Midtown’s late-night crowd is on the verge of getting a new sugar fix. Insomnia Cookies is planning its first Nashville storefront at Kenect, with permit filings showing the Philadelphia-based chain working on a compact retail space at 800 19th Ave S that would bring warm cookies and delivery to the Vanderbilt corridor. An opening date has not yet been announced.
According to Nashville Post, the build-out application names Barr Architecture of Davie, Florida, as the design firm and identifies the space as the former home of a small coffee shop branded “mr*t.” The same filings show a tenant improvement is planned, which is the clearest sign so far that Insomnia is moving ahead with a Midtown bakery. The Post also notes that Brothers Bar & Grill is lining up to operate in Kenect’s ground-floor retail row.
Where It Will Sit
Kenect is a 420-unit mixed-use building at 800 19th Ave S, according to the developer’s listing for the property. The complex mixes apartments with coworking space and a substantial stretch of ground-floor retail that is marketed to food and beverage operators, a setup that matches Insomnia’s small-footprint, delivery-forward model.
That combination of residents upstairs, nearby students, and a built-in nightlife scene around Vanderbilt suggests a ready-made base of walk-in and delivery customers once the ovens fire up.
Chain Context: Growth and Ownership
Insomnia Cookies started in 2003 as a college-town delivery operation and has since grown into a national bakery chain with hundreds of locations. Verlinvest and Mistral Equity Partners acquired a majority stake in the company in 2024, according to a corporate release from Business Wire…