Plaza Mariachi offers family fun from cultures around the world – Tennessean
Parents and grandparents seem to always be looking for an affordable place where active kiddos can release some energy, be entertained and learn a few things —especially on a cold or rainy day, when going to the park or playing in the yard are out of the question.
Welcome to Plaza Mariachi, the multi-cultural entertainment mall and food hall that entrepreneurial couple Mark and Diane Janbakhsh have created inside an abandoned Kroger shopping center on Nolensville Road.
The Latin-focused but increasingly diverse entertainment at Plaza Mariachi goes on day and night, with live music, preschooler story times, belly dancers, acrobatic performances, game nights, dance parties, ethnic restaurants and shopping.
“We want to have cool events outside Hispanic ones,” Mark Janbakhsh said. “Cultural entertainment is a huge product, and it is something that doesn’t get appreciated” often enough.
“Here we can make it part of a regular offering instead of a once a year event.”
New Kid’s Saturdays
Plaza Mariachi has been offering multicultural entertainment for almost three years, including a Wednesday morning bilingual story time. It recently added a free weekly Kid’s Saturday that takes place 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with a bilingual story time, art, music, dancing, face painting and more for preschoolers through early elementary ages.
Not only do you get a toe-tapping, Spanish/English song and story-filled Saturday morning for the children, but the hall has seating, food and entertainment the grown-ups can enjoy, too.
The Saturday morning family event, started in late January, features either children’s entertainer Rachel Rodriquez and her wonderfully interactive “Songs for Little Amigos” music and movement program, or Plaza Mariachi founder Diane Janbakhsh, whose English/Spanish story time comes to life with a dance focus.
Every Saturday is different, one week with children invited to play drums, another offering a special dance lesson, Nashville Public Library’s traveling puppet show, jugglers or a musical petting zoo. Most weeks feature visits by popular characters like Mickey and Minnie Mouse, the Lion King or Ninja Turtles.
“It’s as much fun for adults as it is for my children … well almost,” said Mary Elizabeth Davis, after she and her husband took their two- and five-year-old sons on a recent Saturday morning outing.
“The boys love it. Fantastic authentic food, live music, dancing, clean restrooms, plenty of room for the children to run around and get the wiggles out,” she said.
Davis added “don’t tell too many people about it because then it will not longer be our hidden gem.”
Another part of the Plaza that little ones enjoy is Tito’s, which has a free indoor playground and a pay-as-you-go arcade with games and prizes for the whole family.
Entertainment for all ages
“We have a really good creative team,” said Mark Janbakhsh. “That’s our secret sauce.”
Plaza Mariachi’s calendar is jam packed with all age culturally interesting entertainment throughout the week.
There is lunchtime live music most days, with everything from dulcimer to violin to mariachi to classical guitar and Latin jazz, and evenings are filled with everything from music to Mexican games (“Noches Mexicanas”), karaoke, Salsa lessons, belly dancers, concerts and dance parties.
On the weekend, patrons can enjoy performances, such as the high energy acrobatic Beyond Wings Circus and Ballet Folklorico Sol de México.
You can also count on Mariachi Sol Azteca playing music from 1-4 p.m. on Sundays.
The colorful facility, which includes high-tech lighting and sound and an LED dancing robot that the kids adore, features a handful of counter-service restaurants that offer everything from $2.50 tacos to $24 Argentine steaks and kid-friendly chicken tenders and fries. I say go for the tacos, which are a real meal deal.
Most all of the entertainment is family friendly, except for Friday and Saturday nights when the scene changes about 10:30 p.m. to an adult-only venue with varying entertainment on Fridays until 1 a.m. and a Saturday Latin dance club “Bailamos” party that goes on until 2:30 a.m.
Plaza also has some ticketed events including Mexican wrestling, boxing and concerts. There is a full schedule on the Plaza Mariachi website.
A diverse cultural experience
Mark Janbakhsh was born in Iran, and Diane Janbakhsh is Hispanic, but they both grew up in Nashville and want the Plaza to be about more than just Hispanic cultures.
They are moving in that direction with more diverse programs, such as the Chinese New Year festival and a Moscow dance group last week, and this Saturday’s African Roots program will celebrate Black History Month with music (including Sankofa) and dance from the various cultures that descended from Africa.
“We want to create a fun environment where we could offer cultural entertainment,” Mark Janbakhsh said.
He hopes to take his Plaza Mariachi venue idea to other cities. As malls nationally are being shuttered and sometimes reinvented with entertainment offerings, he thinks his concept could be the answer.
“From the beginning, coming to Plaza Mariachi has been like taking a tour of Hispanic culture without leaving Nashville. But now we are looking at other cultures, too,” Diane Janbakhsh said.
Efforts are underway to partner with the Nashville Public Library, Country Music Hall of Fame, schools and other organizations and to seek grants to fund more programs and add more diversity.
“We want it to be a culturally interesting place,” she said, explaining that she and her husband like to think of it as a sort of community outreach.
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About Plaza Mariachi
The Janbakhshs bought the Kroger center as an investment in 2013, and came up with the Plaza Mariachi business model as a way to offer a multicultural experience that would blend culture, art, music, entertainment, food, services and retail in one location.
They are also the founders of the Hispanic Family Foundation, a nonprofit serving the Hispanic community in Middle Tennessee by offering educational and support services to the immigrant community. HFF is headquartered at Plaza Mariachi and partners with some of their community events and children’s activities.
With 70,000 square feet of interior space, Plaza Mariachi is designed like a small Mexican town. There is an open food hall with restaurants and two stages for performances, surrounded by Latin-inspired street-scape hallways that conjure up a mercado vibe. Other businesses include an insurance agency, two Spanish format radio stations and colorful shops selling apparel, candy, groceries and bamboo plants.
The Janbakhshs own some of the restaurants and businesses in the Plaza, including Tito’s and Taqueria Hidalgo. They also have more than 40 traditional tenants who lease space on the perimeters of the Plaza.
The owners said their favorite description of the Plaza from a customer was that it is “like the Mexico section of Epcot.”
I say, “muy bueno!”
If you go
Plaza Mariachi is at 3955 Nolensville Pike. It is open Tuesday and Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. It opens at 10:30 a.m.Thursday through Sunday and closes late depending on the entertainment.
Details: plazamariachi.com or 615-373-9292
Plaza Mariachi food options
Mazfresco Market is a full-service grocery store featuring a variety of Latin products.
Kouzina Cafe features Mediterranean cuisine with items including gyros, wraps, subs, and Baklava, as well as kid friendly choices like burgers, fries and chicken fingers.
Paletas Tocumbo offers homemade ice cream, paletas and Mexican street snacks.
Taqueria Hidalgo has authentic Mexican tacos, burritos and quesadillas, as well as a kids menu.
Tres Gauchos Grill goes for the higher end with Argentine style steaks, churrasco, shrimp, chicken, potatoes and wings.
Trinity, a new Venezualan coffee shop and café, is getting ready to open
Other eateries on the outside of the complex include Taj Indian Restaurant, WIN Bubble Tea (Asian tea), Chismes Cafe (Mexican food), La Michuacana (Mexican ice cream) and Panca Peru (Peruvian food.)
Reach Ms. Cheap at 615-259-8282 or mscheap@tennessean.com. Follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/mscheap, and at Tennessean.com/mscheap, and on Twitter @Ms_Cheap, and catch her every Thursday at 11 a.m. on WTVF-Channel 5’s “Talk of the Town.”
Published 6:00 AM EST Feb 14, 2020
