A brightly colored mosaic mural rises up above Nolensville Pike to Casa Azafran, the colorful heart of South Nashville’s international community. Inside, nine nonprofits under the umbrella of Conexión Américas’ offer services from English lessons to daycare to accounting for the benefit of Nashville’s newcomers.
Most intriguing for food lovers is Mesa Komal, a shared commercial kitchen for Nashville’s budding food entrepreneurs. Mesa, or ‘table’ in Spanish, and Komal, ‘community’ in Kurdish, poignantly expresses the project’s mission: for people of all backgrounds to come together, learn from each other, and inspire Nashville’s next food trends through its eclectic lineup of new restaurants, brands, and food trucks.
The morning we visited, Maria Elva and her brother-in-law, Santos, were making the pork filling for their empanadas; Javeneh Hemmat was climbing a step ladder to stir garbanzo beans for her hummus; and Guenievre Milliner was assembling the Paris deLuxe (baguette, butter, Parisian ham, and French Brie), “authentically French sandwiches”. Yep, that’s France, the Middle East and Mexico all in process in one kitchen. Rosa Martha Mulanax, the Culinary Incubator Manager, looks on smiling. Rosa, with serious culinary chops of her own, is the perfect guardian of these ‘incubating’ food companies, helping with certifications, marketing, and recipe testing.
For these entrepreneurs, Mesa Komal is a godsend. Sharing kitchen space lowers barriers to entry, enabling these food start-ups to start up faster and achieve goals they once might have thought impossible. They have come from different continents with wide-ranging culinary expertise and varying goals for their businesses, yet they share the same American Dream—a dream Mesa Komal helps people realize every day.