Looking for a unique spot to watch the game and enjoy some live entertainment? Wolf River Hospitality Group's newest restaurant concept delivers just that.
Nashoba , a new sports bar and live music venue, celebrated its opening June 26 in the Shops at Carriage Crossing in Collierville.
The roughly-10,000-square-foot Nashoba occupies the space that was formerly Hickory Tavern Restaurant. Nashoba is owned by Kirk Cotham and Chad Foreman, founders and owners of Wolf River Hospitality Group. The restaurant group also owns Pyro's Fire Fresh Pizza, Wolf River Brisket, Levee Creamery and Limelight.
Nashoba is a combination of a full-service restaurant and sports bar with high-definition TVs and a 20-foot-by-20-foot stage equipped with a sound system for live music. Nashoba can hold more than 300 people, including a private room for up to 75 that can be rented out for special events, according to Cotham.
A curtain divides the sports bar and dining area from the live music stage, but it can be pulled back for those in the sports bar and dining area wanting to check out the entertainment on stage. The sports bar and dining area have a combination of tables and booths that seat 100 people. The live music side also includes a dining area with tables and higher booths, which can hold 75 patrons. The stage, which is 28 inches off the floor with a state-of-the-art public address and light system, opens to both the party room and restaurant. A small light-up dance floor is in front on the stage.
According to Cotham, there are 60 screens throughout Nashoba to deliver the sports bar experience, including an 18-foot screen on the outdoor patio space and a 20-foot screen indoors that can be split into two 10-foot-wide screens showing sports programming such as ESPN's "First Take." Some of the major sporting events Nashoba plans to showcase include the men's and women's Wimbledon finals on July 13 and 14, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game's Homerun Derby on July 15 and the MLB All-Star Game on July 16.
Cotham noted Nashoba has two bars, both with good sight lines to both the big screens, the other TV screens and the stage.
Cotham expects Nashoba — which currently has 30 employees on staff, with a target of 45 at full staff — to deliver an enhanced experience for people coming to Carriage Crossing.
“We hope that we’re a draw for new tenants and that we’re a draw for people, which goes hand in hand,” he said. “The more people or traffic we get out here (Carriage Crossing), the better other restaurants and retailers are going to do. It will just build on itself. We want Carriage Crossing to be good for Collierville and good for Memphis.”
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Bringing live music to Carriage Crossing
Cotham said Nashoba has musical acts booked through September. Nashoba’s live entertainment currently takes place Thursday, Friday and Saturday. He said Thursday primarily will be acoustic focused, while Friday and Saturday will feature full bands performing.
“If we are able to build that acoustic focus on Thursday night, then we can look at starting to add more nights,” Cotham said. “Having more music on stage is something we are interested in."
He said the acts are currently all local, with upcoming performances including the Formerly Known As band rocking the stage at 8 p.m. July 5 and The Rockin' 88 entertaining the crowd at 8 p.m. July 6.
Cotham said he would love for Nashoba to eventually have regional acts, but that would be down the road.
“We really have to get our feet under us before can do that,” Cotham said. “But we have been able to book virtually everybody that we wanted to in terms of local bands. We’re hoping to kind of go through a lot of different acts and see what the people want and try to keep giving them that.”
What’s on the menu at Nashoba?
Cotham described Nashoba as a gastropub. The menu includes different sandwiches, salads, soups, flatbreads and six types of specialty burgers all made with Nashoba's premium beef blend of short rib and brisket. For those with a sweet tooth, dessert items include seasonal fruit flatbread, sweet cinnamon flatbread, brownie skillet and cookie skillet.
Among the shareable items offered are Irish nachos — house-made chips, cheddar, chopped brisket, chives and spicy ranch — and smoked and grilled wings served with choice of sauce.
There are also items for children 8 and under such as grilled cheese, chicken tenders and an ice cream scoop.
The menu includes several signature entrees such as Cotham’s favorite the brisket stack, which has crispy onions, bacon, egg, garlic aioli and is served with crispy Brussels sprouts, as well as the grilled meatloaf served with house-made mac and cheese.
“I’m really proud of what our kitchen staff has been able to accomplish,” Cotham said.
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He said Nashoba will also be brewing its own beer on site and has a small space at the restaurant for a nanobrewery. He noted Nashoba is a couple weeks away from having its own beer.
“We will have a ton of local beers in addition to ours,” Cotham said. “We’re going to have a full bar and with some good specialty drinks.”
Corey Davis is the Collierville and Germantown reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Corey.Davis@commercialappeal.com or 901-293-1610.
Nashoba
Address : 4600 Merchants Park Circle, Suite 111, at Carriage Crossing in Collierville, next to Firebirds Wood Fired Grill
Hours : 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday and Tuesday
Phone : 901-630-4683
Music lineups: Visit nashoba.live for a full calendar of musical acts performing at Nashoba.
Reservations: The restaurant is currently first-come, first-serve for those patrons looking to be seated in the live music stage and dining area.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Nashoba opens in Collierville: Here's a first look at the screens, stage & brisket stack
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