According to permits and a press release, a new 3-story mixed-use development building is in the permitting stage for Rutledge Hill, set to offer multiple to-be-announced dining concepts, hotel space, incubator kitchens, markets, and retail stores with a main address of 43 Hermitage Ave. The new development will replace the former Hermitage Cafe and Saucy Brew Works sites as well as restore a number of historic homes as part of the development. The concept comes as a joint partnership LLC between GBX Group and Essex Development, with renowned Norwegian architecture firm Snohetta handling the design of the project.
With construction on the horizon, the finished development may be able to accommodate dining patrons sometime next year or in 2025, though a more precise timeline has not yet been determined.
Alongside spaces for traditional dine-in restaurants, “the development will also offer a food market, multiple gardens and walkways, and an incubator kitchen for aspiring restaurateurs,” according to the Nashville Business Journal. The prospect of an incubator kitchen is particularly exciting for newer concept restaurants to test-run dishes in an enclosed environment, helping entrepreneurs to refine their ideas and their business model, which will likely foster creativity and growth for the entire Nashville restaurant industry.
Noted in the permits, construction will take place to restore five Victorian homes near Rutledge Street and Middleton Street, which is a service that GBX specializes in. The homes will be preserved and repurposed, adding dining decks connecting each historic home and extending its outdoor porches.
The innovative project is sure to draw in crowds of customers to the up-and-coming, downtown-adjacent neighborhood once opened. The development will neighbor locally-based Crema Coffee Roasters and Husk, one of the city’s higher-end restaurants garnering acclaim from Condé Nast Traveler as one of Nashville’s best restaurants. What Now Nashville will report back with additional details about the confirmed restaurants joining Rutledge Hill’s culinary district once GBX and Essex have announced the names.
