The Fountains at Gateway will soon welcome a second PennePazze location to the Middle Tennessee area.
In addition to the current location at the L and L Market in Nashville, the Murfreesboro location will begin the restaurant’s expansion into other markets and is expected to open sometime this spring.
The restaurant is described as a farm-to-table, open-kitchen concept dedicated to providing authentic Italian pasta and pinsa pizza with a focus on scratch-made food that falls within Italian tradition. PennePazze offers visible food creation so that customers have the chance to watch the process from start to finish.
“We create quality Italian cuisine that includes our fresh signature pasta and pinsa, made in-house daily,” said CEO and founder Rony Stark. “We grow our own mother yeast for the pinsa dough, which is a cross between Italian focaccia and Neapolitan-style dough. Dishes change every season, which symbolizes the freshness and harmony of the Italian kitchen with Mother Nature. To complete the guests’ experience, we have a large variety of Italian wine selections.”
Stark was born to an Italian family and raised in Israel, and after his career in professional basketball and college, he made the decision to become a restaurateur and began developing the concept for PennePazze. He met master dough maker Riccardo Manzella at a pinsa chef course in Florence, Italy, where attendees were trained to make pinsa dough by hand.
“I convinced Ricardo to join me in the U.S.,” said Stark. “Along with my wife, marketing strategist Shir Stark, we developed and honed the restaurant concept over a two-year period before opening PennePazze in March 2020.”
For more information, visit pennepazze.net.
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Brandon Bingman of Bingman Hein LLC recently announced plans to open a new artisan brewery at 2476 Old Fort Pkwy. in the former Ahart’s Pizza location.
The artisan brewery plans to produce small-batch beer at the location with a total volume of less than 200 barrels the first year. The business expects to brew up to 600 within the second year, and several hundred in the next few years, according to information Bingman presented to the Murfreesboro Planning Department. Local regulations allow artisan breweries to brew up to 600 barrels per month, so if the business grows to exceed that capacity, it would need to move to a new location.
Other expectations for the location include serving onsite and to-go 16 and 32 oz. crowlers and growlers of beer, menu items including panini sandwiches, pretzels and other snacks, wings and non-alcoholic beverages. Other future plans may include small distribution to local bars and restaurants, as well as a patio with minimal buildout.
As of now, the brewery’s name has not been announced. More information to come.
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Overflow Brews and Bakes will celebrate its official grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 15 at 4 p.m.
The restaurant originally opened in September at 115 N. Maple St. on the Square. The ceremony will be hosted by the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and will offer the opportunity to enjoy free samples and raffle drawings, as well as a wide selection of baked items from Overflow’s scratch bakery, coffee, boba tea and unique gifts and mugs. For more information, visit overflowb.com.
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A new Asian restaurant called Ladna 88 will open soon in a new building at 1610 Bradyville Pk. beside the International Market.
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A new local bubble tea cafe called Siri Bubble Tea has opened at 225 N. Rutherford Blvd. near Thai Spice and MTSU in the old Pupusaria Salvadorena location. Siri offers several handcrafted and customizable bubble tea options. Some of the menu items include milk tea, fruit tea, Thai tea, steeped tea, slushies and a variety of flavors as well as different milk, sugar and topping options. For more information, visit facebook.com/siribubbletea.
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Alex Belew, who formerly owned and operated Dallas and Jane restaurant in Murfreesboro and did catering in the area for many years, won the latest season of Hell’s Kitchen, a televised cooking competition hosted by Gordon Ramsay.
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The restaurant space formerly operating as Pho Viet, 1722 S. Rutherford Blvd., now has a sign up calling it King Noodles Thai Restaurant.
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Blueprint Baseball has opened its athletic training center at 810 NW Broad St. in the Jackson Heights Shopping Center just behind Toot’s. The location offers hitting, pitching, catching, speed and agility training for baseball and softball players of all ages, and is dedicated to building the confidence of players. Owner Josh Renick says that the goal of Blueprint Baseball is to build players from the ground up.
“Our lessons are designed to build an excellent athletic ability in dynamic stability, strength, power and speed and form the mental and physical fundamentals required in the game,” Renick said. “We teach the player the proper mechanics and how to be consistent with such mechanics. This will help you develop the confidence to take your skills to the next level.”
Renick started Blueprint’s first team in 2015 and has grown tremendously since. Renick is known as one of Middle Tennessee State University’s all-time great baseball players and serves as an MTSU Baseball Hall of Fame member, as well as the 2001 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, an 11th-round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins, and MTSU’s career batting average leader. Renick, who also played in the Junior College World Series, is one of four coaches at the location, joining Jason Sharber, Josh Kroeger and Adam Sauer.
Blueprint lesson options range from 1–6 lessons, costing between $50 and $225. Each lesson is at least 30 minutes long. For more information, call 941-232-4051 or visit blueprintbaseball.com.
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Dow Street Community Music School will open to the public on March 13 at 1272 Dow St. in Murfreesboro. The building was recently renovated to accommodate the music school. The nonprofit’s mission is to provide quality music instruction and performance opportunities to enhance cultural life within the community.
