Nashville to get Chicago craft beer/arcade bar

A Chicago-based hospitality management and ownership company plans to bring its craft beer/arcade bar concept to Nashville.

Headquarters Beercade Nashville will be Capacity Bar Group's third location and first outside of its hometown.

Co-owner Brian Galati said the Nashville location is targeted for opening near downtown's Broadway around December. It is expected to feature 16 rotating lines of draft beer, signature craft cocktails and 35 classic or vintage retro pinball and arcade games from the '80s and early '90s.

"Nashville's growing right now and increasing in popularity," Galati said. "We fell in love with the city and think it's a perfect fit for our concept."

Capacity Bar Group is negotiating to lease the space Headquarters Beercade Nashville will occupy, he said, declining to reveal the specific location.

Galati's disclosure of his plans followed Nashville architect John Root's presentation Tuesday to the Metro Development and Housing Agency's design review committee, which approved a rooftop deck among modifications to the building at 114 2nd Ave. S.

That's where dance club/event venue/bar Seen Nashville closed its doors last month, and its owners have been looking to sublease the space. The location is next to a parking lot on which developer Frank May plans a six-story boutique hotel with ground-level retail space and a rooftop bar and restaurant.

In addition to craft beer and cocktails that will include a mix of Nashville, Chicago and other brands, Headquarters Beercade Nashville will offer bar-type food. There will be no charge for playing the games, which are expected to include The Addams Family, Attack From Mars, Ms. Pac-Man and Donkey Kong.

The committee approved revised plans for a 42-space surface parking lot at 417 8th Ave. S. on the southwestern side of the Korean Veterans Boulevard Roundabout, but required that Nashville-based Premier Parking meet with city planners about a fence and retaining wall.In other actions Tuesday, the MDHA design review committee deferred a vote on conceptual design approval of the Holiday Jones hotel planned in East Nashville pending the developers addressing certain traffic and parking concerns.

Concept plans for a pair of buildings and a parking lot on the historic former John Geist and Sons Blacksmith Shop property in Germantown were approved with the developers still needing final site plan approval.

The committee deferred a vote on the concept plan for a pair of townhomes at 1042 Scovel St. that's planned by TriTrust Investments.

After members raised concerns about the project not meeting height and other guidelines for that redevelopment district, the applicant took issue with the committee's approval last year of a three-story height for a similar development nearby with no concerns. The Metro Historic Zoning Commission's representative on the design review committee then acknowledged a mistake in that decision.

"It's frustrating for designers and developers when approvals are not consistent," said Preston Quirk, the Nashville architect who designed both the townhomes planned at 1042 Scovel and the ones previously approved and built by another developer at 1038 Scovel.

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