Little Hats Italian Market is expanding its footprint across Nashville.
Operating partner Andrew Dodd is working with Alfresco Artisan Pasta and Fresh Hospitality to bring Little Hats Italian Market to two new locations by the end of this year.
What Now Nashville connected with Dodd over the phone to learn more about his expansion plans.
“Little Hats Italian Market is an amalgamation of a bunch of different styles of delis from New York City to Chicago that capture the essence of a local Italian deli,” said Dodd. “We want Little Hats to be a neighborhood spot for people to grab sandwiches and pastas. We have a full market with Italian products, sauces, cheese, flours and hard-to-find pastas. I want someone to walk in and feel like they can choose their own adventure, whether that’s finding the right ingredients to make a new dish or sitting down for their favorite sandwich.”
Dodd grew up in Nashville and worked at a number of restaurants in the area that are still around today. He ended up going out of state to attend culinary school before going on to work at several high end restaurants in North Carolina.
While Dodd built his career around French cuisine, he had the opportunity to work with Bruce Moffett of Moffett Restaurant Group and try his hand at Italian cuisine. Tapping into his Italian heritage, Dodd fell in love with the simplicity the food and the attitude that seemed to come with cooking it. Dodd had found a niche he wanted to focus his career around.
Meanwhile, he and his wife were waiting to find the right time to move back home to Nashville. After moving back, Dodd met Alfresco Artisan Pasta’s Chris Grissom and the two spoke about the idea of opening an Italian restaurant, deli and market combination. Grissom had just partnered with Fresh Hospitality, a company with a sizable portfolio of Nashville-based food and beverage brands. As Little Hats Italian Market took shape, Dodd brought on Alfresco Artisan Pasta and Fresh Hospitality as partners to turn his dream into a reality.
The original Little Hats Italian Market on 1120 4th Ave. N. has been a success, and Dodd has been waiting for opportunities to expand his business. Now, he has not one, but two additional locations in development.
When What Now Nashville connected with Dodd, he revealed that the Meridian Cool Springs location is not the only one he has in the works. Dodd shared that another new location in the Hillsboro Village area at 2002 Belcourt Avenue will likely open before the Meridian Cool Springs one does.
According to The Tennessean, Little Hats’ Meridian Cool Springs will be a 4,700-square-foot space. Little Hats will share a space with Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream at 990 Meridian Blvd.
“We want to bring Little Hats everywhere,” said Dodd. “Everyone is familiar with a sandwich, but there is something unique about our food that can connect with anybody. We bring high quality dishes to the table, connect people with hard-to-find niche items, and fill a niche void in Nashville.”
Starting with the Cool Springs location’s construction, Dodd plans to create a different feel in the new stores. With exposed brick, the new spaces are set to have a more elegant style than the currently open location. Brand-wide, however, Dodd wants to make sure anyone who stops in still has a kind of sensory overload when walking in.
“We want people to walk in and smell our food, see foods they’ve never seen before, and be enticed to try something new,” said Dodd. “We are considering expanding the menu at these new locations with items like pizzas and gelato. Little Hats will begin offering catering services as well after we expand to these new locations.”
The Meridian Cool Springs location will have around 100 seats inside and 80 outside. Dodd shared that construction is set to begin in the coming weeks. Given the timeline of permitting and construction, Dodd expects that location to open this fall.
The Hillsboro Village location, however, should be open earlier as it has a much smaller footprint than the Meridian Cool Springs one. The renovations to the Belcourt Ave location are less extensive. Dodd mentioned plans to enclose the outdoor patio. Little Hat’s market at this location will be abbreviated given the space constraints.
Opening the Hillsboro Village location will be a full-circle moment for Dodd.
“I went to preschool two blocks away, I went to Sunset Grill for my prom and I had my first restaurant job at a nearby taco restaurant,” said Dodd. “It’s always been on my bucket list to open a business in this area. It is really cool to be bringing Little Hats Italian Market to the space where I began my career.”
