Two Nashville Bars Are Redefining the Cocktail Experience
Immersive Spirits: How Two Nashville Bars Are Redefining the Cocktail Experience Through Design
In the shifting landscape of cocktail culture, the drink itself is no longer the destination—it’s the vehicle. Today’s patrons seek more than flavor; they crave atmosphere, narrative, and emotional resonance. In Nashville, Alexis Soler and Michelle Pham are crafting spaces that do just that, turning bars into immersive environments where design and drink coalesce into memory.
Old Glory: Industrial Bones, Art Deco Soul
Housed in a 1920s boiler room, Old Glory is a study in architectural drama. Its towering smokestack, exposed steel, and curving concrete walls evoke the building’s industrial past, while Art Deco accents, a living green wall, and plush leather booths lend warmth and sophistication. Named one of Playboy’s Best New Bars in 2016, it remains one of Nashville’s most visually arresting venues—a layered space where texture and history collide.
The bar program is equally enduring. In a city where the food and beverage scene is constantly evolving, Old Glory has remained a local favorite for over a decade, a testament to its thoughtful execution and timeless appeal.
ELEVEN11: Intimacy in Every Detail
Soler and Pham’s newest concept, ELEVEN11, offers a radically different experience. With just 11 seats, this Vietnamese-inspired lounge is designed for intimacy and precision. Drawing from Southeast Asian design traditions, the space embraces architectural restraint—warm woods, low lighting, and tactile surfaces create a sensory counterpoint to Old Glory’s grandiosity.
ELEVEN11 isn’t just a bar—it’s a meditation on scale and emotion. Where Old Glory invites awe, ELEVEN11 invites reflection. The contrast between the two is deliberate, a dialogue in materiality and mood that underscores the duo’s design philosophy.
Design as Memory
Together, Old Glory and ELEVEN11 illustrate how space can shape not just ambiance, but memory. Soler and Pham aren’t simply designing bars—they’re crafting emotional landscapes. In a city known for its music, they’re composing in steel, velvet, concrete, and incense.
As cocktail culture continues to evolve, these two Nashville venues stand as exemplars of what’s possible when design is treated not as decoration, but as narrative. They remind us that the most memorable drinks are served in spaces that speak—not just to our taste buds, but to our sense of wonder.
