East Nashville August Events Beyond Five Points

If you were anywhere near Five Points this past Friday and Saturday, you already know how it went. Five Points closed to cars, someone's dog wore a tomato costume it clearly did not consent to, and by noon the sidewalk in front of the old bank building was packed three deep for the parade. The festival remains a major August draw. Several of this summer's new food and drink openings are farther up Gallatin Avenue.

That contrast is worth noting now that the festival has ended. Tomato Art Fest remains rooted in the historic core, while several restaurants and shops that opened this year are located elsewhere in East Nashville.

Tomato Art Fest at Five Points

Tomato Art Fest came back to Five Points on August 7 and 8 for its 23rd year, and it was still free. Local sources put attendance in the tens of thousands over the two days, with one travel guide estimating the crowd topped 60,000 across both days, a figure worth reading as a range rather than gospel, but the scale checks out against anyone who's tried to find parking near Woodland Street that weekend. The festival ran on the same formula it always has: a costumed parade Saturday, a haiku contest, and a wall of tomato-themed art from local painters and makers. This year's Friday mainstage set went to Girl Tones, who played Five Points just weeks after their Bonnaroo debut.

None of that is new information if you've been to the festival before. Tomato Art Fest remains closely tied to East Nashville's historic Main Street and Five Points footprint. Several recent openings, meanwhile, are farther north and east.

Where this summer's openings are located

Look at what's actually opened in East Nashville since May, and the map tells a different story than the festival does.

Hattie B's is the clearest signal. The chain picked Gallatin Avenue for its 18th location and its largest dining room to date, in a former laundromat surrounded by residential blocks rather than the bar-and-restaurant density of Main Street. Co-founder Nick Bishop Jr. told the Nashville Scene the company had circled East Nashville for years but wanted to do it differently this time, saying they wanted to do it "in a way like we never have."

Cone-cept landed in the Eastwood Village Shops rather than downtown Five Points. The Hangout Cafe, a family-friendly spot with a backyard playground, chalkboard wall, sand play area, and a fenced dog run, opened on Gallatin, not Main. Benji's Bagels expanded to a second East Nashville location.

Business growth across East Nashville

The Nashville Post reported on what happened to Crazy Gnome Brewery. The brewery opened on Main Street in August 2020, in a small building behind Main Street Liquor Market, and built a loyal following over five years. By 2025, Crazy Gnome had relocated to a larger site at 1005 W. Kirkland Ave. in Inglewood, a move ownership had been planning since 2023. The old Main Street spot didn't sit empty. Stoke Haus, a smaller barbecue-and-beer concept from two Donelson brewery veterans, moved in with a food-truck model.

The examples show businesses occupying spaces of different sizes across the area. Main Street and Five Points have small, walkable concepts, while Gallatin Avenue and Inglewood also have larger sites and parking.

The first eight days of August, mapped out

Looking back, the proof that East Nashville's calendar is more crowded than its festival reputation suggests is right there in the first week and a half of the month.

• August 1: East Nashville Beer Works kicked off Augustfest X, its anniversary party, with t-shirt printing, live music, a Beer Olympics, and five new beer releases.
• August 6 to 7: "East Nashville Facebook Page: The Musical," the now-annual stage tribute to the neighborhood's most-argued-about online group, played Eastside Bowl, which sits just up Gallatin Pike in Madison rather than inside East Nashville proper.
• August 7 to 8: Tomato Art Fest took over Five Points.

Three separate, unrelated events landed inside a single eight-day stretch, all pulling from the same pool of East Nashville regulars. That's not a coincidence born of festival planning. It's what happens when a neighborhood has enough going on that its calendar starts to overlap on its own.

The festival and recent openings

Tomato Art Fest remains a major event in Five Points, and the neighborhood's identity is still tied to that stretch of Woodland and Main. Recent openings featured here include locations on Gallatin Avenue and at Eastwood Village Shops.

Those locations are worth keeping in mind before next August, when there will likely be another round of openings you'll want to find before everyone else does.

For more of what's actually changing on the ground in East Nashville and across Greater Nashville, Jessica Cassalia at NavigatingNashville keeps a close eye on the neighborhoods she covers, well beyond what shows up on a for-sale sign. If you're curious what your own East Nashville home is worth in this market, reach out any time to request a free home valuation.