New restaurant approved for town liquor license
A new downtown Nashville restaurant on track to open this spring has received preliminary approval for a three-way liquor license.
The Nashville Redevelopment Commission unanimously approved the request from the owners of Brown Bike on Dec. 5. They also received approval from the Nashville Town Council; they still need to get it from the state before they receive the permit.
Three-way liquor licenses allow the sale of beer, wine and liquor. However, co-owner Jeff Crook said their vision isn’t to become a bar. They plan to follow a business plan similar to their two existing restaurants in Indianapolis, which serve craft beers and a few specialty mixed drinks, Crook said.
The Crook brothers and their father have bought the former State Farm office at 110 N. Van Buren St. to turn into a mostly-outdoor restaurant. The approximately 600-square-foot building will only allow about nine people to be seated inside in space not taken up by the restroom and commercial kitchen. Seating for about 70 will outdoors at the corner of Van Buren and West Gould streets, most under umbrellas, Crook said.
Site plans show the property also containing a covered porch with bar top-style seating for about 15, a new pergola and walkways, a fire pit, and a small deck for acoustic musical performances. Bike racks are planned to go along West Gould near the existing sidewalk.
They plan to hire 18 to 20 people, mostly in serving jobs. In their Indianapolis restaurants, they’re paying $10 to $15 per hour, Crook said.
Based on those figures, RDC consultant Ed Curtin estimated the restaurant will add almost $250,000 in income to the community.
“We had hoped this kind of thing would happen,” Curtin said about the availability of riverfront district liquor licenses creating more business and employment opportunities in town.
Last month, the Nashville Town Council approved adding five more riverfront district liquor licenses to the local inventory, bringing the total to 10. This is the sixth to be approved. Licenses are reviewed and renewed annually.
RDC President Dan Snow expressed hope that this bike-themed restaurant might help Brown County ascend to silver-level status as an International Mountain Biking Ride Center. The county became a bronze-level IMBA ride center in 2015.
Town council OKs purchase of new plow truck
The Nashville street department is getting a new plow truck to deploy on town roads.
The town council OK’d spending up to $35,000 on the new truck, which will replace one that’s past its useful lifespan. The town has several of those, said Utility Manager Sean Cassiday, mentioning three trucks being “down” and one being in and out of the shop six times.
The town has about $23,000 in its “MVH” or motor-vehicle highway fund for 2017 which can be used toward this purchase. MVH money is often used for paving projects. For the past two years, the town has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on paving through the Community Crossings state grant program. However, instead of spending all of the $23,000 this year, Cassiday suggested paying the truck off at about $6,000 per year.
The council unanimously approved the purchase in a 16-minute special meeting Nov. 30.