Classes offered at DSCMS include group violin lessons for ages 5 to 11, and one-on-one lessons for strings, woodwinds, piano, guitar and voice. Weekly individual lessons are also an option for beginners and experienced players of all ages, lessons last between 30 and 60 minutes.
“Growing up, I was fortunate to have parents who supported me throughout my musical journey. In their memory, I would like to help others experience the same joy in learning and making beautiful music,” said DSCMS founder Dr. Andrea Dawson, who teaches violin and viola as a professor at MTSU.
“Music brings people together. It enhances our lives, at every stage, and improves our health and well-being. Children and adults blossom when music is part of our lives. We learn to express emotions in a safe and nurturing environment, and we learn to work with others.”
For more information, visit dowstreetmusic.org.
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Pet Supplies Plus will open a Murfreesboro location this month at 1664 Memorial Blvd. The new location is expected to open on March 17, and will offer dog wash and grooming services, as well as live crickets and small pets, a rewards program, online ordering and free same-day delivery services, as well as a variety of pet products. For more information, visit petsuppliesplus.com.
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A second JP Morgan Chase Bank will open in Murfreesboro at 4145 Franklin Rd. in front of Publix when construction on the building is complete.
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Murfreesboro Medical Clinic has unveiled plans for MMC Lascassas on 11 acres along Lascassas Pike and East Pitts Lane
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Fountains at Gateway recently acquired 5.12 acres of adjacent land from the City of Murfreesboro to develop the second phase of its Class A mixed-use development, announced Scott Graby, president of Hearthstone Properties.
Two Fountains Plaza, the first building in phase two, will be a five-story building situated directly across from the fully leased, four-story One Fountains Plaza. It will include one and a half floors of corporate office space, three floors of luxury for-sale condominiums surrounding an atrium courtyard, and ground-floor retail, fitness studio, eatery and office lobby spaces. Access-controlled parking for residents will be underground, with a parking deck at grade above.
The development will feature the use of mass-timber construction, which is becoming very popular in mid-rise and even high-rise buildings due to innovations in fire rating and the natural beauty achieved with exposed beams and ceiling decks. At 212,000-square-feet under roof plus a 140,000-square-foot attached parking structure, Two Fountains Plaza will be the largest mass timber building in Tennessee.
Atrium at Fountains will offer 53 luxury condominiums on floors three through five with spacious, light-filled residences featuring high-end finishes in floorplans ranging from one to three bedrooms. Each residence will include an open living and dining area that adjoins a sleek, European-style kitchen with island.
Condominium owners will enter their residences via an exclusive three-story glass-roofed, climate-controlled atrium featuring tropical trees and plants nestled among walkways and a variety of seating areas, a 30-foot waterfall and koi pond, recessed firepit, gazebo, swings, and secluded alcoves for reading or unwinding.
The sales center for Atrium at Fountains, led by Zach Griest of Zach Taylor Real Estate, will open this spring at One Fountains Plaza to showcase floorplans, finishes and a show kitchen, and begin accepting early sales reservations. Interested parties may contact live@atriumatfountains.com for more information.
Subsequent development plans for phase two include the purchase of an adjoining 2.55-acre frontage parcel that will feature a five-story, boutique hotel connected by skybridge to the atrium level of the condominiums. The hotel fitness center and plunge pool on the skybridge will be shared with condominium owners. Graby is in discussions with two local chefs regarding another restaurant on the ground floor of the hotel.
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The Center for the Arts recently announced Keri Boe as the new Mainstage Director, and Jake Ingrassia as the Director of Finance.
Boe spent several years as a volunteer in a variety of roles prior to her promotion, as well as some time leading the front-of-house and production teams. Boe has also trained in professional stage management.
Keri Boe / Jake Ingrassia
Ingrassia has a history of work within the financial services industry and is dedicated to helping his clients prepare for growth and sustainability within their businesses. He spent a portion of his time acting in productions at the organization as well as working professionally in a community theater, and worked as a CFO for nonprofit organizations dedicated to increasing their effective management planning for the future.
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Enterprise will open a large car rental and sales facility in a new building on Old Fort Parkway near Bob Kelley Drive (across from Franklin Road Baptist).
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Auto Collection of Murfreesboro has closed its Broad Street dealership, but still operates at 806 Old Fort Pkwy. Auto Collection specializes in used luxury and high-end vehicle sales and services. Vehicle prices range from $30,000–$300,000, and some of the vehicle brands sold at the location include Lexus, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Corvette and more. For more information, visit autocollectionofmurfreesboro.com.
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After recent consideration, Hank’s Honky Tonk will not be opening another location near the Murfreesboro Square. Hank’s owner Ken Strode recently said that Hank’s has “pulled the plug” on the location planned for the restaurant space adjacent to the Whiskey Dix building, just across Maple Street from Marina’s.
Hank’s still operates its Memorial Boulevard Honky Tonk, as well as the nearby Hank’2 event space.
Fans of the restaurant have suggested that the business should open another location to spread out some of the patrons at the original Hank’s, which can become crowded, and that Murfreesboro could probably support another similar honky-tonk in another part of town when the situation is right for the owners.
