Verna lives in a house on Louise Avenue that Nashville has been gathering in for a long time. If you came up here, you probably remember it as Café Coco. The bones are the same. The feeling isn't too different. We just changed what's on the menu.

We opened Verna because we wanted a place that could do a few things well and hold them together under one roof. In the morning, that means specialty coffee and a food menu that draws equally from Japanese comfort food and New Orleans creole tradition — two cuisines that share more DNA than people expect. Miso and gumbo. Furikake and andouille. Sticky rice and dirty rice. The combinations that sound like they shouldn't work are usually the ones that do.

In the evening, the same space shifts into something a little darker and more deliberate. The kitchen pivots to a late-night menu, the patio lights up, and the cocktail program leans into amaro and bitters — spirit-forward drinks built for people who want something with depth at the end of the day.

Through the back of the building, the Backbar operates as its own thing entirely. It's a neighborhood bar with a rum focus — looser, louder, and a little more lived-in than the front of house. Weekly events, walk-ins only, and a back patio that tends to fill up fast on weekends.

Three services, one house. We're at 210 Louise Ave in Midtown Nashville. Come find a seat.

Wanna know more? Check out our frequently asked questions page.