Hattie B’s Scraps Germantown Plans, Now Headed for Former The Hook Space

It looks like Germantown is going to have to wait for that Hattie B’s Hot Chicken fix, as co-owner Nick Bishop Jr. has confirmed to Eater that plans for the previously announced third Nashville location have been nixed. But Germantown’s lose is the Melrose neighborhood’s gain, with Bishop also confirming that Hattie B’s has signed a lease for the former The Hook space at 2222 8th Avenue South.

Slated for a late summer opening, Bishop says that the switch from Germantown to Melrose happened quickly:

We started to read the writing on the wall in regards to the Germantown spot. It was going to be our first ground-up new construction build, and we realized we had bitten off a little more than we could chew. Construction costs were just out of whack, it just wasn’t going to work. After that we weren’t actively looking for anything, but soon after we read about The Hook closing. We had always thought it was a cool building and a great location, so we reached out and let them know that we were interested if there was an opportunity. And after a number of conversations with [Reed Hospitality Group], here we are.

Bishop says that in some ways the new space is similar to what they were going to build on Rosa L. Parks Blvd., and the fact that it’s an existing restaurant will make construction work considerably less costly and time consuming. But he does acknowledge that the lack of parking for this location is “probably our biggest operational concern.”

“We’ll get creative with the parking situation and work to come up with something that works for everyone. We’re going to reach out to the neighborhood association and our commercial neighbors to try and find the right solution,” says Bishop. “If it’s an issue for them, it’s an issue for us.”

The current plan is to have about 85 seats inside and another 45 outside, making this outpost roughly the size of the Charlotte Pike location.

As for building owner and former The Hook operator Reed Hospitality Group’s previously teased plans for the space, in a statement Ed Reed says that a new concept is still moving forward, just not in this spot:

Since we closed the doors at The Hook, we have proceeded with plans for the concept we alluded to[.] That concept is still on track, but as we have continued our research and development it’s become evident that the existing space is not an ideal fit. We are searching for that space, and look forward to announcing plans for the next project.

Bringing a nationally lauded, yet locally owned, business like Hattie B’s to the neighborhood is something we view as an investment in the future of 8^th Ave/Melrose. It’s a convenient location to serve their many customers, and we couldn’t be happier to have them in this location.