Sole Mio's closing and the planned local debut of Gino’s East at 311 Third Ave. S. would be the latest shift on Nashville's dining scene.

Getahn Ward | The Tennessean

Gino’s East serves sandwiches, soups and salads plus with bars in its locations.

The SoBro restaurant would be the first under the Gino’s East concept in Tennessee.

Gino's East

Iconic Chicago deep dish pizza chain Gino’s East is expanding to Nashville with a signed lease to take over Italian restaurant Sole Mio's south of Broadway location.

The long-term lease is with Giancarlo Agnoletti, who recently announced plans to end his Sole Mio's 23-year run at 311 Third Ave. S. and previously on Rutledge Hill.

Gino’s East owner plans a major renovation to the 3,870 square foot building with plans to open by summer 2018. The building is next to where work is underway toward construction of a Drury Plaza Hotel hotel at Third Avenue South and Korean Veterans Boulevard.

Wochit

Sole Mio's closing and the planned local debut of Gino’s East would be the latest shift on Nashville's dining scene. "Food and beverage operators continue to have very strong interest in Nashville and SoBro is the bullseye for many of these operators," said Austin Benedict, a retail broker at CBRE in Nashville. "I think that Gino's would do great there."

The SoBro restaurant would be the first under the Gino’s East concept in Tennessee. Beyond the Chicago area where the first location under that concept opened just over half a century ago, Gino's East has four restaurants in Texas and one in Wisconsin.

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Nashville restaurants

In addition to pizza baked in cast-iron pans, Gino’s East serves sandwiches, soups and salads plus with bars in its locations. The owners also run Gino's Brew Pub in Chicago and allow patrons to write their names into the wood and stucco walls at two locations.

Davidson County Assessor of Property

Nashville real estate advisor Carnell Scruggs of SVN/ The Genesis Group represented Gino East in lease negotiations with Agnoletti for the SoBro building on a 0.23-acre site.