Connie’s to open in Nashville
Beau Gaultier and Connor Bloem of Verna Hospitality will launch two concepts in Nashville’s Rock Block on 5 September.
Connie’s will be a late-night dive bar-inspired venue, opening in the afternoons until 1am.
It will share a building with Verna Café & Bar, an all-day café from the same team.
The concept pays tribute to one of Nashville’s oldest streets, which was recognised as the epicentre of the city’s early counterculture movement following the opening of Exit/In and other businesses in the 1970s.
The drinks programme at Connie’s is designed to lead guests into the night, with ‘easy-drinking’ beverages including beer and shots on the menu.
It will also offer a selection of classic cocktails like the Margarita, Old Fashioned and Paloma. The Yoo-Hoo Espresso Martini is a riff on the usual, made with Yoo-Hoo chocolate milk.
It will also offer a happy hour between 4pm and 6pm, when cocktails will be priced at US$9.
Verna will also offer its own range of signature cocktails, which are centred on approachability. The menu is divided into Spritzy, Shaken, Rich, Daring, and Boozy.
Serves include the All In The Family, made with Sherry, papaya, aloe, mint and soda, and the Graham Cra-quiri, which features a house blend rum, graham cracker, lime and salted coconut cream.
It will also offer beer, wine and a range of the bar team’s favourite classic cocktails.
Connie’s design serves to evoke a classic dive bar, with the space featuring soft lighting, dark leather and wood throughout. Meanwhile, Verna Café & Bar offers ‘light and airy’ interiors with light woods and bright, ‘understated’ colours.
Verna will offer a full menu of Japanese-Cajun comfort food, including brunch, while Connie’s food offering is a ‘fun yet simple’ range of hot dogs.
In other Nashville news, in June it was revealed that Charlie and Andy Nelson were back at the helm of Belle Meade Bourbon.
Other recent openings in the US include The Blue Vault and Mixteca in New York, and Darling in Massachusetts.
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