Ladybird Taco to open in East Nashville: What to know
The Inglewood neighborhood of East Nashville is getting a spot for Austin-style tacos and Crema coffee, courtesy of Ladybird Taco. Ladybird opened its first location in Nashville's 12 South neighborhood in June 2020 — not the most auspicious time to launch a new restaurant.
But the taco spot, which began initially with a takeout-only format, quickly gained a following and has since expanded to Birmingham, Alabama. The forthcoming Inglewood location, on the corner of Riverside Drive and McGavock Pike, will open in early 2024.
Ladybird springs from founder and music industry veteran Gabe Scott's affinity for Texas. A Nashville native who married a Texan and had musical connections to Austin, Scott fell in love with the taquerias there. He pined for them in Nashville, where biscuits abound but breakfast tacos, not so much.
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"It's pretty desperate when somebody like me, a musician, decides to chase down another possibly unreliable industry, which is food," he said. "I'm joking about the desperation, but it truly was out of love for this thing I couldn't get while I was at home."
Scott joined forces with Austin chef and now-Ladybird cofounder and executive chef Andrew Wiseheart, whose background is in fine dining. Wiseheart brought an elevated ethos to the casual restaurant in the form of handmade tortillas, in-house smoked brisket and big salads with plenty of seasonal vegetables.
Ladybird's breakfast tacos are refreshingly simple: egg with a couple of additional ingredients including bacon, chorizo, potatoes and cheese. The migas taco, an Austin favorite, is stuffed with egg, housemade chips, avocado, cheese, green onion and pico de gallo. Lunch tacos are similarly uncomplicated, with vegetarian and vegan options. On a hot day, there's nothing more refreshing to order with your tacos than the restaurant's agua frescas, made in-house.
The Inglewood location will have the same menu as the 12 South spot but will also add beer, wine and cider. It will also have parking and a patio, with 40 seats inside and 20 seats outside. The space is generous — about 2,300 square feet, including the production area. The elbow room for customers is intentional, said Ladybird president Brooks Veazey, and overrides the too-common trend of cramming customers in to pad the bottom line.
"We call what we do fast craft, which is somewhere between fast casual and fine dining," Veazey said. "An element of that we've talked about is the idea of generosity and feeling like there's enough."
What else to know about the new Ladybird location
The interior decor will pay homage to a record store that was once on the property. "We want to acknowledge that we were not the first people to do business in this space," Veazey said.
Tortillas will be made in-house using masa from Masienda, a premium small-batch masa company that works directly with small farmers.
Ladybird also serves specialty espresso drinks and premium drip coffee from Crema Coffee, a carbon-neutral, zero-waste craft coffee roaster based in Nashville. The restaurant also serves matcha and other teas, kombucha, juices and other soft drinks.
Ladybird will work with local artists to add murals to the exterior walls, bringing more art to Riverside Drive.
The restaurant will likely partner with a pastry shop to add baked goods to its breakfast menu.
The Inglewood location will serve mimosas, local beer, wine and cider.
Ladybird east will be open for breakfast and lunch.
The address will be 2300 Riverside Dr.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: East Nashville to get Ladybird Taco: What to know
