Hunters Station is Your New One-Stop Shop for Fun Local Food

Now that most of us listen to music from our phones that is compressed down for streaming purposes, car stereos aren’t the big deals that they used to be back when the bass was pumping and the speakers were bumping. So it made sense that the venerable Hunters Custom Auto didn’t need all that space in a prime East Nashville location for their showroom and installation. They’ll still install a lift kit in your truck or some snazzy rims on your hooptie, just at a new location a little further out of town.

That move freed up a lot of space at their former home at 975 Main Street for a great new food hall development, Hunters Station. This is a project from Fresh Hospitality, the restaurant and real estate group behind some of your favorite Nashville brands including Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint, GReKo Greek Street Food, Taziki’s and Biscuit Love. The folks at Fresh have developed the old Hunters building to transform it into a real asset for the community that is definitely worth your attention.

First of all, there’s parking! This is not a small amenity in the urban environment, so it’s great to know that patrons can take advantage of 90 minutes of free parking in the large lot behind the building. All you have to do is text a number from your phone and send them a photo of your license plate to nail down your hour and a half of gratis space. If that lot is full, there’s also a lot of street parking in the surrounding area.

Most visitors to Hunters Station will probably never see what’s happening on the ground floor at the back of the building, but it’s a major development for the local culinary scene. Laura Wilson is the brains and the brawn behind Citizen Kitchens, an incubator for food-based businesses looking for space, equipment and encouragement to grow their small operations into real profit machines. The renters pay hourly, daily or monthly fees for access to all sorts of cooking equipment in the basement of Hunters Station, plus dry storage, freezer and fridge space, conference room access and other amenities. Upstairs on the main floor of Hunters Station, Citizen Market offers space for them to sell their wares, ranging from pastries, breads, sandwiches and salads to grab-and-go meals and side dishes to take home for a quick and delicious meal.

The attractive space at Hunters Station features common dining areas so that a group can pick different foods from the various vendors and then come together to eat at the same table. The choices are excellent and varied, so you might have to make multiple visits to pick your favorite. If you’re in the mood for burgers or BBQ, Hugh Baby’s is an excellent choice with their griddled smashburgers and creamy milk shakes. In fact, the shake game at Hunters Station is strong thanks to the other options at The Grilled Cheeserie, a Music City favorite since back in the days when they only served from a single food truck. Now that they have multiple trucks and three bricks-and-mortar locations featuring gooey cheesy sandwiches made from gourmet ingredients and decadent millk shakes, The Grilled Cheeserie has developed into an empire of fromage!

A relative newcomer to the Nashville food scene is Tacos Aurora, a cozy taqueria from a couple of California transplants that specializes in traditional tacos and burritos created right before your eyes on the plancha grill in the open kitchen. They cut their carne asada straight from the spit and their carnitas are slow-roasted until the pork is tasty and tender. For a slightly less than healthy treat, try their California Burrito, a concoction made with Carne Asada, French Fries, Cheese, Guacamole and Sour Cream.

Vui’s Kitchen offers healthier fare, fresh Vietnamese food made using whole food ingredients. None of their food is fried, and they don’t add any MSG to their dishes, so you can enjoy a delicious dish without the guilt. From soups to salads to their signature Banh Mi sandwich, a meal at Vui’s is a favorite experience for friends seeking out a fast, fresh lunch.

The latest addition to Hunters Station is the second location of The Picnic Tap along with their original taproom in the Nashville Farmers’ Market. Specializing in local and regional craft beers to enjoy at their bar or to take home in growlers, The Picnic Tap plans to add a more extensive food menu at their new outlet. Emphasizing a casual fun attitude, the food menu will feature dishes like hot dogs and other picnic-style dishes. In fact, all of Hunters Station is laid-back and family-friendly, and you can even bring your dog along to enjoy one of their spacious patios including one designated for off-leash play time.

Nashville may be a little late to the food hall game, a craze that has been sweeping the nation over the past few years, but with Hunters Station, we’re coming in hot! Grab a few friends and head over to check it out sometime soon.

Hunters Station
975 Main Street
Nashville, TN 37206

Hours:
Restaurants
11AM – 9PM

Citizen Market
7 AM –  9PM