Harper's, Layer Cake, what's next? Dallas-based restauranteur 'all in' on Nashville

Imran Sheikh knew he wanted to bring his business to Nashville the same day he stepped off the plane.

He's the co-founder and CEO of Milkshake Concepts, a hospitality company based in Dallas, Texas. He placed a big bet on Nashville when he signed four ten-year leases and promised to bring four different restaurants to the city. He has no regrets.

Harper's is the most recent opening in Sheikh's lineup of upscale dining concepts. He said the restaurant's opening week went off without a hitch. Doors opened Aug. 18.

"The moment of truth is the first paying customer coming through the door," Sheikh said. "From the moment they walk in to when they're greeted by their server to when food starts hitting the table or they have a sip of that cocktail, I'm trying to decipher that true emotion."

And now it's on to the next.

Milkshake Concepts, which also owns Nashville's Layer Cake, plans to open another restaurant, called The Finch, before the end of this year. Another brand is also in the works, which would complete the Music City set.

The Tennessean caught up with Sheikh to learn more about Harper's and the investment Milkshake Concepts is making in Nashville.

Note: This conversation was edited for clarity and brevity.

Tell me more about the original conversations about developing the Harper's brand in Dallas. How has that evolved to today?

We knew we wanted to have a steakhouse brand in our portfolio. But Dallas, much like Nashville, is littered with fantastic steakhouses. The idea was: How can we take the nucleus of a fantastic steak program and build around it?

This figure of Harper was born. The idea was Harper was a vibrant, well-traveled young lady who had been around the world and had experienced different cuisine. Harper's was her take on a steakhouse after coming back home from those travels.

Throughout the menu, there are touchpoints of worldly cuisine, but presented in an approachable format.

Opening in Nashville gave us the opportunity to dial into the concept even more. We updated some menu items and presented brand new uniforms. We wanted to take what we think is fantastic about Harper's as a brand and make sure she continues to evolve. The Nashville version of Harper's is the latest and greatest iteration.

What are some of the key things to look out for in the restaurant that are specific to Nashville?

First and foremost, when you walk in, you'll see a vibrant, elegant yet approachable design. The wallpaper, for example, is a custom wallpaper that we had made in Europe. We also used a local millwork company based in Nashville to do a lot of our millwork, including our tables. Taking touchpoints of design from other parts of the world and blending those with local fabricators and local vendors was really important.

There were small things. We gifted candles from a local candle maker [The Nashville Chicks Candle Co.] with our VIP boxes, and we chose one to be the restaurant's signature scent.

It's these small touches. At the end of the day, Harper's should be true to its brand but we want to pay homage to the city and where we are.

Why did you know Nashville was a good place for multiple Milkshake Concepts restaurants?

I'll answer this question by starting when I began exploring the United States.

When I started exploring the U.S. over ten years ago as a place to relocate, I had always been aware of Texas and decided I wanted to be somewhere central with a lot of growth opportunity. I stepped off the plane in Dallas and within six hours of driving around, I appreciated the town and saw the opportunity. There was something that resonated with me about Dallas, Texas and, ultimately, was the place I decided to call home.

Fast forward, as we started contemplating growth, I had a broker who said he had a building in Nashville. In my studying of various cities in and around the U.S., Nashville had been coming up more and more as a city in a growth spurt.

When we first came in 2019... As soon as we got into downtown, I started to get the same feeling I had when I first visited Dallas. William Hastings, obviously a very prominent local architect, owned the building. He was able to give me a greater sense of the booming city. It was felt that it would be sustainable growth.

We felt ready to make a big investment. We felt so good about it that now we have four signed leases in this market. We're all in.

Why was Layer Cake the right first step?

With Layer Cake, it was a different approach than we normally take. We found this wonderful building that William Hastings owned. What we originally contemplated was that one of our first ever restaurants — called Stir — would be moved to Nashville. COVID hit, and we all sat around a table wondering what was going to happen with our lives.

The question at that point was: Do we still go to Nashville? But we felt so strongly that it was a market we wanted to be involved in.

We pivoted to creating a brand that we felt would better suit the layout of the building as well as the tourism that comes through the area. We know Nashville loves to celebrate, loves a rooftop. We decided to design the brand around the building.

Anything else to add about Harper's?

There's still lots of layers to bring in. We're launching lunch that is a streamlined version of the dinner menu. We were adamant to make sure we had more approachability. So, there will be a really value-driven menu that will give you a two-course option at an approachable price. And we'll also be launching a brunch. Not totally common for a steakhouse space, but we feel like the location and the market lends itself to a fun, energetic brunch.

I told the team, in this day and age, when opening a restaurant, it truly is a marathon not a sprint. For us, we want to become a staple. We sign ten-year leases. For me, personally, being the new kid hotspot for the first year and then dying off does not signal success.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Two new Nashville eateries in works from owner of Harper's, Layer Cake