The corner at 2901 12th Avenue South has a $600,000 renovation permit and a new tenant lined up. That tenant is a New York bakery that spent more than four years looking for a Nashville storefront before choosing this one. A few doors down at 2906, a bar with a rooftop-focused format is being built out. At 2908, the old White's Mercantile space, Anthropologie lists "Opening 11/27" on its store page.
The north end of the strip, around Ashwood and the 2212 block, has its own arrival this season. The bigger change is at the south end, toward Sevier Park. Three storefronts within a few doors of each other are changing tenants at the same time. Each new tenant arrives with a following built somewhere else.
Three addresses, one short stretch
Here's what's happening in the 2900 block, listed by street number.
| Address | Previously | Coming in | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2901 12th Ave S | Burger Up | Levain Bakery | $600,000 renovation permit issued in early November; no opening date announced |
| 2906 12th Ave S | Mother's Ruin, its second Nashville location | Roughly $1.1 million build-out; expected late 2026 | |
| 2908 12th Ave S | White's Mercantile's original 12 South shop | Anthropologie | Store page lists an 11/27 opening |
Anthropologie has the only posted date of the three. Mother's Ruin is aiming for late 2026, and Levain's timeline is still to come, on the corner that was Burger Up for years.
The corner a bakery waited four years for
Levain Bakery opened in New York City in 1995. Its founders, Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald, made it known for thick cookies, the crisp-outside, soft-inside kind. The Chocolate Chip Walnut is the best known. In July, Nashville Lifestyles reported that the Nashville shop at 2901 will also carry coffee and tea, pastries, artisanal breads, loaf cakes, sandwiches on house-baked baguettes, and rotating seasonal items.
That menu matters for the corner. Burger Up was a lunch and dinner spot. Coffee, pastries and baguette sandwiches put the same corner to work in the morning and after school, and the founders said as much in the same Nashville Lifestyles announcement:
"Our hope is that this bakery becomes somewhere friends meet over coffee, families stop in after school, and neighbors continue making memories for years to come."
Burger Up owner Jim Lewis picked the tenant himself. According to the article, he went looking for a partner who would keep the space a neighborhood gathering spot. He told Nashville Lifestyles he chose Levain because "they'll be thoughtful partners, wonderful neighbors and a great addition to the community we all love."
Levain has also said it will hire from Nashville's hospitality workforce and donate its opening-day proceeds to a local nonprofit. It plans to name the nonprofit closer to opening. The building permit is the latest step so far. Nash.news reported on November 4 that Levain had received its permit for $600,000 in renovations at the address.
A rooftop going up a few doors down
If Levain will be the block's morning stop, Mother's Ruin is built for the evening and late night. The bar concept was founded in New York City by TJ Lynch and Richard Knapp. Its first Nashville location is in Germantown, and 2906 12th Avenue South will be the second. WhatNow Nashville reported that this will make Nashville the only market where the brand runs two locations.
The 12 South location won't copy Germantown. Plans described by the Nashville Business Journal and summarized by WhatNow call for about 4,000 square feet inside and a 2,000-square-foot outdoor patio, plus a bar designed to link the indoor space to the rooftop. A Metro permit filing puts the build-out at about $1.1 million. As of early November, Up Next Nashville still listed late 2026 as the target.
The Germantown bar gives a good idea of the format. It's walk-in only, with brunch every day, late-night food like burritos, wings and burgers, and a cocktail program that includes frozen drinks. The Germantown location serves brunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends, and it stays open until 2 a.m. every night.
That's a much longer day than this end of 12th Avenue has had. With a rooftop and a 2 a.m. closing time at the Germantown location, the Sevier Park end of the street could stay busy well after the boutiques close.
The day after Thanksgiving, at 2908
Anthropologie's store page lists its 12 South shop at 2908 12th Avenue South with the line "Opening 11/27." This year, November 27 falls on Black Friday. The space was White's Mercantile's original 12 South shop, and Nashville Guru describes the new store as part of a two-story building that will house other retail brands too.
Anthropologie already has stores in the Gulch and at Green Hills. The 12 South store opens right as holiday shopping starts, and it's within walking distance of Sevier Park.
Next door at 2906, Mother's Ruin is aiming for late 2026, and at 2901, Levain holds its renovation permit with an opening timeline still to be announced.
Halfway up the street, the old Taproom site
The changes are not limited to the 2900 block. At 2318 12th Avenue South, the former 12 South Taproom site, a new retail building is planned for Ralph Lauren, a Ralph's Coffee, and Alo Yoga. WhatNow Nashville connects the redevelopment to the Dallas-based group behind 12South Collection.
Ralph's Coffee is the piece that matters most for daily life. It means the Taproom site, like the Burger Up corner, will get a café as part of its next tenant mix. Once both open, two of the strip's best-known food and drink addresses will have coffee counters where a restaurant and a taproom used to be.
The north end's arrival
At the other end of the strip, Au Cheval is building a 5,000-square-foot restaurant at 2212 12th Avenue South, Suite 124, in the Ashwood development. The Chicago diner comes from Brendan Sodikoff of Hogsalt Hospitality, working with Sam Fox, whose Nashville restaurants include The Twelve Thirty Club and The Henry. Up Next Nashville reported a mid-November 2026 target, citing the Tennessean's fall preview.
The menu sticks close to the original. It includes the double-patty cheeseburger with American cheddar, pickles, onions and dijonnaise on brioche, plus diner dishes like foie gras with scrambled eggs, roasted marrow bones and steak frites. A few additions specific to Nashville have been promised.
So the strip will have its marquee burger at the north end, in Ashwood, and a bakery on the old Burger Up corner at the south end. For anyone who has lived here a while, that changes where a burger-and-a-walk evening starts.
Your holiday-season map, by date
- Mid-November: Au Cheval's target at 2212 12th Ave S, in Ashwood.
- November 27: Anthropologie's posted opening at 2908 12th Ave S.
- Late 2026: Mother's Ruin's target at 2906 12th Ave S, with its rooftop and patio.
- Opening date to come: Levain Bakery at 2901 12th Ave S, now permitted for renovations.
- Opening date to come: Ralph Lauren with Ralph's Coffee, plus Alo Yoga, at 2318 12th Ave S.
On a December walk from Sevier Park north, the first three storefronts are the ones changing over.
I keep a close eye on 12 South's storefronts because they shape how a street feels to the people who live on it. If you want to talk about what these openings mean for your block or your home, Bobbi Jo Barnes is glad to walk 12th Avenue with you. Let's find your way HOM.
