Thanks for checking out our website!  The Wild Cow serves vegetarian & vegan fare in a fun, casual environment in the heart of East Nashville.

The  Gulf Coast Relief Fund is our charity of the month for July.   For every dinner special (after 5:00PM) that you buy in the month of July, we’ll donate $1 to them!  Eat, knowing that you’re making a difference in the world!

We started the Wild Cow to provide delicious, cruelty-free, healthy food to the people of Middle Tennessee. We will never support the inhumane and environmentally destructive factory farm system that dominates our agricultural economy, nor will we support corporations like Coke and Pepsi that thrive off of our addiction to sugar and artificial “food”. Nearly all of our food is purchased in it’s whole form, meaning we make almost all of our own sauces, dressings, soup stocks, etc. This means that we can name every ingredient in the food we serve!

It is our goal to bring people together for the love of good food in a fun & relaxed environment, while supporting our community and organizations that promote our philosophies.

Meet the staff:

Melanie Cochran, co-owner

I am so excited about The Wild Cow! I am a yoga instructor and I am studying to be an Ayurvedic practicioner, so I’m very interested in natural and holistic health and wellness of the mind and body. For the last few years, I’ve been lucky enough to have an awesome career as a producer/director of music documentaries. I have put that on hold in order to follow my life’s purpose of making the world a better place for animals, especially factory farm animals. One way I’m trying to accomplish this goal is to introduce people to the idea that vegan food can be awesome! My new husband, John (see below) introduced me to the love of cooking when we met (about 5 years ago) and since then, I have become an avid cook and enjoy the challenge of creating delicious, cruelty-free, healthy food (it’s actually not much of a challenge….the secret is simplicity and REAL food from the earth….that’s it.) I have plenty of restaurant experience, mostly serving and bartending.

I also enjoy vacations (who doesn’t?), explorations, making music, listening to music, traveling, hanging out with my dogs, the ocean, music history and acknowledging the innate emotional connections between humans and animals. I’m so lucky to have met a life partner who shares a love for animals, the environment and vegan cooking.

One of the things about The Wild Cow that I’m most excited about is that we will be regularly holding events and specials to raise awareness and funds for organizations that deal with animal welfare, environmental protection, safe & humane farming, and world hunger. The other thing that excites me about opening The Wild Cow is the opportunity to meet lots of new awesome people–some will be venturing into vegetarian food with a degree of skepticism and I’m looking forward to impressing them–others will be vegetarians/vegans who have probably been looking forward to having another vegetarian restaurant in town and I hope we fulfill your expectations! No matter who you are, we hope that The Wild Cow will become a place of community, good food, and good energy…and we look forward to getting to know you!

Drew Phillips

I play the banjo, harmonica, and mandolin, tutor at the Martha O’Bryan Center, and write short stories. I’m a vegetarian. Food is a responsibility. I’m also dating the baker.

Kendra Schirmer

22 years old. Born and raised in Appalachian/rural New Jersey (yes it exists!). I have a keen appreciation for cats, well-loved cast iron pans, and garlic. I attended Bard College for four years and got my degree in photography in May of 2009. To see some of my work click here! I taught myself how to cook when I gave up animals as food in 2005, for a multitude of ecological/ethical reasons. Once I had pondered the arguments for meatless living, it became clear that consuming lower on the food chain greatly reduces one’s complicity in ecological destruction on a daily basis, and is just plain old healthier for your body as well as the planet. We are living at a time in which ‘business as usual’ is leading us all on the path to ecological crisis, and (not unrelated) millions of people suffer from diet-related ailments. The daily act of eating mindfully has never been more important, and to get paid to feed the folks of Nashville wholesome, cruelty-free nourishment is quite the honor.

Carrie Elisabeth Manning

I’m from south louisiana, 24 yrs old.
I enjoy friends around a fire, road trips, playing music, listening to music, and going on adventures!
I wanted to work at the wild cow because I’m interested in healthy lifestyle options, and because i like the idea of knowing exactly where my food comes from.

Andy Brubaker

I am a corn fed born and raised Ohio Native who relocated to Nashville in the summer of 2005. I have been Veg for a couple of years now and vegan for approximately 1 year. I chose the vegan diet/lifestyle for a myriad of reasons, the primary two being environmental sustainability and the choice to resist cruelty to animals. I am really excited to work in an eatery that I believe in and support (and by support I mean eat) the products without any guilt. During my free time I enjoy cooking and sharing food with Food not Bombs. Other things that get me excited are waste reduction/reuse, compost, beer, bicycles, and most of all FOOOOD!

Winston Harrison, Chef

Vegetarian since 1996. Born and raised in nearby Louisville, KY, I have been on and off the road as a musician for the last 10 years, landing here in Nashville about 3 years ago. I have obsessions with espresso, food and music (in no particular order). I am excited to be part of the Wild Cow.

Nick Davis

I am 25 years old, and I have lived in and around Nashville all of my
life. I currently attend MTSU majoring in English, and I hope to go
to graduate school next year (if I can afford it!). I skateboard,
read good books, hang out with my wife, Ashley, and enjoy all
different kinds of music. I have been eating a vegan diet since 2004,
and I chose to do so for health and ethical reasons. I love fresh
food and try to support local businesses and farms as much as I can,
so I am really looking forward to working at The Wild Cow.

Jennifer Hall, Baker of Vegan Treats

I’m originally from Charleston, SC, and moved to Nashville about two years ago from Western Mass.  I was a baker in a small café, and moved down here to work as a health care advocate at a local non-profit.  I’ve been a vegetarian for most of my life, and am so excited that the Wild Cow is open.  Now I have a local place I can walk to, that has a menu full of things I can eat!  I can take orders for full cakes and other baked goods.  Please email me at porcupinepiebakery@gmail.com for more information.  I’m also very willing to take requests, so if there’s something you’d like to see on the vegan baked goods menu, please let me know.

Brandon Highfill

I spent the first 23 years of my life in Jacksonville, Florida before finding myself here in Nashville. I have bounced between vegetarianism and a pescetarian diet since 2005. Recently, I dropped fish all together. I spend most of my time with music, film, making music for films, and making music in general. I have a soft spot for animals and am extremely focused on health when it comes to feeding myself and others. I am unsure of what the Lord has for my life but I believe that moving to Nashville was definitely part of the plan. I am engaged to a rad little drummer girl who showed me I had more to live for than a false start. I found a great group of talented people to write and perform songs with under the name ” n o i “. I am insanely happy to be working at the Wild Cow with such memorable people.