A New Pop-Up Will Put a Nashville Spin on Japanese Fried Chicken

Chestnut Hill in South Nashville will welcome Bar1281, a pop-up ‘backyard’ style, casual bar featuring an on-site food truck, in the coming months. Bar1281 will have partially-covered communal seating and a rental space for events on select nights. The resident food truck will serve Japanese- and Hawaiian-influenced cuisine. Some potential food truck menu items include “Nashville-Style” chicken karaage, Hawaiian ahi poke, Japanese wagyu ribeye yakitori, and grilled corn on the cob with kewpie mayo and furikake.

The dual space, located at 1281 3rd Avenue S, plans to open before the residential and mixed-use “small footprint” apartments are completed in 2019 on the neighboring property, called Bento Nashville. The company name lends itself from the Japanese box that contains all the pieces of a traditional lunch in one small container.

The press release from parent company Bento Box, a firm based in Honolulu, New York City, Brooklyn, and Nashville, said a website, hours of operation, and grand opening event details on the bar and food truck space are forthcoming.