All'Antico Vinaio opened its first shop in Florence in 1991 and has been making the same sandwich ever since: schiacciata bread — flat, olive oil-rich, with a crust that holds together — filled with imported Italian cured meats and cheeses that were made somewhere specific and taste like it. The Nashville location in The Gulch runs the same counter-service format as every other location. Order, wait briefly, eat.
This is not a Nashville Italian concept. It is a Florentine sandwich shop that opened in The Gulch, which is a meaningfully different thing. The product is genuine because the product travels. The cured meats are imported. The schiacciata bread is made the way it's made in Florence.
Schiacciata bread, proper Italian cured meats and cheeses imported from Italy, a counter operation that has been running the same play since 1991. This is Florentine street food, not a Nashville Italian concept.
