Nashville’s 6th & Peabody, the 30,000-square-foot entertainment complex at 423 6th Ave., has officially opened.

The indoor-outdoor experience in the SoBro neighborhood is a collaboration between Ole Smoky Distillery and Yee-Haw Brewing Co., featuring live music, outdoor games, moonshine and beer tastings.

Food options include Nashville’s famous Prince’s Hot Chicken and Asheville’s White Duck Taco Shop.

Nashville’s 6th & Peabody is a massive corner gathering spot with multiple buildings, providing both expansive indoor and outdoor seating areas.

“We are proud to be a part of the Nashville experience. With our location just a couple blocks off Broadway, we are excited to host our friends, neighbors and visitors from around the world,” says Joe Baker, founder of Ole Smoky Moonshine and Yee-Haw Brewing Co.

VUMC, research partners consulting on Zika virus

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have announced a partnership to fight the Zika virus.

VUMC is joining with the Dutch biopharmaceutical firm Batavia Biosciences and Nashville-based IDBiologics to bring to the clinic a highly potent Zika virus neutralizing antibody they isolated three years ago.

The mosquito-borne Zika virus is believed to cause microcephaly, unusually small heads, and other congenital malformations in children born to infected women. Currently there is no way to prevent Zika virus infection or its aftermath.

In 2016 VUMC researchers in collaboration with colleagues at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reported the isolation of a human monoclonal antibody that in a mouse model “markedly reduced” infection by the Zika virus.

Batavia has announced that it has signed a license agreement to utilize a cell line expression system developed by Horizon Discovery, a life sciences company based in Cambridge, England, for development of high-yield, antibody-expressing cell lines.

Initially Batavia will deploy the system to produce the anti-Zika antibody in collaboration with VUMC and IDBiologics, which is using a proprietary platform to discover and develop human antibodies for the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases.

Solley Equipment selling to Maxim Crane Work

Maxim Crane Work has announced the company will buy Solley Equipment & Rigging of Nashville.

Ronnie Solley, owner of the Nashville company, says the merger “will ensure that our employees, families and customers continue to enjoy the type of service, safety and commitment that they have had in the past and guarantee that our business will continue for the next 50 years and beyond.

“We know the Maxim Crane team extremely well and believe that this is a perfect combination that will allow both teams to thrive by working together toward common goals of safety, service and success.”

The combination of the two companies enhances Maxim Crane’s full-service, nationwide crane rental and lifting solutions platform and expands its operations.

With Maxim Crane’s coast-to-coast footprint, providing engineering, equipment rental, turnkey lift services, rigging and heavy haul and transportation services, Solley Crane’s team and customers will gain access to one of the largest modern fleets of full-service lifting solution equipment in the world.

Community Health completes hospital deal

Franklin’s Community Health Systems, Inc. has completed the divestures of two medical facilities in Florida.

The 193-bed Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center in Davenport, Florida, and the 160-bed Lake Wales Medical Center in Lake Wales, Florida, along with their respective assets, physician clinic operations and outpatient services have been sold to AdventHealth.

The transactions were effective Sept. 1. The hospitals included in these transactions are among the additional planned divestitures discussed on the company’s second quarter 2019 earnings call.

Review Board considers historic nominations

The Tennessee State Review Board has announced it will meet to examine proposed nominations to the National Register of Historic Places on Sept. 18.

The public is invited to the meeting at 9 a.m. at Clover Bottom Mansion, 2941 Lebanon Pike.

The board will vote on eight nominations and one multiple property documentation form from Davidson County’s Nashville Public Housing.

The nominations are:

Davidson County – Cayce Administration Building; Hamilton County – McCoy Farm; Lawrence County – Bank of Loretto; Marshall County – Presbyterian Church;

Robertson County – Frierson Chapel; Shelby County – Barksdale Mounted Police Station; Shelby County –Wooten Fallout Shelter; Washington County – Hillrise Park Historic District.

Saint Thomas hospital approved by state

Ascension Saint Thomas and Kindred Healthcare have announced that the state has granted certificate of need approval for the construction and operation of a freestanding rehabilitation hospital in Nashville.

