NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — North Nashville is full of entrepreneurs adding new life to a historic neighborhood. News 2 talked with a business owner about her dreams for North Nashville, as well as the problems she wants fixed.
“I love my city. I love Nashville,” said Valeria Lopez, owner of Chandelier Event Space on Buchanan Street. “I get to see my people on a grand scale. This was a great African American community.”
Lopez said North Nashville’s greatness is still there today. Therefore, when it came time to launch her new business, she could think of no better neighborhood to open up shop.
“This is the community in which I grew up. This is home for me,” said Lopez.
Lopez recently opened Chandelier on Buchanan Street. She envisions her venue as an affordable event space in an increasingly expensive neighborhood.
“I want to make a presence for those in the community that have never been able to have a birthday party because they couldn’t afford a space to rent out. I want to be able to bring an affordable space for people to come and celebrate,” said Lopez.
According to Lopez, high costs in North Nashville are also a barrier for entrepreneurs like herself to lease and buy space to launch a new business. It’s an issue that Shana Berkeley has seen in her line of work, as well.
“Really what comes to mind when we talk about growing pains in North Nashville, a big one — at least for entrepreneurship — is brick and mortar space,” said Berkeley.
Berkeley’s organization, Corner to Corner, helped launch thousands of entrepreneurs, including Lopez, in Nashville. Through its program called The Academy, Corner to Corner helps small businesses get off the ground. It teaches new business minds financing, law, and e-commerce — all the essentials to launching a new venture. In the past year, the organization helped start 80 business in North Nashville alone.
“For The Academy, we really want people who have a business idea and they want to turn that into a moneymaking reality,” said Berkeley.
“We’ve had some amazing businesses that started in North Nashville,” she added. “This is a great place for our community to just grow and flourish.”
However, North Nashville’s success has also brought the pressures of gentrification.
“Trying to get people to understand that change is necessary in order for us to go to the next level,” said Lopez.
Lopez said one growing pain in North Nashville is crime. She’s seen improvement over the years, but she acknowledged there is still more work to be done and she wants to be a part of the solution.
“It has improved, because you don’t hear about the gangs and things that like anymore in the area, but there are a lot of break-ins in the area, and so I hope that, as a coalition, we can come together and create some type of security where the security can go around and monitor the different businesses,” said Lopez.
According to Lopez, that effort — neighbors working with neighbors — is the North Nashville she has always called home.
“North Nashville is a testament of resilient people,” said Lopez.
Lopez also plans to open a comfort food restaurant and cigar bar on Buchanan Street. Her first business is Suite Twelve25, a well-known restaurant in East Nashville.
