Welcome to Nashville. And welcome to 36|86, a celebration of entrepreneurship and southern culture.
By now, you may have already downloaded the 36|86 app and studied the conference schedule. While we are certainly excited for the Culture & Street Fair on Monday night, the Startup Southerner team, comprising mostly Nashvillians, thought we’d gather up a quick set of places and tastes that you might want to encounter while you are in town. Check back on this post as we plan to add more locations as we gather more suggestions.
If you get to town a little early…See the Nashville Symphony under the stars on Saturday night.
The conference venue is the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, but you will likely not see the Nashville Symphony perform at their home base because of 3686. But they will be performing at the Ascend Amphitheater (close to the Schermerhorn) on Saturday night.
Want to experience Middle Tennessee beyond just the city? Take a little drive and get wine, music and the view at Arrington Vineyards.
It really is a ‘wine country’ out there at Arrington Vineyards in Arrington, Tennessee. But in our southern way. There is definitely some wine, and it’s country because one of the owners of the vineyard is Kix Brooks. Just take a 25-minute drive from downtown Nashville and sip on some delicious wine as you soak in some bluegrass that’ll be at their barn, jazz at the courtyard, or both. The view alone is worth the trip.
Stop by the Nashville Entrepreneur Center — and stay to eat at Little Mosko’s.
See how some of Nashville’s best and brightest entrepreneurs work and collaborate. When you’re done, don’t miss a meal or coffee from Little Mosko’s. This Old Nashville institution opened its outpost at the EC earlier this year and has been serving up deliciously creative brain food (and coffee drinks) ever since. Seriously, even the salads are life-changing.
Yes, You should have some hot chicken.
Mural on the wall at Pepperfire.
Hattie B’s has the market cornered with the convenience and hip factor (and its perfectly fine, serviceable hot chicken), but there are plenty of other options around town. There’s 400 Degrees, within walking distance from the conference site, Bolton’s Spicy Chicken and Fish on Franklin Rd., and the original, Prince’s Hot Chicken, in North Nashville.
Want to read a review of the hot chicken joints from a local? Chris Wage has done a thorough tasting of them all.
Drink some local entrepreneurial spirit.
Beer: “For a nice sampling of Nashville’s local breweries, check out Czann’s, Tennessee Brew Works, Jackalope Brewing Company and Yazoo,” recommends Josh Cypher, QA engineer at Emma. “They’re all locally owned and within walking distance of downtown.”
Cocktail: Get a Smoked Old Fashioned from Etch, a locally amazing restaurant right behind the Schermerhorn. This delightful item is also on their happy hour menu. Old Glory in Edgehill Village is a little farther from the conference site but the Lyft is worth it to check out this trendy bar housed in an old dry cleaning facility.
Liquor: Nashville’s first distillery since Prohibition opened in 2010, and Corsair Distillery has been making back the lost time. Take a tour or spend some time in their taproom. Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery will be at the 36|86 Culture & Street Fair, but to hear the story of how they came to be on the tour of their new facility is worth the hike to the real thing.
Monday’s after party will feature musically talented Tennessee entrepreneurs.
Feed the Birds will take this stage on Monday night.
Jonathan Sexton, EIR of the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center, is also an acclaimed musician. Come see him and Feed the Birds bandmates Mark Montgomery, April Hill, Ryan Madora, and Kasey Todd play together for the first time in over a year at The Family Wash, just 1.5 miles away from the conference venue in East Nashville.
Their performance will only be about an hour, so Jonathan assures that you’ll have plenty of time to rest up for Tuesday’s activities.
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