The Saint Thomas Rehabilitation Hospital is the product of a joint venture between Ascension Saint Thomas and Kindred, a healthcare services company based in Louisville.

The rehabilitation hospital will serve nine counties and a population of 1.9 million—including more than 298,000 senior citizens.

Upon completion and pending necessary regulatory approvals, the 40-bed, state-of-the-art facility will replace the 24-bed Acute Rehab Unit now located at Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital. Saint Thomas Rehabilitation Hospital will provide additional access to post-acute care by addressing Middle Tennessee’s shortage of dedicated beds for individuals who require extended neurological and cardiovascular care following serious health events.

“Ascension Saint Thomas has always been committed to providing high-quality inpatient rehabilitation services designed to help patients with acute physical limitations progress toward independent living,” says Fahad Tahir, president and CEO, Saint Thomas Midtown and West Hospitals. “This specialized collaboration with Kindred Healthcare will improve the lives of Middle Tennesseans and enhance clinical integration across the acute care and rehabilitation treatment settings.”

Hankook Tire recognized with 2019 IDEA award

Nashville-based tire maker Hankook Tire has been selected as the finalist in the automotive and transportation category at the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) 2019, a world-class design competition.

Hankook was nominated for its concept tires “Hexonic” and “’HLS-23.”

Hexonic is a tire for fully-autonomous car sharing that provides optimized driving solutions with smart sensors. HLS-23, Hankook Tire’s future logistics transport system, guarantees sustainable logistics services through individual or assembled group operation based on the size and weight of the deliverables, traveling through road-coordinate recognition and self-charging.

Hyun Bum Cho, president and CEO, says: “We are honored to be recognized by IDEA, one of the most prestigious design awards in the world.

“The award from IDEA 2019 has enabled Hankook Tire to demonstrate its innovative design leadership to the world. We will continue our efforts to improve our cutting-edge technology and competitiveness as a global leading company.”

Brandware Group creates new Nashville office

The Brandware Group, a marketing and communications agency, has appointed an executive vice president to establish a new office in Nashville.

Daniel J. Bedore will manage the Nashville operation and will lead business development as well as key accounts.

Bedore brings 20-plus years of multi-national corporate and agency experience creating award-winning public relations, digital media and marketing campaigns for some of the world’s best-known automotive brands. Most recently he was director, Nissan Division Communications for Nissan North America. Previously he held senior communications leadership positions at Hyundai Motor America and Ford Motor Company as well as an agency role leading biofuels communications for General Motors.

Report: Tech companies want app developers

A new report from Middle Tennessee State University states app developers are the most in-demand tech workers in the region accounting for 17% of all tech job postings.

The “Software Development Middle Tennessee” report was developed by the Department of Information Systems and Analytics in MTSU’s Jones College of Business in partnership with the Nashville Technology Council.

The report examined job postings for four software development occupations: app developers, systems software developers, web developers and computer programmers.

“The study’s findings provide evidence of increased interest in software developers and tech workers in general,’’ says report author Amy Harris. “Of the 49,000-plus tech job postings targeted to Middle Tennessee over the past year, approximately one-quarter were for software development occupations.

“While there isn’t a one-to-one relationship between a job posting and an actual job, the sheer volume of job postings indicates that software development jobs are being marketed heavily in the region.”

The report also says the number of job postings grew for software development occupations, as well as for tech occupations in general, over the two-and-a-half-year timeframe included in the analysis. The volume of postings grew by 23% from 2017 to 2018. Halfway into 2019, the posting volume was already at 99% of 2018’s volume.

Naf Naf franchise plan includes Nashville

Naf Naf, a fast-casual Middle Eastern restaurant concept, is expanding its franchise program into Tennessee.

The chain now has 35 franchises.

Nick Ibrahim, of NBMM Holding LLC, signed a 10-store deal to open locations in Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga.

Prior to joining the Naf Naf franchise program, Lebanese-born Ibrahim worked as CIO of Ruby Tuesday’s.

“We are ecstatic that shortly after launching our franchise program we have quickly doubled the size of our company,” says Paul Damico, CEO of Naf Naf. “It’s incredibly important for us to continue to grow our franchising program throughout the country with strong operators so we can share our great Middle Eastern cuisine and hospitality with even more guests.”