People do describe us as hipster. We dont use that word to describe ourselves. But we also dont take offense at it.
The exterior of one of Frothy Monkey's locations in the greater Nashville area."Hipster" is a word sometimes used to describe Frothy Monkey, an eatery with five locations in Nashville that has its roots as a coffee house, makes a commitment to farm-to-table food and offers prosecco, a sparkling Italian wine, on tap.
"People do describe us as hipster," Frothy Monkey spokeswoman Jennifer Sheets said. "We don't use that word to describe ourselves. But we also don't take offense at it."
Frothy Monkey plans to open a 4,500-square-foot, breakfast-through-dinner restaurant this fall in the Chattanooga Choo Choo on Market Street next door to Stir, a recently opened restaurant that focuses on craft cocktails.
Frothy Monkey's interior will center around a large bar with a coffee bar on one side and the other serving wine, beer and cocktails. The chef-driven menu will include a kids' menu and brunch every day, complete with mimosas and bloody Marys.
"We really try to cater to the neighborhood so we'll figure out what we need to do at the Chattanooga location," Sheets said. "If there's a certain thing that we feel people are looking for, we'll try to do that."
The owners of the historic Choo Choo hotel approached Frothy Monkey, Sheets said, and sought to have it expand to Chattanooga - which will be its first location outside the Nashville area.
"We are extremely excited to have Frothy Monkey part of the transformation and rehabilitation of this building," Choo Choo President Adam Kinsey said in a news release. "There is no better fit, not only for our guests, but also the Southside neighborhood."
Frothy Monkey owns three full-service restaurants in the greater Nashville area, as well as a record store cafe and a bakery. In 2014, Frothy Monkey began roasting its own coffee at its roasting and training facility at the INK Building in the SoBro neighborhood of downtown Nashville.
Frothy Monkey will work with Nashville architect Mike Borgelt of Gobbell Hays Partners Inc. to rehab the Choo Choo space before a planned fall opening - depending on how long the construction work takes.
"Because it's an old building I'm hesitant to give a date," Sheets said. "But 2016 for sure, and by the fall is our goal."
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsFor Business or twitter.com/meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.