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REAL ESTATE

Mexican restaurant Luna Llena to replace downtown brunch cafe The Perch

Unlike downtown's The Perch, Luna Llena will serve dinner when it opens in October at 300 James Robertson Parkway.

Getahn Ward
The Tennessean
  • Saturday was the last day of operations for The Perch Downtown.
  • The restaurant will occupy 2,500 square feet of space at the Court Square Building at 300 James Robertson Parkway.
  • The Perch is known for its coffee, crepes, omelettes and Belgian waffles.
  • The downtown location opened in April 2015.
Luna Llena. The Mexican taqueria will replace the brunch cafe The Perch at the Court Square Building at Third Avenue North and James Robertson Parkway. Luna Llena's offerings will include breakfast burritos and eggs for breakfast, tacos at lunch and a more expansive dinner menu at night.

The downtown location of brunch cafe The Perch closed its doors Saturday and will be replaced by a Mexican taqueria early next month.

Chef Andres Barron is calling the new concept Luna Llena, which in Spanish means full moon. The restaurant will occupy 2,500 square feet of space at the Court Square Building at Third Avenue North and James Robertson Parkway. 

"It’s always been my dream to open a restaurant in Nashville serving authentic Mexican food," said Barron, the 20-year restaurant business veteran and chef at The Perch for five years. "We hope to bring a lot of life and energy downtown near the courthouse and Capitol building that we don’t feel exists right now."

Luna Llena is a venture of Barron and Advent Partners, owner of the Court Square Building. Advent, majority owner of The Perch Downtown, is still an investor in locations in Green Hills and Brentwood and at Westhaven in Franklin.

The Perch's downtown location offered breakfast and lunch, but Luna Llena also will serve dinner. The restaurant's offerings will include breakfast burritos and eggs for breakfast, tacos at lunch and a more expansive dinner menu at night.

"We also plan to make the best margaritas in Nashville ... from scratch," Barron said. "I’m grateful to Advent for giving me the chance to make this happen.”

Beyond the Court Square Building, Advent owns The Summit mixed-use development site in the Brentwood area and is developing the Southgate Station residential project in Wedgewood-Houston.

Husband-and-wife duo John Kressaty and Heather Chandler created The Perch, a cafe and creperie concept that's known for its coffee, crepes, omelettes and Belgian waffles. The downtown location opened in April 2015.

Reach Getahn Ward at gward@tennessean.com or 615-726-5968 and on Twitter @getahn.