Corner Pub coming to downtown Nashville garage space

• The Corner Pub would be the fifth under that restaurant/bar concept owned by Jeff Rippy's company.
• Rippy said he was drawn to that 5th Avenue of the Arts Garage location by tourist traffic and other activities.
• "Obviously, I'm attached a parking garage and that's a huge bonus," he said.
• With Corner Pub's lease, 1,600 square feet of retail space remains available at the garage at 147 Fifth Ave. N.

A Corner Pub restaurant is the first tenant signed for retail space at the new Metro Development and Housing Agency-owned parking garage near the downtown corner of Fifth and Church.

The 6,000-square-foot restaurant and bar is expected to open in late fall at the garage at 147 Fifth Ave. N.  It will be the fifth owned under that homegrown concept by Restaurant Investment Properties Inc., whose president is Jeff Rippy.

Rippy said he was drawn to the 5th Avenue of the Arts Garage location by tourist traffic and other activities in the area, which is both within downtown's central business district and two blocks from Lower Broadway.

"Obviously, I'm attached a parking garage and that's a huge bonus," he said.

Rippy opened his first Corner Pub in 2004 and now owns locations in Bellevue, Brentwood, Franklin and Mt. Juliet. In May, the Midtown location near Vanderbilt closed after the university bought that property.

With Corner Pub's lease, 1,600 square feet of retail space remains available at the 1,010-space 5th Avenue of the Arts Garage, which sits next to construction site for developer Tony Giarratana's 45-story 505 residential tower.

“Our goal for this project was to help connect the Arts District with the activity on Broadway, and Corner Pub is going to help us achieve that,” said Jim Harbison, executive director of MDHA.

The city's housing and development agency said it worked with the Nashville Downtown Partnership, which based on the partnership's retail studies helped to identify potential tenants needed in the downtown area.

"The Corner Pub is a well-known local operator and a welcome addition to downtown," said Crissy Cassetty, retail recruiter for the Nashville Downtown Partnership. "I look forward to seeing more great retail announcements for this project in the near future."

Retail broker Austin Benedict of commercial real estate firm CBRE represented MDHA in negotiating the lease. "Jimbo" Cook of Cook Properties represented Corner Pub.

Parking is available 24/7 at the 5th Avenue of the Arts Garage with a current special of $10 after 4 p.m.

Reach Getahn Ward at gward@tennessean.com or 615-726-5968 and on Twitter @getahn.