook.

 

High Garden Tea

After reaching our 10,000 step goal for the day we decided to sit down for a refresher. High Garden is known for their loose leaf tea. It’s very “granola,” earthy, no laptops allowed to encourage flow of open communication between guests. It was very strange, but in a good way. It’s a very intimate place to sit and talk, explore feelings and topics, and we would definitely come back for their iced tea, or a hot tea option

 

There was so many things for us to do in East Nashville, and we just weren’t able to squeeze it all in. So here is a list of some honorable mentions that didn’t make the cut this time around:

• Kettner Coffee Supply, for all your caffeinated needs. This place is so trendy, and clean, you could spend hours in here working or reading, or just chatting with a friend. It’s also so dang adorable and picturesque.
• Treehouse Bar, Chopper, Vandyke, Urban Cowboy. If you want to make your own little bar crawl though the neighborhood these are some of the favorites we found online. They’re all so unique, and each have a different vibe fit for all types of people.
• Hot Air Balloon Mural, this is a must see and we cannot believe we missed it! Painted by THE Kelsey Montague, we still can’t believe we haven’t gotten a picture with it yet. It can be spotted right off of Main St. It’s tall as can be on a bright blue wall, and the basket is real! You can step inside and pose in this amazing beauty.
• I Dream of Weenie, because everyone needs a hot dog every once in awhile. This place is special because it is walk-up only, inside of the cutest yellow Volkswagen bus. They have a long list of creative hot dog creations and on a nice day you can take advantage of their blankets and picnic tables.
• Olive and Sinclair, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. A notorious artisan chocolate shop here in Nashville. You can book a tour (and snack on some samples) for a measly $5--can’t be beat!
• Molly Green, shop till you drop at this lovely boutique. All the products sold here are so comfy, so cute, and surprisingly size friendly. We have been here a number of times and always leave spending a bit more than we probably should have!

East Nashville you officially have our hearts. A wonderfully eclectic neighborhood full of charming businesses, street art, and wonderful scenery. We could have spent all day and night hanging out across the neighborhood. We wholeheartedly encourage you to spend more time experiencing and exploring this part of the city.

Next weekend is the annual Tomato Art Festival, an amazing gathering of community held right in East Nashville, you will want to be a part of this yearly festivity! AND that’s a wrap on some of our favorite places in East Nashville, comment below and let us know what you’re favorite spot is. Wait and see what we’ll do next.