November 3, 2025
Franklin’s food scene is growing. And it’s turning the heads of notable hospitality groups and local players alike.
This year, Nashville’s neighbor has welcomed eateries from an Australian-inspired café to an European rotisserie.
Still on the way are expansions of favorites like Char and Slim & Husky’s and new concepts like SOS Counter. While plans aren’t in place yet, Franklin is also on the radar of hospitality groups like Heirloom Hospitality and restaurateurs like Ford Fry.
The Business Journal rounded up five new Franklin restaurants that have opened in 2025, in no particular order.
Perenn Franklin
A European rotisserie, bakery and restaurant opened in downtown Franklin in late May.
Located in the former Americana Taphouse space at 94 E Main St., Perenn is owned by chefs Aubrey and Tyler O’Laskey, who relocated from Nevada to Thompson Station.
Breakfast items include lemon ricotta pancakes, toasts, Turkish eggs, soft scrambled eggs and of course, pastries. Lunch offerings range from garlic confit grilled cheese to a rotisserie chicken, steak frites and big salads like the salmon nicoise.
A full coffee menu with house-made syrups is available as well as fresh-squeezed orange juice and tea. Sourdough selections rotate.
It is open daily from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Reservations are available on Resy.
“One of the things we talk about with the ethos and philosophy of our business is, you hear the word ‘sustainability’ used a lot. We really strive for sustainability of people, and we can’t create those spaces for our patrons and customers if the people behind it and serving them aren’t being take care of. That’s a huge thing for us,” Aubrey said. “We coined our group as Transparent Hospitality to hold us to it. We’ve been transparent about the fact that we’re not perfect, we’re always willing, we’re always trying and growing, but we are dedicated to creating a sustainable work environment in this industry.”
The O’Laskeys opened a Perenn in Oak Hill this year and own several in Nevada.
Flower Child
Phoenix restaurateur Sam Fox opened his first Williamson County restaurant in June.
Flower Child sits in 3,703 square feet at 1566 W. McEwen Dr., Ste. 150.
“The Nashville area has been such a welcoming community for our restaurants, including our newly opened The Henry, and we can’t wait to introduce Flower Child, one of our most popular culinary destinations,” Fox said in the release. “We have been looking for the right location to open our first restaurant in Franklin for quite some time and are thrilled to have found the perfect spot for Flower Child.”
The fast-casual, clean-eating concept offers customizable bowls, salads, wraps and more. Highlights include the “mother earth bowl” with ancient grains, sweet potato, portobello mushroom, avocado, cucumber, broccoli pesto, charred onion, leafy greens, red pepper miso vinaigrette and hemp seed, and the “chicken enchiladas” with guajillo chile, smoked gouda, poblano cream, organic black bean, roasted corn and avocado.
Flower Child serves wine, beer and kombucha.
The restaurant is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fox’s growing Nashville-area portfolio includes The Twelve Thirty Club, The Henry, Pushing Daisies, Doughbird and Blanco Cocina + Cantina.
Slice House Pizza
A famous San Francisco-founded pizza joint now calls downtown Franklin home.
Slice House by Tony Gemignani opened at 98E Main St. in April.
“The opening of Slice House Franklin marks a momentous milestone for our young pizza franchise as the furthest east location by over 1,650 miles,” Gemignani said in a news release. “It is with great pride that we get to introduce our artisan pizzas and crafted fast-casual concept to the South and specifically, the state of Tennessee, which has such an iconic food culture.”
Slice House offers several different styles of pizza available by slice or whole pie: New York, Sicilian, grandma and Detroit. Wines, beers and non-alcoholic options are offered.
Food network regular Gemignani opened the first location in San Francisco and is now up to 19.
Slice House Franklin is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Little Hats Italian Market
A Germantown staple made its Franklin debut this April.
Little Hats Italian Market opened at 980 Meridian Blvd., marking the Fresh Hospitality brand’s second location following its Germantown outpost. A third will open in Hillsboro Village soon.
“Y’all, this new Little Hats Italian Market at Meridian Cool Springs is just a dream come true,” the restaurant wrote on Instagram.
At Little Hats, sandwiches steal the show with opetion like the mortadella muffuletta, chicken parmesan and spicy Italian, but market items from dried pastas to sauces and seasonings are also available.
Little Hats Italian Market was founded by Andrew Dodd and Chris Grissom in 2021.
The Franklin location is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Two Hands
A popular Australian inspired all day café opened in The Factory at Franklin in January.
Two Hands is located in Suite 1302 A of the historic building, following its Nashville debut in the Gulch.
Founded by Henry Roberts in New York City in 2014, Two Hands focuses on a nutritious, locally sourced menu.
“Nashville and this city have created so many core memories for us as a family, and now we’re excited to do the same for locals and visitors,” Roberts said in a previous release.
Brunch offerings include lemon poppyseed waffles, steak and eggs, breakfast burritos, acai bowls or miso caramel brownies. Lunch is hearty meals like a tamari mushroom soba noodle bowl, wagyu double smash patty burger and salads. For dinner, in addition to bowls and shareables, guests can enjoy mains like pesto cavatelli, tandoori schnitzel or steak au poivre.
It’s open Monday to Sunday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and reservations are available through Resy.
This article was originally published in the Nashville Business Journal.
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