One of the advantages of Kinsolving's years of experience with building venues was having a loyal and experienced crew of workers and subcontractors. A factor that became increasingly important as the project progressed and moved into highly customized design features.

"I've worked with these guys for years," says Kinsolving. "They're not afraid to try anything. I'd show them a drawing of something completely bizarre like the ceiling soffits and our guys did an amazing job."

As the job progressed, the three partners expanded their team to bring focus to the interior design. "We had four environments," says Rubin. "We wanted to make each place feel different but somehow tied together. Which turned out to be a tall order for design."

In search of a unifying vision, they turned to Lyon Porter, who Kinsolving had worked for as a general contractor on the Urban Cowboy boutique hotel in East Nashville. Porter, whose eye for postmodern design has produced such local fountains of wow-factor as Urban Cowboy and The Dive Motel, was particularly excited about working on such a large canvas. "They had big goals and they had differing ideas. Everyone does," says Porter. "I was able to work with them, ask a lot of questions, add a few ideas of my own, and pull the ideas together into a singular design vision."

Although a large portion of the custom work could be done in-house, Porter brought in design engineer Frank Favia, who'd partnered with him on The Dive Motel. "Lyon is very much a postmodernist visionary, so he works very well paired with somebody like me who figures out how to realize his vision," says Favia. "The best way to describe what we did is Post-Modern Atomic. It has a 50s-60s kind of vibe, but the postmodernism comes in, in that it's not like time traveling back to that time, it's more like a dream of that era."

That dream doesn't just include the Atomic Age of the 50s and early 60s. Using that era as a launchpad, Eastside Bowl's design evokes the sense of American optimism that existed in the 50s and 60s and spilled over into the early 70s - a time when bridging the divides that existed in America still seemed possible and "going to the bowling center, or skating rink or the mall" was something both kids and adults enjoyed. It's powerful stuff, whether you're old enough to remember that era, or just fascinated by pop-cultural representations of it like Mad Men or Dazed and Confused.

While aesthetically, Eastside Bowl resuscitates a vision of American's lost optimism, it also reflects the quirky localism that once existed in suburbia. Look around and you'll find familiar neighborhood artifacts from the East Side - bits of decor from the original Family Wash location on Greenwood Avenue (2003-2015), the Gothic sign that once heralded the beloved speakeasy/cult movie theater/curio shop Logue's Black Raven Emporium on Gallatin Pike (2012-2014), and even the familiar neon coffee cup that once lit the window of the original Radio Cafe on Woodland Street (1995-2007).

"The best thing is we haven't sought that stuff out," says Rubin. "Robert Logue reached out to Chark and asked him if he would like to have the Black Raven sign. My former partner from Garage Coffee brought us the old Mac truck mirror that hung in the men's room in the original Family Wash location. Charlie Crawford had the neon coffee cup from the Radio Cafe, which is in the diner. People have come out of the woodwork to say, 'Hey, would you guys be interested in this?' They know who we are and that they can trust us with cultural treasures."

The sense of creativity and collaboration that gave birth to Eastside Bowl as a concept has always been centered around a sense of community. It seems like an almost antiquated idea in 21st century America, but the idea of building a successful business that gives back something to the community is a model all three of Eastside Bowl's owners are committed to.

"I really hope it's going to become an iconic landmark," says Pierce. "It's built to accommodate the young families that live in the area. It's built for all ages, and it's by and for locals."

Kinsolving agrees with the idea that multi-use means multi-appeal. "I hope we'll see that here," he says. "We'll have families with kids during the day and early evening and then have that changeover where it becomes a really cool late-night hang for adults. My goal has always been to bring back a sense of what I wanted Mercy Lounge to be at first - just a place where friends could come and hang out. It never became what I wanted it to be, but I hope we'll see that here."