NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The changes happening in Nashville were no more evident than on Charlotte Avenue. The area just west of downtown was going through an evolution, and business owners have taken notice.
On property that once housed a used car lot, a sustainable furniture company has moved in, but just for a few months.
Masaya & Co. was based in Nashville, and has been in business for a few years. But the company needed more exposure. The former car lot, that will eventually become an apartment complex, was the perfect spot.
"The lot was available, and we talked to the landlord, they're not doing building until December 1st, so we have the lot space until then. So we just decided to put some furniture here, and do a pop-up market, and show a little more than we can show in our showroom," said Sarah Milkie.
The company has tree farms in Nicaragua, and plants 100 trees for each piece of furniture it sells. Masaya & Co. does have a brick-and-mortar store in the Edgehill neighborhood, but that location didnot have the traffic of Charlotte Avenue.
"30,000 cars a day go by. We have school zone, so everyone has to slow down in front of us," Milkie said. "We're just trying to get more people to come in, and see who we are, and what we're doing, and see our beautiful handmade furniture."
A few blocks from Masaya & Co. Hill Center Sylvan Heights continued to take shape. It was a mixed-use development with retail and residential space.
Along Charlotte you saw several apartment complexes under contraction that will bring hundreds of new units to the area.
The owners of Avo, a new restaurant just off Charlotte Avenue, have countinued on the growth in the corridor.
"It's crazy. Every single time we drive down the street, we notice something new," said co-owner Jess Rice.
Avo was a locally sourced, raw restaurant, that opened in the One City development two months ago.
"We're sourcing as much as a produce as possible, locally, within a hundred miles of Nashville," Rice said. "It's really just super clean, healthy food."
They did not cook anything above 117 degrees at the Vegan restaurant. Avo is the second Vegan and organic bar in the nation. It is a destination restaurant, in one of Nashville's new destination locations.
"I mean, Charlotte is booming, now, which is awesome. You used to have to drive all the way down Charlotte to find anything, now it's pretty much every block there's a new restaurant, or pub, or bar, which is awesome," Rice explained.
One City was a development that will consist of businesses that put a focus on mindful living, and creativity.
One drawback to opening a business in the evolving area was construction. Avo was in the midst of a construction site, but customers continued to make their way to the raw-food restaurant.
