Getahn Ward

The Tennessean

Slim & Husky's Pizza Beeria opened on North Nashville's Buchanan Street in mid-March to rave reviews.

Now the owners are expanding to the fast-growing south Nashville area.

The former Applebee's is at 5270 Hickory Hollow Parkway near a FedEx Office Print & Ship Center.

Gray, Moore and Reed also plan The Rollout, which will offer merchandise and cinnamon rolls plus carry-out pizza and retail sale of wine and craft beers.

One of Nashville's hottest new pizza restaurants is expanding south with plans to open a location in the vacant former Applebee's building in Antioch late this fall.

The new restaurant would be the first for Slim & Husky's Pizza Beeria outside of the fast-revitalizing Buchanan Street commercial district in North Nashville.

Clinton Gray, who with childhood friends and fellow TSU grads Derrick Moore and Emanuel Reed opened the fast-casual pizza joint at 911 Buchanan St., cites similar demographic and other diversity as part of Antioch's appeal.

"However, we feel like in regards to food, local food specifically, Antioch has been underprivileged and underserved," he said. "We feel like that area of Antioch is going to grow dramatically and we want to be there and be a part of that growth."

More:Nashville pizza joint Slim + Husky's has winning formula

Since Slim & Husky's opened in mid-March, the business has been known for drawing long lines. That demand has led the owners to pursue expansion nearby with plans within two months to open The Rollout at 1006 Buchanan St. That boutique, planned for hat-maker Otis James' former home, will sell Slim & Husky's apparel and cinnamon rolls along with carry-out pizza and retail sale of wine and craft beers.

Now an Antioch area that's been eager to participate in Nashville's growing dining scene will get a taste of a homegrown, buzz-worthy brand that offers pizza and craft beers with a '90s hip-hop and R&B theme and local artwork.

Slim & Husky's planned new location in the 4,324-square-foot former Applebee's building at 5270 Hickory Hollow Parkway will also include The Rollout under one roof.

David Baker, a principal with Nashville retail-focused real estate firm Baker Storey McDonald Properties, expects more restaurants, retail businesses and real estate development in Antioch.

"There's going to be a lot of people who are going to wake up in two or three years and say, 'Man, this area is incredible,'" said Baker, who represented Swedish furniture retailer Ikea in its search for a Nashville-area store that's coming to Antioch.

Mark McDonald, a principal in the Oldacre McDonald development firm behind the massive Century Farm mixed-use project that Ikea will anchor in Antioch, is working with the owner of the former Applebee's to redevelop that vacant restaurant/bar building that sits on 0.90 acres near a FedEx Office Print & Ship Center.

More:'Ikea really changes everything' for Antioch's development, image

"We're excited to bring one of the hottest Nashville restaurant concepts to Antioch," he said about Slim & Husky's. "It's just a reflection of the traffic and job growth in southeast Davidson County."

Gray, who grew up in Nashville, said the trio of he, Moore and Reed looks forward to playing a role in revitalizing a Hickory Hollow area of Antioch that once thrived before a downturn that included losing a lot of its retail anchors. Now the arrival of new employers such as Bridgestone Americas and Community Health Systems, with Ikea planning to open in 2020, has boosted interested in that fastest-growing part of Davidson County.

Metro Councilwoman Jacobia Dowell expects the south Nashville Slim & Husky's to become a regional attraction.

"I'm excited to welcome this new restaurant option," she said. "They're revitalizing another empty, delineated restaurant space that had vacated the area years ago. Slim & Husky's brand and trendy eatery will easily blend with Antioch's emerging culture."

Elsewhere in North Nashville, the trio of Gray, Moore and Reed have future plans for a music and art-style event space at a building they own at 1508-1510 Buchanan St.

Reach Getahn Ward at gward@tennessean.com or 615-726-5968 and on Twitter @getahn.