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Louisiana native Beau Gaultier studied Nashville's restaurant and bar scene over the last six years since moving to the city.

He started at Pinewood Social on Peabody Street, known for its industrial aesthetic, celebrity sightings and entertainment options ranging from a bowling alley to dipping pools. Then, in 2022 he became a partner in what was Nashville's smallest cocktail bar, the 300-square-foot Bay 6 in East Nashville.

Across both locations, he honed in on everything that makes a bar beloved -- from great regulars to tasty drinks and a warm, buzzy energy that's hard to replicate.

Now, Gaultier and his partners Connor Bloem and Daniel Gorman are taking everything they've learned from their combined decades of hospitality experience and pouring it into a pale turquoise, shingle-style building on Louise Avenue, the one that used to be Cafe Coco.

Opening in early 2025, the building will house two concepts. In the front will be Verna, an all-day cafe serving coffee, cocktails and a menu filled with both Cajun comfort food and Japanese influences. Around back will be Connie's Upscale Dive, a tongue-in-cheek take on a "fake dive bar."

"We have this idea of what Verna will be, but the day we open, every single person who walks in here is going to tell us what they want it to be," Gaultier said. "If you don't walk into this opening process with an ego, you can listen to them and kind of create this space that people actually want, as opposed to forcing your will."

The nostalgia battle with Cafe Coco

Building a community-driven business has been integral to the venture for Gaultier and his business partners. Some inspiration for that came from Cafe Coco, the former inhabitant of the Louise Avenue building.

For 25 years, it was a 24-hour gathering spot for live music and drinks at night, early morning breakfasts and afternoon coffee. When owner Chuck Cinelli announced its closure in 2020, he recalled the married couples who first met there, support groups who would flock there after meetings and stragglers who would wander in at odd hours knowing they could find company there.

The cafe briefly reopened under new ownership but closed again in 2023.

"We can't just reopen Cafe Coco. People have, actually, and people didn't like it," Gaultier said. "You can't really try to be what it was whenever it was originally here because, if you're doing that, then you're also battling with people's nostalgia, which is an impossible standard to live up to."

Designing the space for conversation

While Verna and Connie's won't be open 24/7, Gaultier said they will be destinations for interesting conversation and meeting new people, something that he thinks both Cafe Coco and Bay 6 did well.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Gaultier said he's noticed people being less willing to socialize with strangers, and surveys from both Newsweek and Forbes agree. But the Verna team wants to incorporate elements in the space to encourage patrons to interact with one another.

One key to that, Gaultier said, is density of people without letting the space feel too stuffy.

"Something that we both really want to accomplish going forward is creating an environment where both our clientele and our employees are sharing in a mutual love for the space and the experience. Bay 6, being the tiny, tiny little bar that it was, ended up drawing a pretty big local following," Bloem said. "It comes from allowing them to take as much ownership of the space in terms of comfort as we do."

For example, a lot of Gaultier and Bloem's regular customers from Bay 6 have already brought them gifts of knick-knacks, art and photographs that decorate the interior of Verna and Connie's.

They said a lot of renovations were required on the inside, and Gaultier and Bloem have done much of the work themselves, from tiling to shelving and painting.

The end of Bay 6 and bringing Verna Hospitality together

All three partners in Verna Hospitality met for the first time at Bay 6, the recently shuttered, tiny cocktail bar in East Nashville's food hall The Wash. Gaultier was the operating partner and beverage director, Bloem worked as a bartender and Gorman, a local chef, became a regular.

The trio started Verna Hospitality in 2023 with plans to be consultants on restaurants and hospitality management around town. The idea to open Verna and Connie's grew from there.

In fact, it was already in process when Bay 6 closed its doors earlier this year. Gaultier said after a disagreement among Bay 6 partners, they decided to cut ties. Subsequently, the bar closed.

Another new concept will soon take over the old Bay 6, and Gaultier said he's happily consulting on it.