One of the world’s most famous sandwich shops is coming to Nashville.
All’Antico Vinaio will open its ninth U.S. location in developer SomeraRoad’s Prima Tower in the Gulch, SomeraRoad confirmed to The Tennessean on Wednesday. The Eighth Avenue South location is in the Paseo South Gulch micro-district, where the luxury Prima high-rise condos opened earlier this year and a number of local favorites like Barista Parlor and Maiz de la Vida are set to open soon.
“Everything we did with Paseo South Gulch was a deliberate design of a retail environment that does one of two things,” said SomeraRoad founder Ian Ross. “Either one highlights the best of what Nashville has to offer, or two bring new concepts to market that are underserved in the local market and receive high praise.”
All’Antico Vinaio, along with Australian restaurant Two Hands and barbershop speakeasy The Blind Barber, falls into Ross’ second category, he said.
The Mazzanti family opened the original All’Antico Vinaio in Florence, Italy in 1989, featuring high-quality ingredients and freshly baked Tuscan schiacciata, a flatbread similar to focaccia. When Tommaso Mazzanti joined the family business in 2014, he spearheaded its growth, opening numerous locations across Italy.
All’Antico Vinaio debuted in the United States in 2021 with stores in New York City. From there, the company expanded to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and now Nashville.
“All’Antico Vinaio is arguably the best sandwich shop in the world. I mean, if you’ve ever been to Florence or New York, it’s really incredible, people line up,” Ross said. “When we heard they were interested in Nashville, we just started conversations, but I can tell you that something like this doesn’t happen quickly with any of our tenants.”
The opening date of the Nashville location has not yet been announced.
While the menu may vary by location, All’Antico Vinaio’s U.S. stores offer some classics: La Summer with prosciutto parma, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, La Paradiso with mortadella, stracciatella, pistachio cream and pistachio crumbles, and La Toscana with salami, pecorino and truffle honey.
When the store opened in those cities, it also added sandwiches like The New Yorker and LA Fadeaway. Nashville could be next.
Hadley Hitson covers current business, hospitality and healthcare issues for The Tennessean. You can reach her at [email protected]. To support her work, Subscribe to The Tennessean.
