Nashville's Global Culture

On any given day, a half-dozen languages are calling out recipes inside the kitchen of Mesa Komal, where cooks fold empanadas, mix salads and stir vats of hot sauce. Step inside the gleaming 1,656-square-foot workspace on Nolensville Road to find any of the 22 chef-entrepreneurs cleaning, chopping, frying, baking, chilling and packing everything from tamales and pasta to chai and baguettes. Or drive from Fairview to Murfreesboro to Lebanon to explore the alumni roster of approximately 20 functioning cafés, restaurants, food trucks, manufacturers and caterers that got their start in Mesa Komal.

“It’s an incredible community,” says Marcio Florez, whose food truck The Inka Trailer grew out of Mesa Komal and recently spun off Limo Peruvian Eatery in East Nashville. Florez describes a bustling space where as many as four different businesses—with 20 to 30 people altogether—can work side by side at the same time. As diverse as the recipes are, so are the vocabularies which, in addition to English, represent Arabic, Farsi, Tagalog, Lao and French, among multiple dialects from Africa and Spanish from South and Central America. “We talk to each other and we laugh. We have fun like good friends,” Florez says. “We just help each other all the time.”

Since its founding in 2013 as a program of Conexión Américas, Mesa Komal has been both a laboratory and a launchpad for hundreds of small businesses, including many immigrant-owned enterprises. Count among the success stories Javaneh “Java” Hemmat, who now serves as business development manager for Mesa Komal. Born in the United Arab Emirates, Hemmat came to college in the U.S. and stayed after graduation. Homesick for recipes of the Middle East, she grew her own food-based company, Hummus Chick, in Mesa Komal and now distributes her spreads through Whole Foods, Turnip Truck and Produce Place.

Food businesses are about more than just good food. So, Mesa Komal helps entrepreneurs with non-culinary challenges related to start-ups. Such elements of an enterprise can include business licensing, banking, immigration paperwork and food truck parking. “Those resources were beyond the norm of just finding an affordable commissary kitchen,” says Nadine Moore, founder of the Birria Babe food truck and restaurant. “Some perks included information about local grants, insight from other members and more.”

Mesa Komal and Conexión Américas are all about establishing relationships to create opportunities. For example, in a partnership with Belcourt Theater, the concession stand has thought outside the popcorn box to showcase Mesa Komal snacks, such as fried plantains, hummus, pita and cheese crisps. Likewise, King Tut’s Egyptian Eatery owner Ragab Rashwan credits Mesa Komal with creating business opportunities, such as providing emergency meals through World Central Kitchen.

In 2022, Conexión Américas co-founder and Belmont University professor Dr. José González helped forge a partnership between Mesa Komal and Belmont Cafe, bringing Mesa Komal clients in to run the restaurant concession for a school year. The first year of the partnership, longtime Mesa Komal caterer Karla Ruiz launched her Viva la Vida restaurant with tacos, salads, chips, dips and desserts.

The second school year of the café, 615Chutney owner Niroop Prabhakar filled the space with Indian street food concept Kallooriville, named for the Tamil word for “college.” For school year 2024–25, Sausfries food truck founder Camilo Patino will introduce his new Latin street food concept, Nativo.

Mesa Komal takes its name from Spanish and Kurdish words meaning “table” and “community,” and the spirit of collaboration infuses the kitchen experience. “The community atmosphere—being around other people, going through their struggles with them and brainstorming—is just fun,” says Chai Wallah founder and local public radio journalist Tasha A.F. Lemley, who recalls many moments in which Mesa Komal colleagues helped her untangle challenges related to the manufacturing and bottling of her Indian-inspired beverage.

Meanwhile, collaboration between early Mesa Komal–based food trucks Music City Pies and Slow Hand Coffee ultimately led to Leon’s Famous Deli in Mt. Juliet and upcoming projects Juniper restaurant and Olivia Cocktail & Oyster Bar in Lebanon.

Connectivity and collaboration—among individuals, businesses and cultures—are at the heart of Mesa Komal. “When we gather around a table and enjoy meals that are made with love and intention, we tell stories, exchange ideas and forge communities,” Hemmat says.

“With all the cuisines from around the world that we’ve brought to Nashville, Mesa Komal has become world peace on a plate.”

Mesa Komal

Casa Azafrán Community Center

2195 Nolensville Pk.