NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A West Nashville business now has a presence on the East side of town.

Crieve Hall Bagel Co., which offers coffee drinks and fresh, homemade, sourdough bagels, has officially opened a second brick-and-mortar location in Inglewood.

Owner Ben Cornfield first got his start in the sourdough bagel business during the COVID-19 pandemic. At first, he and his wife, Lizzy, sold their bagels out of the home, then grew the business into a walk-up window, followed by a full brick-and-mortar cafe in the pocket neighborhood of Crieve Hall.

Cornfield told News 2 he wasn't specifically looking to expand his business, which has operated in Crieve Hall since 2021, but he was approached with an offer he couldn't refuse.

"I really had no major intention of expanding," Cornfield said. "The guy who owns M.L.Rose, Austin, came into the shop and said, 'We're opening a new one in Inglewood. We'd love a coffee shop — we'd love for it to be you.'"

At the same time the offer came in, Cornfield had just taken over an adjacent space in the shopping center that houses his original location, allowing him to procure some larger equipment that would help scale up production.

"It just was this perfect thing — I've got the extra space, the extra equipment, and I've got this guy who I really respect, this other restauranteur, coming to me and telling me there's an opportunity to expand into the only other neighborhood I've lived in, really. Now, I've got both, and it's been kind of like a weird dream come true," Cornfield said. "It's very much a full circle moment."

The Inglewood shop officially opened its doors June 30, and Cornfield said business has been consistent and good.

"We didn't really have a major grand opening the first week or two. We didn't even put an open sign out. We just posted on Instagram, 'Hey, we're open! Find us if you want to find us,' and it worked," Cornfield told News 2. "We had a really steady flow. We were able to get some of our staffing figured out and get the logistics figured out."

Those logistics include making sure the Eastside shop has all the fresh food it needs from the Westside. All the bagels are still baked in-house in Crieve Hall, and a small delivery van transports the food needed in Inglewood to the shop.

"So far, it's been very tiring, but also perfect," Cornfield said. "I'm having a great time."

Now that the second shop is open, Cornfield said he's looking forward to enmeshing the business in the community the same way the original shop location has.

"I'm looking forward to building the same level of positivity that we've built in Crieve Hall here," Cornfield said.

The business donates monthly to the two local elementary schools near the Crieve Hall shop, and Cornfield said he'll be doing something similar in Inglewood through Dan Mills Elementary School.

The expansion into East Nashville is also full circle for Cornfield, as well: His family moved to Inglewood when they first came to Nashville a decade ago, making the new shop a sort of homecoming.

"I still have a lot of friends around here, and they've all been able to come," he said.

He's looking forward to collaborating with other East Nashville businesses for pop-up events throughout the year, he told News 2.

"Just celebrating everything that East Nashville has to offer and being able to funnel money back and funnel our time back is something that, for me, has been the most rewarding part of doing it in Crieve Hall and what I'm most looking forward to here," Cornfield said.

Having the new location be in his first neighborhood in Nashville is also exciting to Cornfield because he's able to see just how much the neighborhood has grown since he last lived in the area.

"I want to be a part of that Inglewood Renaissance the same as I feel like I was helping to be part of that Crieve Hall Renaissance," he told News 2.

The new cafe is open from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily at 3701 Gallatin Pike, right next to the new Inglewood M.L.Rose.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/middle-tn-neighborhood-news/crieve-hall-bagel-co/