Struggling big box stores could take a page from Plaza Mariachi Music City. Nashville’s dynamic maze of Latin-infused cafes, bars, specialty shops and restaurants is the city’s epicenter for all things Hispanic, including an art gallery, hall of fame and a suite of comprehensive services for Spanish-speaking newcomers to Nashville.

In the past two decades, Nashville has become a destination for Latin American immigrants, primarily from Mexico but also from Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Placing the Plaza’s in southeast Nashville at 3955 Nolensville Pike, a former Kroger supermarket structure, was intentional as it sits where the target population has clustered over time.

The timing for such a community destination was ripe when it opened in 2017 after a three-years in development: U.S. census data shows the area’s Hispanic/Latino population grew the most between 2010 and 2022, increasing 1.2% to 10.9%.

The campus is not only an entertainment and dining hub for Music City’s Latino population, but also for Nashville’s non-Spanish-speaking population, those who love a Cubano, a bowl of seviche or a plate of crispy empanadas. The food represented at the Plaza comes from Peru, El Salvador, Argentina, Honduras and, of course, from a variety of regions in Mexico.

“We have people coming to Nashville from Mexico, of course, but also many from Central America and from some South American countries, including a lot of people from Columbia, Venezuela and from Brazil. I mean, you name it and they are here,” says Diane Janbaksh, executive director at the Hispanic Family Foundation and co-owner of Plaza Mariachi

Along the “calles” – corridors that branch off from a large dining area – one can find restaurants, certainly, but also Mexican-style clothing (Charro shirts and quinceañera dresses), baked goods and shops that sell Mexican candy, toys and jewelry.

The shops surround a dining area with a stage, so before, after or during a performance of any number of Latin-infused genres like Mariachi, Bossa Nova or Latin Fusion, guests can wander and shop, cocktail in hand. Two bars, Z Bar and Agave serve Latin-inspired cocktails such as the Paloma (Mexico) or the Cuban mojito. Thursday is a wild DJ-led Salsa night with music and dance lessons.

“I kept telling the architect, ‘I want people to feel like they traveled to Mexico. I want them to feel like they have a passport,’” Janbaksh says. “You just come, and you are transported into someplace else. We really try to have different types of entertainment going on all throughout the week.”

Plaza Mariachi also offers the occasional hard-to-categorize act such as acrobats and stilt walkers and/or themed evenings like Bollywood night and/or any number of festivals such as the one dedicated to the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

It’s a head-spinning variety of activities and choices. Thankfully, Plaza Mariachi has a calendar that keeps up.

More than shopping, food

Families walk past stores down one of the hallways in Plaza Mariachi, which was designed to make its visitors “feel like they traveled to Mexico.”

-- Photos By Michelle Morrow |The Ledger

More immediately important for those who have just moved to the area is Plaza Mariachi’s position as a first-stop, inclusive community center. The Hispanic Family Foundation is housed within the Plaza and provides a comprehensive array of Spanish-language services, including banking, adult ESL classes, as well as a place where new residents can register their children for school.

Keeping them informed is Activa Nashville (AM 1240/FM 105.1), a Spanish-language radio station which broadcasts from the Plaza, and La Noticia, Nashville’s Spanish language newspaper (www.hispanicpaper.com) that has offices there.

Janbaksh says the community services Plaza provides align in importance with the commerce offered.

“We have after-school classes for kids and evening classes for adults. We have a diaper program; we are signing them up for most programs available to them,” she says. “We typically have our friends from the Sexual Assault Center or Family and Children Services also doing work here. We do a lot; we even marry people with civil ceremonies every Friday. I think by now it’s well over 3,000 couples that we’ve married.”

Janbaksh said making sure Plaza Mariachi is a place for the whole family was critical during the design and development phase.

“We went into the construction process with a thought that the Hispanic community is very Family oriented. So, we want to bring everyone in,” she says. “We have tons of activities that connect families. Tuesday nights are faith nights. Wednesday night is Mexican Loteria (similar to Bingo), and we have some really good prizes.”

Tito’s Playland within the Plaza has a variety of arcade-style games for teens and adults, and younger children have their own play area. Saturdays and Sundays feature an outdoor flea market with miscellaneous goods and local produce.

“It really is the simplicity of what people grow, what they raise, and that is the beauty of their food. They also make their music the way they make their dances, with love, spice and spirit. That is what Plaza Mariachi has to offer on a consistent basis,” Janbaksh says. “You can see it, smell it and hear it when you walk in there, and then you just want to keep coming back.”

Jackie Marushka, a longtime music industry publicist and founder of the firm Marushka Media, said she learned about Plaza Mariachi while on the board of Tennessee Latin American Chamber of Commerce.

“One of the things I love about it is how welcoming it is for families,” Marushka says. “It is very open and very inclusive. They even have rooms off to the side for meetings. All of that has been helpful to the community.”

Shopping is key component of Plaza Mariachi. In addition to shops and restaurants, it provides key community services such as after-school programs, banking and adult ESL classes.

-- Photos By Michelle Morrow |The Ledger

Which also is the case for Teresa Bates, who lives in the The Nations neighborhood in West Nashville but goes to Plaza Mariachi as much for the overall vibe as much as the food.

“I love Plaza Mariachi not only for its cuisine but also for its events,” Bates says. “Both give it a really immersive atmosphere that is truly enriching.”

The Plaza also holds a community baby shower once or twice a year, replete with balloons throughout the main food hall. Friday night is typically a ticketed event. Saturday the dinner shows starting around 5 p.m. Sunday is Mariachi Sunday all day.

Janbaksh goes on to say that while they aim to entertain and feed, they also want to provide a place of safety to women who may not know what to do in a new country if a domestic partner becomes abusive.

“We’ve had several cases where people don’t know where to go to escape domestic violence, and they come in here and we are able to help them.”

Diana Latorre, who moved to Nashville from Bogota, Colombia five years ago, believes Plaza Mariachi is a place that brings people together.

“Plaza Mariachi unifies cultures,” she says. “Their events and meals do that. Of a thousand cultures we are one; there are moments that take us home in a surprising way. With its food and guest artists, it really is wonderful.”