Kate Dearman
Perched on the corner of Trinity Lane and Gallatin Pike sits Elegy Coffee, a pandemic-bred coffee shop inspired by both a love for the craft and dark poeticism. With its outdoor patio and walk-up window for ordering and pick-up, Elegy is innovative, accessible, and already an East Nashville favorite.
After stepping into the bar scene with the successful Fox Bar & Cocktail Club, co-owner Andrew Cook decided to expand his horizons into Nashville’s coffee scene. Cook—who plays drums for Dan + Shay—was forced home due to the pandemic and unable to travel, giving him the perfect window of time to develop Elegy and see his vision come to fruition.
“We got started because my partners and I share a love of coffee culture and wanted to venture into that world after establishing ourselves in the bar community over the last few years,” says Cook. “I’ve worked closely with Anchorhead Coffee for many years doing design and branding work, so it was a no-brainer to team up with them as our roaster and introduce a new roaster to the market.”
Kate Dearman
Hoping to carry over some of the similar cultural attributes of Fox Bar, Cook and his team made sure that Elegy retained the refinement and attention to detail that Fox Bar strives for, while also meshing what they love so fondly about coffee culture around the country.
“I travel a lot for my other job, and my main objective in every new city is to find a local coffee shop and post up with my laptop. Similar to the inspiration behind opening the bar, I just wanted to be a part of that world and create our own version of it.”
Cook and the team that helped create Elegy made sure that every detail was cohesive and on brand with the shop’s name—including the black brick exterior, the black cups, counter, and espresso machine inside that pair against a white wall and plants hanging from the shelves behind the bar.
“The name stuck with me for a long time,” says Cook. “It means ‘a poem for the dead,’ and I liked that it had a slightly macabre interpretation, but could also still be positive, like a symbol of remembrance or a way of honoring someone or something you care about.”
Though there are a number of coffee shops (old and new) throughout East Nashville, Cook has made sure to set Elegy apart from his competitors and contemporaries.
“Obviously I’m biased but I really do think Anchorhead is the best roaster in the game, and I’m proud to serve their coffee,” says Cook. “We have a walk-up/takeaway window that was actually always in our plans—loosely inspired by one of my favorite spots in Brooklyn called Five Leaves—but turned out to be very pandemic-friendly. And I think our aesthetic really sets us apart, thanks to the beautiful work done by Aberdeen Studio, as well as the plant curation by Oasis Design.”
The menu offers a unique selection, as well. In addition to caffeinated staples including Espresso drinks and drip coffee, Elegy offers a menu of specialty drinks like the Miso Caramel Latte and Honey Bunches of Cold Brew. A visit isn’t complete without a decadent Fox Chocolate Chip Cookie. As for the location, Cook says the decision to open up shop in East Nashville was never a question.
“East Nashville has been my home for almost seven years now. I love the people here, and I love the way the residents support small businesses,” says Cook.
“Whenever we plan to open a business (of course, we’ve only done two so far, but the point remains), we look at the area and think, ‘will this bring something to the area that it’s missing?’ And in the case of both The Fox and Elegy, we believed that answer was yes. We felt a coffee shop was the perfect addition to East Hill Row, and that it would provide the missing link needed to really tie that whole block together. We just hope our neighbors and the residents of East Nashville feel the same way.”
2909A Gallatin Pike; elegycoffee.com