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| Juan Mera, General Manager, Hilton Garden Inn Vanderbilt |
Juan Mera is the General Manager of the Hilton Garden Inn Vanderbilt, at 1715 Broadway in Midtown. In late 2008, Juan moved from Savannah, Georgia, to Nashville to open this hotel for the Atlanta-based North Point Hospitality Group. The 2009 opening, which brought 80 jobs to town, was Mera's third opening with North Point. His first opening was a 220-room Spring Hill Suites in Buckhead, Atlanta, and his second was the 134-room Hilton Garden Inn in midtown Savannah. Mera launched the Nashville market for the company.
The Hilton Garden Inn Vanderbilt has 194 rooms, a restaurant, a bar and over 5,000 square feet of meeting space overlooking downtown Nashville and Music Row. The restaurant, called the Great American Grill, has actively sought out the Midtown lunch crowd with its under-$10 "Southern Buffet," open every weekday from 11am to 2pm.
Mera is from Peru and visits there a few times a year.
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| Grand Opening, 2009. Mera is fourth from left; Mayor Karl Dean is fourth from right. Photo by Zach and Jody Gray, GrayPhotograph.com |
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| Exterior of Hilton Garden Inn Vanderbilt, from Broadway |
