Our Next Party

Good afternoon, everyone.

The feds were in town early Sunday morning raiding an after-hours nightclub in Antioch called Miami. After cuffing over 100 people who were presumably bumping and grinding the night away, three men were charged with various drug-related offenses.

Rimon Salim, a naturalized citizen of the United States, received the brunt of the charges. He faces up to life in federal prison and fines reaching $10 million for maintaining a drug-involved premises and distributing controlled substances. Antuan Rhodes, a Nashville resident, and Jorge Luis, a Mexican national without legal status, both face charges for distributing controlled substances.

The owner of the club, Salim, also owns (owned?) the bar next door called Los Paisanos, which closed at 2:30 a.m. before the party moved next door to Miami, which stayed open until 7 a.m.

The two bars, sandwiched between a hair salon and a dry cleaner, had prompted over 400 calls to MNPD between 2020 and 2024 for everything from gunshot wounds to theft. Undercover officers successfully purchased cocaine and methamphetamine from the three men on multiple occasions in the course of their 18-month-long investigation which involved the FBI, the DEA, the ATF, the MNPD, the TBI, and the state highway patrol.

In the Department of Justice release announcing the arrests, they described the raid as part of the FBI’s Operation Take Back America, “a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”

All that is to say is that we finally found a new venue for our monthly Pamphleteer Bar Hours meetup. If anyone is free on Friday night, we will host it at the recently vacated Los Paisanos. I’ve cut a deal with the owner ;) Inquire within.

In other news, the White House will replace the two-century-old magnolia tree that Andrew Jackson planted with a seed from the Hermitage in honor of his wife. “This tree is in terrible condition, a very dangerous safety hazard, at the White House Entrance,” wrote Trump on Truth Social before proclaiming that the wood from the deteriorating tree would be “used for other high and noble purposes!!!”

Onward.

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🖋️ Edited by Megan Podsiedlik with assistance from Kaitlyn McDonald.

📹 LPRs In The Wings Yesterday, Councilmember Tonya Hancock explained to the Metro Transportation Committee why she planned to withdraw her resolution urging Mayor O’Connell to establish the License Plate Reader program during tonight’s council meeting. “I know that we’ve gotten tons and tons of emails from the public and I want to make sure that they know they’re being listened to,” she acknowledged. “We’re currently working, or just finished working, on some guardrails for Fusus and likely to see that legislation coming forward again so I don't want to distract from that by kind of changing the subject to another public procurement process.”

She went on to say that the LPR program has been a long time coming, and Nashvillians should expect to see legislation back on docket. Councilmember Rollin Horton wanted to take Hancock’s promise to withdraw a step further. Wary that the council would have to weigh in on the topic during tonight’s regular meeting, he motioned for an indefinite deferral instead. “In this instance we’re in an exceptionally volatile political and legal landscape, both federally and at the state level, and I think those circumstances are very fluid and I think at this time it would be premature for the counsel to consider this resolution,” warned Horton.

The committee unanimously voted in favor of the indefinite deferral, but Hancock was disappointed by the gesture. “While I realise it is not against the rules to lie on the floor, I have never lied on the floor,” she said. “If I say I’m going to withdraw, I’m going to withdraw.”

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🧬 Reclaim Your DNA On Friday, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti sent out a briefing to inform Tennesseans who have used 23andMe that they can delete their genetic testing results from the company’s database. Concerns over data privacy have plagued the company over the last few years, but their recent bankruptcy has customers panicking.

"Our genetic information is some of our most personal data, giving insight about not just us but our families,” said Skrmetti. “People trusted 23andMe with their DNA to learn more about who they are, and now the company appears poised to sell that incredibly sensitive data to unknown buyers. Any Tennessee consumer who wants to delete their data and ensure their sample is destroyed should follow the step-by-step instructions provided on our website."

The AG’s office has provided 23andMe customers with instructions on how to “download their personal data from their account, delete their account, and instruct the company to destroy their biological sample and not use it for research purposes.”

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🍰 Make A Date With Dessert A friend of mine used to be a food writer in Nashville, and I relied heavily on her influence before spending my dime on a meal in Music City. She’s since moved to Savannah, Georgia and left me stranded. The truth is, the art of the food review is a dying one. It’s given way to influencers and paid promotion—we’re lucky to have H.D. Miller keeping it alive. That said, I may have stumbled upon two of the best desserts in Nashville over the weekend.

Sarabhas Creamery: I was introduced to this homemade Indian ice cream shop by the Hollyfields, who were in Nashville for Jerod’s film lecture at the Parthenon for their educational series on the muses. Located near Vanderbilt campus, Sarabhas offers a mix of unique and traditional flavors. I strongly recommend trying a scoop of their homemade kesar (saffron) ice cream. They also sell pints—a dangerous prospect for my waistline.

Hawkers: Located in East Nashville, this restaurant is known for its Asian street food. I recently tried something off the dessert menu, and I’ve already gone back for seconds. They serve an ice cream dish called the Chili Vanilli, which combines spicy and sweet. A few scoops of vanilla ice cream are served on a warm roti (a pastry that’s almost like a sweet, chewy, flaky croissant) topped with Sichuan chili crisp, sesame peanut sauce, crushed peanuts, and a cherry.

DEVELOPMENT

Via Now Next 550,000 SF North Cap Project Announce April Groundbreaking In Nashville (More Info)

April start eyed for downtown mixed-use project (Post)
Status unclear on long-planned Midtown project (Post)
Veteran local investor buys on White Bridge Pike (Post)

✹ BOURBON, NEAT

By Walker Percy from Vol. II, Number 1, Fall 2001 issue of the Claremont Review of Books

This is not written by a connoisseur of bourbon. Ninety-nine percent of bourbon drinkers know more about bourbon than I do. It is about the aesthetic of bourbon drinking in general and in particular of knocking it back neat.

I can hardly tell one bourbon from another, unless the other is very bad. Some bad bourbons are more memorable than good ones. For example, I can recall being broke with some friends in Tennessee and deciding to have a party and being able to afford only two-fifths of a $1.75 bourbon called Two Natural, whose label showed dice coming up 5 and 2. Its taste was memorable. The psychological effect was also notable. After knocking back two or three shots over a period of half an hour, the three male drinkers looked at each other and said in a single voice: “Where are the women?”

I have not been able to locate this remarkable bourbon since.

✹ THIS WEEK IN STREAMING (April 1st)

Our recommendations to counteract the endless scrolling.

Holland (Prime) Despite scattershot reviews, this largely Nashville shot Nicole Kidman neo-noir about a smalltown Michigan teacher who suspects her husband is having an affair is an unhinged trip that never quite veers into American Beauty’s urbanite contempt for the rest of us. With assists from Gael Garcia Bernal and Matthew Macfayden, this would have been a heck of a weekend at the art theater circa 2006. At least those who worked on the production got a Kidman-hosted hometown premiere at The Belcourt last Tuesday.

The Dick Van Dyke Show (Peacock) A half-century before 30 Rock, Carl Reiner’s sitcom about a writer for a fussy TV host brought meta to broadcast audiences. Even if they went on to bigger things, Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore have our vote as the ultimate primetime couple—ottoman and all.

School of Rock (Paramount+) Minecraft’s release this weekend finds Jack Black anchoring another middling family blockbuster franchise. But there was a time when he could cater to the kids and stick it to the man. Relive Black as a slacker local rocker who finds his true purpose as a fraudulent substitute teacher at a snooty private school in one of the early aughts’ greatest.