Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Brussel sprout tacos with lime crema, pickled red onions, and toasted almonds, as served at 58hundred
Courtesy of 58hundred
The enclosed back patio at 58hundred
Five years after opening at 5800 Southwest, in the Southwest Garden neighborhood, 58hundred—from the owners of The Block and Cleaver & Cocktail—has closed.
“The business was doing OK, but the lease was up, and we had several things to think about going forward," says co-owner Marc Del Pietro. "Labor costs have gone up, food costs have gone up, and weeknight sales have gone down since the pandemic. Now, if any of those factors were to reverse, things might be different, but I don’t see that happening. So we thought it was time to walk away.” The restaurant closed at the end of January.
Courtesy of 58hundred
Pork chop with house smoked pork belly, cheddar corn bread, and local heirloom tomatoes and summer vegetables at 58hundred
In 2018, Del Pietro and his wife, Amy, alongside his sister Lea and brother-in-law/chef Brian Doherty, transformed the former Lou C's Bar & Grill space into a novel concept: an affordably priced, chef-inspired restaurant that offered something for both carnivores and herbivores. Nashville pimiento cheese toast, Brussel sprout tacos, and a quinoa bowl shared menu space with a smashburger, bacon wrapped meatloaf, and fried cod tacos.
Initially, no item was more than $20 in the welcoming neighborhood restaurant. “We never really did raise prices much there," Del Pietro says, "although we should have.”
Yet today, Del Pietro sees opportunity elsewhere. Some of 58hundred’s former staff will help the lodge-themed Cleaver & Cocktail—whose tagline is "dry-aged steaks and ardent spirits"—open for lunch service soon, he says. “The plan is to become stronger," he says, "by consolidating forces."
