12th & Porter name to remain on Gulch live music venue

The building occupied by 12th & Porter in the Gulch will remain a live music and entertainment venue operating under that same name.

Infinity Restaurant Group, which takes over the lease next week, has brought in a company led by Nashville bar owner Barrett Hobbs and entrepreneur Tom Kiermaier to manage and operate that venue.

The 5,000-square-foot building at 112 and 114 12th Ave. N. will undergo upgrades, with plans for reopening May 1. “We are thrilled to have this opportunity to revive 12th & Porter,” said Nathaniel Beaver, president of Infinity. “We’re going to have a great regional restaurant menu that will be offered daily and nightly, while also hosting special musical guests for nightly concerts. 12th & Porter is just closing for renovations and reopening under new ownership.”

Infinity is taking over the building under a new 10-year lease from the property’s ownership entity called 12th Avenue Properties. The current leaseholder will host his final concert there Saturday.

Locally, Infinity is known for restoring and preserving historical buildings for events and entertainment. The company owns event spaces The Bridge Building and The Bell Tower along with The Harding House restaurant at Belle Meade Plantation. It also owns restaurant Bria Bistro Italiano and runs Infinity Events & Catering.

The venture Infinity formed with Cumberland Hospitality Group, Hobbs’ and Kiermaier’s company, goes by 12th & Porter Partners.

Locally, Cumberland runs entertainment venues such as Whiskey Bent Saloon, Silver Dollar Saloon, Doc Holliday’s and Bootleggers Inn around downtown’s Lower Broadway and Scoreboard bar and grill in the Opryland area. Next month the company plans to open Neighbors on the shores of Old Hickory Lake in Hendersonville and add Hob-Knobs on downtown’s Second Avenue by early May.

“What we’re going to do is try to pay homage to the history of music at 12th & Porter and bring that forward to the new Nashville music scene,” Hobbs, president of Cumberland Hospitality, said about that restaurant, concert venue and bar for the past 25 years.

Reach Getahn Ward at 615-726-5968 and on Twitter @getahn.