Federal Donuts, America's Hottest Doughnut and Fried Chicken Joint, Is Coming to Nashville [Updated]

We now know who the mystery James Beard Award winner moving into the Fluffo Mattress property in East Nashville is, and it's a big name for sure, as acclaimed Philadelphia chef Michael Solomonov and his team are bringing their Federal Donuts concept to town.

A representative for Federal Donuts confirms with Eater that they will indeed be taking over the space behind Fat Bottom Brewing currently home to Fat Bottom Brewing which was previously home to Hot Yoga of East Nashville, but said that no other details were readily available as the lease had just recently been signed. Fat Bottom Brewing will also be on the move soon, relocating this summer to a new, much larger facility in The Nations.

Federal Donuts, which serves up the trifecta of double-fried chicken, doughnuts and coffee, first opened in Philadelphia in 2011, garnering an instant following, widespread praise and constant lines out the door (check out this in-depth explainer on Federal Donuts' rise from Eater). Since then four more outposts have opened in Philly, with plenty of discussion over the years regarding the desire for expansion outside of its home city. This means that Nashville will now be the first official beneficiary of that planned expansion.

Solomonov, whose additional restaurants include Zahav, Percy Street Barbecue and others under the CookNSolo restaurant group umbrella, won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic in 2011 for his work at Zahav. And earlier this year he and business partner Steve Cook took home the James Beard Award for Cookbook of the Year for Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking.