Lizzy Alfs

lalfs@tennessean.com

Husband and wife Clifton and Tiffany Hancock’s new Nashville restaurant is all about good food, Southern hospitality and community.

It also fills a niche in Nashville’s thriving dining scene: all your Southern favorites — such as biscuits, hot chicken and macaroni and cheese — but made completely vegan.

“It’s just what we grew up eating, which happens to be Southern food. We know a lot of people in the South, we know the staples, and we know what they love to eat,” Clifton Hancock said.

After a test run earlier this month, The Southern V “vegan shack” is slated to open in late October at 513 Fisk St. The soft opening drew unexpectedly large crowds, with kids running around and people picnicking on blankets. Now the Hancocks are just ironing out some logistical kinks over the next couple of weeks.

Visiting The Southern V this week, it was clear the business is a family affair. The Hancocks’ two daughters, 5-year-old Eden and 19-month-old Norah, ran around the yard chasing bubbles. The 600-square-foot building has a window where customers place orders and there is community-style seating in the yard.

The Hancocks’ goal is to make vegan food tasty, accessible and affordable.

“We’ve noticed a lot of the more organic, healthier options are sometimes in areas where the demographics lack diversity. For some people, that can be a little intimidating going in those areas and trying something new, so why not put it in a central area where everyone can come?” said Clifton Hancock, who grew up in Nashville and works full time as a speech therapist.

The Hancocks started exploring more plant-based foods after they discovered their daughter Eden had a dairy intolerance. Norah had intolerances to even more foods, so they decided as a family to stick to a vegan diet.

They started experimenting in the kitchen and then decided to sell vegan doughnuts and pastries at a farmers market in Antioch.

“We had a huge response our first day there from the vegan community. Then it turned into, OK, doughnuts, but what are other sweets we like to eat that are not available for vegans? That’s when we started doing the sweet potato pie, the caramel apple pie and ice cream cake,” Clifton Hancock said.

That organic growth eventually led the Hancocks to the launch of their brick-and-mortar — a big leap of faith for them, but they just view it as a huge community cookout.

Food you’ll find at The Southern V includes barbecue jackfruit sliders, loaded potatoes, vegan "chops and gravy," loaded nachos, barbecue "ribz," cornbread, green beans, mashed potatoes, potato salad, macaroni and "cheeze," waffles, pancakes, quiche, skillet potatoes, breakfast burritos, hot "chick’n" biscuits, sweet potato pie, doughnuts, cupcakes and cookies.

Rather than promoting veganism for animal rights reasons or for health, the Hancocks first try to appeal to people’s palates.

“We have to change that perspective that some people have with veganism that it’s just like grass and everything tastes like cardboard. Then at the same time, we realized it’s tough for people to go from steak and potatoes to avocado and kale. They need a transition, so that was a reason we geared toward that Southern-style menu,” Clifton Hancock said.

Along those lines, the Hancocks also hope to be inclusive and they welcome everyone to their neighborhood restaurant.

“We’re just regular people. I think sometimes people come across vegans and you already have this label and they expect you to be a certain way and act a certain way. We’re just trying to break that stereotype,” Tiffany Hancock said.

Clifton Hancock added: “We are come as you are. We don’t judge. If it leads you down that path (to veganism), then great, and if not, well now you have another option to try.”

The Southern V will likely be open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The Cliftons will post their rotating weekly menus on social media.

Reach Lizzy Alfs at 615-726-5948 and on Twitter @lizzyalfs.