Mackensy Lunsford

1 week ago | tennessean.com | Mackensy Lunsford

This year's crop of new restaurants helps cement the fact that Southern food is not a monolith. It's making room on the table for fish noodle soup, furikake and flan. Southern Living highlights the increasing diversity of Southern cuisine, featuring restaurants with Indo-Jamaican, Mediterranean, and Myanmar influences. Nashville's Fancypants, a restaurant in a former Piggly Wiggly, blends Southern and Asian flavors.

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Mackensy Lunsford

Southern food is having a moment. Not necessarily the fried chicken and cornbread type (though sometimes that too), but the kind that showcases the region's diversity. "Cobia Schnitzel. Tonka Bean Flan. Olive Oil Pancakes with Labneh. Catfish Frites," the editors of Southern Living's 20 best new restaurants in the South wrote.

2 weeks ago | tennessean.com | Mackensy Lunsford

World-renowned Italian sandwich shop All’Antico Vinaio has opened two Nashville locations. The new locations offer a Nashville-exclusive hot chicken inspired sandwich called the Italian Hot. The menu also features classic All’Antico Vinaio sandwiches like The Odd Couple and La Paradiso. Vegetarian options and Italian beverages are also available. All’Antico Vinaio, the world-famous Florentine sandwich shop, has officially opened two new locations in Nashville.

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Alessia Sandala |Mackensy Lunsford |Hadley Hitson

Numerous media reports nationwide claimed Kid Rock's Big A-- Honky Tonk and Steakhouse other Downtown Nashville restaurants closed following Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the area last week. The reports began after dozens of social media posts and a May 14 article from the Nashville Scene said kitchen staff and other employees at Kid Rock's Honky Tonk and other locations owned by Steve Smith were sent home to avoid ICE agents.

2 weeks ago | columbiadailyherald.com | Mackensy Lunsford |Hadley Hitson

Rumors of ICE raids on Nashville's Lower Broadway caused fear and confusion, but reports of business closures were largely anonymous and unconfirmed. While some businesses outside the Broadway area experienced closures due to worker absences, Broadway establishments remained open. The fear of ICE activity has significantly impacted immigrant communities, leading to decreased business and workers leaving the state.