Orlando-based Hawkers will open this year on east side

The East Nashville building last home to The Family Wash has landed a Florida-based Asian restaurant chain known for deploying a street food model.

The address is 626A Main St., with Hawkers Asian Street Fare slated to open on an undisclosed date this year.

Christian Paro, owner of Main Street-based Center 615, owns the building (pictured and called Center 615 Loft) and enlisted Foundry Commercial Senior Vice President Andrew Maxwell for marketing.

“For most of 2018, The Family Wash had every intention of reopening after making some changes to their operation,” Paro said. “Because of this, we were not able to market the space until July. Since then, we have been vetting the best restaurant operation for the campus of Center 615, its members and East Nashville.”

Maxwell said terms of the lease with Hawkers are not being disclosed. The space spans about 5,000 square feet.

Maxwell said the building is well suited for a boutique regional restaurant operator.

“Hawkers is an ideal fit for Center 615 and the Main Street neighborhood of East Nashville,” he said. “The restaurant is a high-energy, approachable concept that will immediately add to the area’s vitality. I think everyone is eagerly looking forward to Hawkers’ opening later this year.”

Details about the east side Hawkers are forthcoming, he added. Headquartered in Orlando, the concept takes cues from the food centers and hawker stalls found in Southeast Asia. Via its website, the company bills its restaurants as using recipes handed down from multiple generations, with offerings including dumplings, spicy curries and crisp pork belly, among other items.

Florida is home to seven Hawkers, with one each in Atlanta and Charlotte. The first opened in 2011 in Orlando’s Mills 50 neighborhood.

