Tower Investments

Restaurateur and club owner Benjamin Goldberg will open Aerial, a glass-covered meeting and events venue, on the roof of his Paradise Park Trailer Resort honky tonk diner on Lower Broadway in late September.

 

Unlike the cheeky redneck themes of Paradise Park - with its trailer park theme - the 2,000-square-foot Aerial is designed to have a sophisticated appeal.

 

"Our idea is to have a high-end, private events space," Goldberg says.

 

The success of Paradise Park, which launched in March, helped make Aerial happen sooner than expected. The 24-hour bar and diner outperformed revenue expectations by 25 percent and will exceed $2 million in revenue in 2007, Goldberg says.

 

The Aerial space on top of 411 Broadway in the old Heilig-Myers Furniture store overlooks symbols of Nashville past and present - the honky tonks of Lower Broadway such as Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, the Ryman Auditorium, the Sommet Center and the new Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

 

"As far as event space goes, it's pretty stagnant in Nashville," says Jamie Hulet, senior sales manager at The Key Event Group, an event planning company. "I can't think of anything that would go against it, except for maybe the weather. There's really a need for more unique space in Nashville, especially for groups that come back every year. They always want something new."

 

A flat rental fee will be charged and liquor, beer, wine and food can be ordered through a catering arm of the business. There will also be a full kitchen and a chef.

 

Nashville architect Manuel Zeitlin has been tapped to help design the space.

 

Goldberg envisions private events that range from Music Row CD release parties to professional sports events and wedding receptions.

 

At 28, Goldberg is one of Nashville's high-profile entrepreneurs under 30.

 

He's co-owner and founder of Bar Twenty3 and City Hall, two ventures in the Gulch that cater to young professionals and music lovers.

 

His company, Strategic Hospitality, operates Paradise Park and Aerial separately from the Gulch projects. Goldberg raises money from each of his projects from investors.

 

One of Goldberg's partners for Aerial is Tower Investments, the California based family development firm that owns the Paradise Park building and several other high-profile properties in the area.

 

Alex Marks, senior vice president of Tower Investments, says the company was initially struck by Goldberg's willingness to work long hours and come up with winning.

 

"Ben knows what people are looking," Marks says.

 

Goldberg was also able to lure his brother Max, 24, away from a public relations and consulting job in New York City, to join him at Strategic Hospitality.

 

While in NYC Max says he found himself researching clubs and restaurants zealously, without always knowing why.

 

"New York is the epicenter of night life" Max says. "It was interesting preparation for this job."

 

With his brother aboard Goldberg says it's going to be easier to tackle his next goal - opening Paradise Park diners in at least five other cities within the next five years.