Your Daily Guide

🍽️ Our Struggling Local Restaurants

Germantown Pub owner Naima Walker-Fierce took to Facebook this week, pleading with folks to come out and dine at the neighborhood pub, or risk it closing. “[Eating local] is very serious in a city where chains are taking over,” she told her followers. This follows recent closure announcements from locally owned restaurants like Ty’s Soups and Sandwiches, 51 North Taproom, and Deacon’s New South. Here’s The Tennessean’s list of restaurants that have closed this year so far. [Germantown Pub; Facebook; Instagram; 🔐 The Tennessean]

Music City Brewhop is also saying goodbye to their hop-on/hop-off weekend brewery tours, though they still plan to continue their Christmas tours and private rentals. Owner Adam Smith told the Nashville subReddit, “People aren't drinking, tourism is down, and the economy is what it is. With that said, there are still loyal beer drinkers, travelers, and enthusiasts. Our goal was to help put Nashville on the map as a beer city. We feel we had a small part in accomplishing that.” The last day to hop aboard their weekend tour is Nov. 15. [Music City Brewhop; Reddit]

I asked readers to recommend their favorite locally owned restaurants they want to stick around. Here are the recommendations that have come in so far:

Kim loves Tío Fun on Buchanan.“The food here is great every time, and they have excellent (very strong!) margaritas. One thing I really appreciate is that they’ve taken the time to think about vegetarian options and have them integrated across their menu, not an afterthought or tacked on. Most importantly though, everyone involved with Tío Fun, from the folks at the cash register to the owners of the restaurant, are awesome to interact with. Their enthusiasm for their food and for making sure people are having a good experience comes across every time I’m there.”

Neal S. has multiple restaurants he’d like to recommend.“Last year, when I moved near Plaza Mariachi, I noticed that I was surrounded by so many restaurants, and at the beginning of the year, I decided to explore. Since then, each week I have what I call a Wednesday Nearby Restaurant Adventure, and I post pictures on Facebook. Honestly, I haven't had a bad lunch all year. So far, my nearby favorites are Edessa, Rancho Cantina, Seoul Garden, and Taj.”

Do you have a restaurant you want to shout out? Hit reply!

🧑‍🍳 Finding Inspiration in Nashville Restaurants

Harley Whitehouse, a.k.a. @harlzcookz, isn’t a trained chef — but his love of Nashville restaurants inspired him to learn how to cook their dishes at home. Now, he shares his dupe recipes on social media with the goal of helping other people get inspired in the kitchen, too. He joins the podcast to share his essential Nashville dishes and encourage everyone to show up for our locally owned culinary gems. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]

🗣️ Blackburn Skips Gubernatorial Forum

The top candidates for governor, besides Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, answered policy questions ranging from affordability to safety and data centers at Middle Tennessee State University Tuesday night. Democrat Jerri Green and conservative independent David Hatley took jabs at Blackburn, whose absence haunted the event while she hosted a simultaneous Get Out the Vote rally in Hendersonville. “It is shameful to me that the only other person who has a chance of winning this race isn’t on the stage with us tonight,” Green said. [Nashville Banner]

• Hear more from Democratic frontrunner Green and the progressive independent Lauren Pinkston. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]
• What did Blackburn have to say about skipping the debate? [WKRN]

🚘 The Truth Responds to Traffic Woes

The new Wedgewood-Houston venue says traffic flow is moving as expected after it worked with city officials and transportation partners ahead of opening. The Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure, meanwhile, says road closure schedules have had to be adjusted in the venue’s first few weeks, following complaints from residents. The department says if you’re blocked from entering your home, like resident Linga Ndumbasha (who took her gripes to TikTok), report the incident through 311 or hubNashville. NDOT is also reconsidering rideshare pickup and drop-off locations. [Fox17; TikTok]

🌾 Second Harvest Is Expanding

Second Harvest Food Bank broke ground this week on its new, nearly 24-acre site near Nashville International Airport. That’s more than twice the size of its existing space in MetroCenter, where it has distributed food for 25 years. Second Harvest says the extra space will help address the 45% increase in people seeking food assistance over the last four years. Plus, more than 20 nonprofit partners will have space at the new site, expanding services beyond food. [🔐 The Tennessean]

• How Second Harvest weathered what CEO Nancy Keil called the “SNAP disaster” [🎧 City Cast Nashville]