In two years, Tiffany and Clifton Hancock went from selling vegan donuts at a local farmers market to running an entire restaurant in North Nashville’s Business District on Buchanan Street, where other black businesses are currently booming.
Listed amongst PETA’s top vegan soul food spots, The Southern V has garnered mass attention for their Nashville Hot Chick’n and their personal twist to Chick’n and Waffle.
After their first daughter experienced some dairy intolerances while breastfeeding, Tiffany opted for an alternative food diet, veganism. She began extracting soy, eggs, and various dairy products from her diet, positively affecting her daughter and her skin. With time, she got creative with veganism, recreating the family’s favorite meals in vegan style, not wanting to sacrifice everything they normally would eat at home.
“You can be creative, you can make those dishes that give you that nostalgic feeling, taking you back to a bbq with baked beans, baked chicken,” Tiffany said. “We want people to have that type of experiences.”
The menu features apple fritters, and mini pancakes and ‘hot chick ‘n’ biscuits on the weekends. Satisfy your BBQ cravings with this meal of jackfruit sliders, baked beans, and macaroni and cheese.
They wanted to carry that nostalgic feeling from their home to the Southern V with traditional navy blues, hand-woven baskets hung along the walls and trinkets of gold. “I figured if I’m going to be here a lot I at least want to be comfortable and feel like I’m at home,” Tiffany said, mentioning the family pictures hung on the wall and the color scheme.
“You’re in our kitchen and our living room right now and this is what it’s like this is our home, “ Clifton said. There is also a friendly kid section full of toys and books.
Count on some framed words of affirmations such as “Trust Your Dopeness,” and their personal message, “Guess what? Smile, everything will fall into place someday. “ Yessssss for the positive vibes.
Tiffany and Clifton have been married for ten years and are raising two beautiful daughters in Nashville. “We always said that even though the business was thriving, we never want to do anything that will take us away from our kids. We agreed we never want to sacrifice family for anything outside.”
