Nashville Restaurant Renovation: How VBG Rebuilt BoomBozz in Seven Months
- Adam Gleaves
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Complex site. Compressed timeline. A better-performing restaurant.
This Nashville restaurant renovation case study shows how Vision Building Group coordinated a complicated redesign, permitting, and reconstruction project for BoomBozz Craft Pizza & Taphouse in East Nashville.
VBG redesigned and permitted the project in 45 days, completed its demolition and reconstruction scope in seven months, doubled the bar area, corrected existing construction problems, and improved the restaurant’s operational flow.
Nashville Restaurant Renovation Project Details
Client: BoomBozz Craft Pizza & Taphouse
Location: East Nashville, Tennessee
Project type: Restaurant renovation and reconstruction
Redesign and permitting: 45 days
VBG demolition and reconstruction scope: Seven months
Bar area: Doubled
Original tenant buildout: 14 months
A Complex Nashville Restaurant Renovation
BoomBozz opened its East Nashville restaurant at 1003 Russell Street in October 2018.
Located in a former church within the Lockeland Springs–East End Neighborhood Conservation Zoning Overlay, the restaurant was created as a neighborhood gathering place for families and sports fans. It featured a large video wall, more than 40 additional televisions, two heated patios, and an outdoor playground.
Less than 18 months after opening, an EF3 tornado moved through East Nashville shortly after midnight on March 3, 2020. The National Weather Service recorded estimated peak winds of 165 mph along a path extending more than 60 miles. The storm intensified as it entered East Nashville, causing EF3 damage to businesses and buildings around Five Points.
BoomBozz was directly in its path.
The restaurant was largely destroyed. The general manager and his son were inside when the storm arrived but escaped without injury. He later described the reconstruction starting point as having only “one and a half walls to work with.” The damage to the restaurant was only one part of the challenge. The landlord had a pending sale of the property scheduled for the day following the tornado. The restaurant’s original 14-month buildout also contained operational layout problems and underlying construction-quality concerns that the tenant did not want repeated.
Simply recreating the former restaurant would not provide the best outcome.
Coordinating the Restaurant Reconstruction
Vision Building Group was referred to the BoomBozz owner by a previous client.
Moving the project forward required immediate coordination among numerous parties whose decisions and approvals affected the property transaction, insurance claim, design, permitting, and construction.
The project team included:
The BoomBozz ownership and operations team
The existing landlord
The incoming property owner
The insurance company and adjusters
Structural engineers
The project architect
The lender
Metro historic-review authorities
The Nashville building department
Trade contractors and suppliers
Within weeks, COVID-19 created additional insurance delays, labor constraints, material shortages, and construction complications. VBG’s role was to establish a realistic path forward while keeping the project’s structural, operational, regulatory, and financial requirements aligned.
Fast-Track Restaurant Design and Permitting
Vision Building Group advanced structural evaluation, insurance documentation, budgeting, design coordination, historic review, and permitting concurrently.
That approach allowed the Nashville restaurant renovation to be redesigned and permitted in just 45 days.
The goal was not to reconstruct the former layout exactly as it had been. VBG worked with the tenant and design team to understand how the original space performed and where it created unnecessary operational friction.
The redesigned restaurant:
Doubled the size of the bar
Improved customer circulation
Improved employee workflow
Corrected underlying construction deficiencies
Expanded the patio
Better supported the restaurant’s family and game-day business model
The project became an opportunity to produce a more functional restaurant rather than simply reproduce the previous space.
Nashville Restaurant Renovation Results
Once external insurance and pandemic-related holds were cleared, Vision Building Group completed its demolition and reconstruction scope in seven months.
That was half the time required for the original 14-month tenant buildout.
The full calendar period before reopening was longer because of insurance holds, COVID-related delays, and material shortages. BoomBozz reopened to the public on April 6, 2021.
The property was successfully transferred to its new owner, and the tenant returned to a restaurant that was more functional than the one it replaced.
The completed project delivered:
A bar twice the original size
Better customer and employee circulation
Improved restaurant workflow
Corrected construction conditions
Expanded outdoor space
A completed property transaction
A restaurant positioned for continued operation
Today, BoomBozz continues to operate at 1003 Russell Street in East Nashville.
What This Restaurant Renovation Case Study Demonstrates
The value of this project extended beyond repairing and reconstructing a damaged building.
Vision Building Group coordinated a complicated group of stakeholders, established a permitted plan in 45 days, reduced the active construction duration, and produced a restaurant designed around the needs of the business.
Successful restaurant construction should do more than create an attractive interior. It should improve workflow, support employees, strengthen the customer experience, and protect the owner’s investment. That is what VBG delivered for BoomBozz.
Nashville Restaurant Renovation FAQs
How long did the BoomBozz restaurant renovation take?
Vision Building Group completed its demolition and reconstruction scope in seven months. The full calendar period before public reopening was longer because of insurance, pandemic, and material-supply delays.
How quickly was the restaurant redesigned and permitted?
VBG coordinated the redesign and permitting process in 45 days while working with the tenant, landlord, property buyer, insurer, lender, engineers, architect, historic-review authorities, and Nashville building department.
What improvements were made to the BoomBozz restaurant?
The redesign doubled the bar area, improved customer and employee circulation, corrected underlying construction deficiencies, expanded the patio, and created a more efficient operational layout.
Does VBG complete restaurant renovations in Nashville?
Yes. Vision Building Group provides restaurant renovation, tenant improvement, preconstruction, budgeting, design-assist, permitting coordination, and commercial construction services throughout Nashville and Middle Tennessee.
Planning a Nashville Restaurant Renovation?
Vision Building Group helps restaurant owners, franchise operators, tenants, landlords, and developers evaluate existing spaces, establish realistic budgets, coordinate design and permitting, and complete restaurant renovations built around business performance.
