Why Rooted Moved Its Longtime Nashville Home to the Trendy Gulch Neighborhood
Nashville‘s leading sneaker retailer has planted its roots in a new location.
After spending seven-plus years at its original Hermitage Avenue home, Rooted has relocated to 305 11th Avenue South. The new Rooted flagship — which spans 4,200 square feet — is dramatically larger than its former 2,600-square-foot store, which debuted in March 2017 and closed in May 2024.
Rooted’s new store is located in the Gulch, a trendy neighborhood in the city replete with boutique hotels, craft breweries and restaurants and bars.
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“We loved this location and space in the Gulch for our community and our customer,” said Rooted co-founder and chief executive officer Jaime Bacalan, noting planning for this move began in 2022. “It was an important move for us to relocate from a destination-centered location to a space that put us in the path of the consumer.”
Rooted explained the concept for the store — which was designed in collaboration with Alexandros Darsinos of Studio Yuda — was “Modern Ruins.” “The idea of Modern Ruins is our take on old Nashville meeting new Nashville,” Bacalan explained. “We exaggerated the idea of old Nashville using our design language. New meets old with clean lines, open spaces and modern materiality.”
With this concept, Rooted stated customers will experience “an inviting atmosphere that encourages exploration and discovery.”
Aside from a carefully curated selection of apparel and accessories, consumers can expect best-in-class footwear from sneaker giants including Nike, Jordan Brand, Asics, New Balance and more, as well as high-end brands Visvim and Maison Margiela and countless other beloved brands.
What’s more, the new store marks the debut of its in-store café experience, dubbed Café Rooted. Here, aside from the standard hot and cold beverages, consumers can try its signature Rooted Beer Float, which consists of root beer and two shots of espresso topped with vanilla cold foam over ice.
“We added Café Rooted to give us another touchpoint with the community. By adding a café, we are able to give the city a new experience all while adding to a new element to our brand. We’ve built a really beautiful storefront and want to encourage people to spend more time in the space with us,” Bacalan said.
Goals for the store in 2025 beyond, Bacalan explained, include connecting with Nashville and beyond more deeply via “more frequent programming to engage with the city” and brand partners.
Café Rooted is open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Retail hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
