Have you ever been traveling and suddenly got a craving for your favorite food from home? A burger, burrito, fish and chips? How about a falafel? For Israeli born Ornit Arony that longing for familiar comfort foods is what inspired her to open her brand-new café and specialty food store, Nova. “Whenever I travel, I keep searching for things that remind me of home,” she says.
Arony has lived in Nashville for about 10 years and has owned several small businesses. After a brief break from the pressures of ownership, her entrepreneurial spirit came roaring back. “Eventually I decided i was time for me to go back out on my own but this time I decided I wanted to do something with a little bit more meaning. I wanted to do something more for the community,” she says.
That desire to create something meaningful led to her name for her new business. “I wanted to give a good meaning to it and talk a little bit about the people that we’ve lost and pay homage to them.”
Arony admits she was somewhat distant from the Jewish community over the years, but like many, felt drawn back after October 7, 2023. “The war made me realize how many Jewish people we have here.”
The 1,000 square foot store is divided into two sections, and includes televisions displaying Israeli programming, and pictures and memorabilia commemorating those who were lost in the war. It is a bittersweet endeavor. “Soon I won’t be able to put all of them there because unfortunately it will be too many. But if I can put the ones that are important to this community, that would be great.”
The endeavor is clearly a labor of love for Arony and her mother, Vered, who is the creator of the recipes and menu items. “It’s pure Israeli food,” says Arony, “Nothing you can get anywhere here in Nashville.” Vered is also the face of the company, and her image will appear on all the products. And Rabbi Tiechtel of Chabad of Nashville, is supervising the kitchen.
The grocery side of the store which, according to Arony, is larger. Food offerings include a large variety of kosher Israeli foods, 25 different types of meat, dairy products, chocolates, and snacks.
On the business side of things, Arony says she does not have any investors, relying completely on her own life savings. “I’m solo. I have everything invested in this and we are bootstrapping everything.”
Nova is slated to be open by mid-August, well before the High Holidays, and will be open six days a week. There will also be fresh baked good every day, with a potential collaboration for challah for Shabbat.
The store is located in Bellevue at 7648 Highway 70 S.
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