For most of its history, the north side of Centennial Park was the side you passed through. The Parthenon, the Bandshell and the West End frontage got the attention, and Park Plaza was mostly parking and the old event shelter. That changed on Aug. 29, 2026. The park opened its first permanent full-service cafe that day, inside the restored 1963 Croquet Clubhouse, and Metro Parks and the Centennial Park Conservancy cut the ribbon on a new Event Pavilion at the same celebration. NewsChannel 5 called the day a grand opening for the park's "northside revitalization."
Put the pieces together and the park has a new center of gravity. In the Conservancy's park revitalization plan, the Park Plaza section is "our connection to North Nashville." Food, a large event space, a new vehicle entrance and a new path to the north all went to that edge.
What Was Actually Built on Park Plaza
The Conservancy lists three projects in this phase of the park's master plan, which the Conservancy and Metro first drew up in 2010:
- A new vehicle entrance along Park Plaza. It comes with a multi-modal path from 31st Avenue meant to improve walking access from the north and to link the park to the planned extension of the 440 Greenway.
- The Croquet Clubhouse, rebuilt as the Croquet Cafe. It was placed near the new entrance on purpose, so it can serve people coming from every part of the park.
- A new Event Pavilion on the east bank of Lake Watauga, built for nonprofit fundraisers, concerts, festivals, children's programs, lectures and the park's long-running Big Band Dances.
The Conservancy puts this phase at $10 million. Two earlier phases cost $21 million combined. According to Fox 17, the 6,465-square-foot pavilion is the first new structure in the park since 1963. It seats more than 400 people for a banquet and holds 1,250 standing. It replaces the old event shelter, and the Conservancy says the shelter's site will become green space.
Construction started in 2025. Metro's August 2025 parking lot closure notice expected the work to run through fall 2026, and the cafe and pavilion opened at the end of summer.
A Cafe That Pays the Park Back
Many city parks bring in food through a concession contract with an outside vendor. The Croquet Cafe works differently. The Centennial Park Conservancy created it, funded it with Metro Parks and runs it as a nonprofit cafe, so every purchase goes back to the park. The Conservancy's revitalization plan describes the cafe as a "sustainable new source of revenue" for the Centennial Park Beautification Fund. When you buy a latte there, you are helping pay for the park's upkeep.
The menu is Southern picnic food with a chef's touch. According to the Croquet Cafe menu, it includes:
- Cold: chicken salad croissants, pimento sandwiches, veggie and Caesar wraps, salads, grain bowls and picnic boards
- Hot: paninis, hot dogs and loaded chips
- Sweet and to drink: soft serve, sundaes, smoothies, espresso and lattes
The coffee beans come from 8th & Roast, according to Visit Nashville's July announcement. Nfocus reports that the founders of Grilled Cheeserie advised on the concept and menu.
For a weekday visit, the practical details matter most. The cafe is at 2530 Park Plaza and is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. It has indoor seating, a courtyard and restrooms. Before this, a long afternoon at the park meant leaving it to eat. Now you can get lunch, a coffee and a restroom on the same edge where you parked.
The Pavilion Is Already on the Calendar
The new building already has bookings. The Conservancy lists the United Way Season of Sharing Kick Off at the Event Pavilion on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to noon. The rest of the park's late-fall calendar is spread across the lawns and the Parthenon, so the cafe sits between most of these events.
Here is what the Centennial Park Conservancy and the Parthenon list from this week through mid-November:
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thursdays, Oct. 22 and 29, 10 a.m. | Centennial Park History Tours | The Parthenon |
| Saturdays, Oct. 24 and 31, morning | Kidsville | The Parthenon |
| Sat., Oct. 24, 10 a.m. to noon | United Way Season of Sharing Kick Off | Event Pavilion |
| Sat., Oct. 24, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. | Walk to End Lupus Now | Centennial Park |
| Tue., Oct. 27, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Centennial Stroll & Roll guided nature walk | Centennial Park |
| Fri., Oct. 30, 2 to 3 p.m. | Sketching the Marbles | The Parthenon |
| Fri., Oct. 30, evening | Night at the Museum: Halloween at the Parthenon | The Parthenon |
| Mon., Nov. 2, 6 to 7 p.m. | Book Club: The Rescue Artist, RSVP required | The Parthenon |
| Sun., Nov. 8, 7 to 9 p.m. | Soulful Sounds in Nashville | The Parthenon |
| Sat., Nov. 14, 7 to 9:30 a.m. | Walk to End Alzheimer's | Centennial Park |
The two calendars give different hours for the Halloween night. The Parthenon lists 8 p.m. to midnight, and the Conservancy lists 7 to 11 p.m., so check before you go. Two longer programs run past this window. The Parthenon's self-guided exterior architecture audio tour, offered in several languages, is listed through Dec. 31, 2026, and the Conservancy's Candlelight Concerts series runs through Feb. 12, 2027.
A Saturday like Oct. 24 shows how the new layout works. Kidsville, the United Way kickoff and the lupus walk all fall in the same morning, and the cafe opens at 10 a.m. That gives you a full morning in the park with lunch included.
The Rest of the Park Is Coming Back Too
The north side is the newest piece, but other parts of the park have also come back to life this year. On Aug. 20, NewsChannel 5 reported that the Nashville Shakespeare Festival was returning to Centennial Park for the first time since 2018. Metro's September 2026 progress report lists that return to the Bandshell alongside the cafe and pavilion opening. The Bandshell is not finished being improved, though. The Conservancy still lists "Bandshell revitalization" among the future projects it is raising money for, together with more pedestrian pathways.
That fundraising is the link to the cafe. The Conservancy wrapped up its first capital campaign in 2022 and says the revitalization work continues as it raises money for future improvements. Each sandwich and soft-serve cone sold on Park Plaza adds a little to that effort.
Where the North Edge Leads Next
The new entrance may matter more over time than the cafe. The Conservancy designed the Park Plaza entrance and the path from 31st Avenue to make it easier to walk in from the north and to connect the park to the future extension of the 440 Greenway. That connection would give neighbors to the north a direct way into the park. Until now, the main ways in faced West End.
There is no published schedule yet for the next major phase. The Metro Parks Board's April 2026 minutes say planning is underway for future picnic pavilion improvements and improvements near the Parthenon. For this fall, the north side already has coffee at 10 a.m., a lakeside pavilion with bookings and restrooms near the new entrance.
If you live within walking distance of Centennial Park, the park around you is changing, and it's reasonable to wonder how that affects what your home is worth. Mary Brown has spent more than 30 years helping Nashville-area homeowners answer that kind of question with care and local knowledge, and she would be glad to give you a clear, current picture. Request Your Home Valuation.
