Plaza Mariachi positioned as Hispanic epicenter

Maria Villasenor says she can see the future of Nashville rising outside the window of her cafe on Nolensville Pike.

In her sights: Plaza Mariachi Music City, the massive redevelopment of a 60,000-square-foot former Kroger into what Villasenor and others anticipate will become the cultural center of the city's rapidly growing Hispanic community.

There's nothing like it here.

Plaza Mariachi, at 3955 Nolensville Pike, will be home to an international grocery store, an eclectic food court, about 70 small boutiques, professional services, nonprofits, artisan spaces and around-the-clock live music by — of course — a full-time mariachi band.

After some delays, that future is scheduled to arrive this summer. But Villasenor didn't wait to move into a space just across the parking lot.

"If I waited, I don't think they will have a spot available here," she said. "I think there will be tourists here, too, not only the locals. I want to be ready for everything."

With her up-close view of the progress, Villasenor finds herself fielding questions at church from neighbors anxious for the opening. More than 10,000 people got their first introduction at a September festival held in the plaza's parking lot. And in her radio ads, Villasenor already describes her Chismes Cafe in relation to the plaza.

The cafe isn't the only sign of life there, where work crews are well on the way to erasing any memory of the old Elysian Fields Kroger. The grocery had left behind blackened outlines of its lettering out front, but now a terra cotta facade with scalloped moulding soars much higher.

The motif continues inside, where an indoor mall has been designed to resemble a rustic Mexican town square. Five "streets" house ornate storefronts for dozens of vendors. A 24-hour coffee shop is taking shape, along with an upscale restaurant and an arcade.

A food court with a performance stage will occupy a center commons beneath three huge skylights.

And two radio stations, WNVL-AM (Activa 1240) and WMDB-AM (La Ranchera 880), will broadcast from a glassed-in studio, giving listeners a peek into those productions and guest stars.

The plaza will also celebrate culture, through music and a museum wing. An artisan workspace — also with a public viewing window — will offer demonstrations and another ode to the artistic flair typical to Mexican plazas.

"It's a place to come to as a one-stop shop," said Cristina Allen, interim executive director of the Hispanic Family Foundation. "You're going to be proud to come with your family, to eat, to shop, to learn."

Plaza owner Mark Janbakhsh created the foundation as part of a broader vision to uplift the international community.

Part of that will play out through informative programs on the two radio stations he owns — including weekly segments about Metro schools and immigration — and also with the services included in the plaza.

Managers want kiosks for citizenship information and Nashville Electric Service payments. They'll also offer free offices to the school district and other nonprofits.

The foundation will host language and GED classes and provide work stations for entrepreneurs.

And starting tonight, children will begin traditional folk dance lessons at the foundation's new studio, Baila. It's directly across from Villasenor's cafe and just a few feet from Plaza Mariachi's front door.

Reach Tony Gonzalez at 615-259-8089 and on Twitter @tgonzalez.

Plaza Mariachi's visionary

Mark Janbakhsh, owner of the nine AutoMasters of Middle Tennessee car dealerships and two Hispanic-format radio stations, paid $1.9 million for the former Kroger store that will become Plaza Mariachi Music City and he is spending more than twice that amount to redevelop it.

The timing is ripe. Within 25 years, Hispanics are projected to make up 34 percent of the Nashville metro area population, up from 10 percent in 2010.