This Friday, Jan. 6, one of Nashville’s favorite food providers finally gets a stable address: Long-rolling food truck The Grilled Cheeserie opens its new melt shop in Hillsboro Village, at 2001 Belcourt Ave. (the former Sunset Grill space).
On the menu at the new restaurant: many of the gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches Nashvillians have come to love, like the Pimento Mac & Chee (with house-made mac and cheese and pimento cheese) and The French Onion, plus their deservedly praised tomato soup and cheesy tater tots and more. Check out more (including early looks at the restaurant’s gorgeous design) on the Grilled Cheeserie Melt Shop Facebook page.
The Grilled Cheeserie is the latest in a growing group of Nashville-bred food trucks to put the parking brake on — here and around the country, culinary talents are introducing their gifts via a mobile restaurant, then moving on to a non-mobile place once their reputation is cemented.
Below, check out a few other Nashville food names that, like The Grilled Cheeserie, took delicious food around the city before settling down at a fixed address.
Nashville mobile eateries turned brick-and-mortar restaurants
Mas Tacos Por Favor
732 Mcferrin Ave.
We have to give Mas Tacos credit as the truck that launched the food-truck craze in Music City. They were also among the first (if not the first) of the local food-truck talents to open a brick-and-mortar place. The truck still goes rolling from time to time, and East Nashville’s Mas Tacos restaurant is still a favorite — lunchtime lines that snake through the parking lot are common. And deservedly so; their fresh, flavorful taco options, chicken tortilla soup and elote (among other menu offerings) are utterly addictive, befitting the name.
Biscuit Love
316 11th Avenue South
Another pretty early entry into the truck-turned-restaurant game: Biscuit Love, whose eatery is now a Gulch brunch favorite. They started out taking their otherworldly biscuit game around town, and now, folks flock from all around the city to grab a biscuit donut, a.k.a. Bonut, along with killer breakfast sandwiches and more.
Smokin Thighs
611 Wedgewood Ave.
The Smokin Thighs team started slinging delicious grilled wings via a big green and gray truck in 2012; in 2014, they set up (green and gray) shop in Wedgwood Houston, serving the chicken that earned them so much local love — the thighs in their name, plus wings and quarters, all smoked and grilled — plus other comfort-food favorites like mac and cheese and potato salad. Another claim to fame: They have a selection of moonshine that might be unmatched in Nashville.
Otaku Ramen
1104 Division St.
To be precise, Otaku wasn’t a truck, but a pop-up concept that, in its early days, used to end up at events all around town where other trucks were parked. It still traveled, and it still tested tastebuds as it wandered around Nashville, before locking down at a more permanent location. The ramen spot is unusual, too, in that it’s been through two brick-and-mortar locations now. First, Otaku temporarily locked down at POP, owner Sarah Gavigan’s East Nashville home for pop-up restaurant concepts. Since that place (which is now closed) was meant more as an incubator, once the Otaku-in-place reputation was solidified, it moved on to its current home in The Gulch. There, they’re serving an array of ramen offerings, focused on local/fresh ingredients and big flavor.
Funk Seoul Brother
2057 Scarritt Place
The guys behind Funk Seoul Brother came in right before The Grilled Cheeserie in graduating to a locked-down location. Their new place, now open in Midtown Nashville, offers the Asian fare FSB became known for, including poke bowls and sushi burritos (like a giant sushi roll). Their Kimchi Crack Rice is a particular favorite too, made with the kimchi of the day, bacon and a sunny-side-up egg.
Heard any rumors about any other Nashville food trucks looking to settle down? We’d love to hear about it.
If you’re about to start looking to settle down in Nashville yourself, we’d love to help you find (and buy) the home you’re hunting for — reach out and tell us about your must-have list!