Located in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood, husband-and-wife duo Alexandros and Shivani Darsinos have cultivated a community rooted in art, culture, and style. Two years after opening their beloved coffee shop, Cafe Babu—known for its distinctive architecture, designed by Alex—the pair have expanded across the street with their latest concept, Leo Vas, which celebrated its grand opening last month. Their other concept, Bar Ena, is slated to open by the end of the year. Together, these spaces beautifully blend Alex’s background in architecture and design with Shivani’s passion for hospitality, creating environments that honor culture and bring people together. From designing spaces to designing clothing, Alex continues to channel his creative vision into Leo Vas, a further expression of inspiration drawn from cultures around the world and translated through the lens of fashion.
Tell us about your newest venture, Leo Vas! From the architecture to the fashion, every detail feels incredibly intentional—what was your vision for bringing it all together?
Alex: Everything I do is a representation of Shivani and I's relationship in my own personal life. There's always a cultural conversation between India and Greece and Nashville happening within me—that’s what is being represented and designed. Because [Leo Vas] was a little bit more me, I was inspired by the Mediterranean aspects of the space itself. I've never wanted to create spaces that are quintessential anything—when many people think of Greece, they think of white buildings and blue doors. For me, I think of the vineyards and the white caves and Milos and the organic nature and the rocks. When Shivani and I first met, we bonded over our respect for each other's culture and our pride in our own culture—even though Leo Vas is very Mediterranean, there are some elements of design inspired by India, as well.
What is the story behind the name "Leo Vas," and why did it feel like the right identity for this project?
Alex: Leo comes from Leontio, which is my dad's village in Greece. It is right in the middle of the largest vineyards in the Balkans—all wine country in the mountains. The name, Leontio, means ‘Land of Lion.’ It has a mythological nature to it because Hercules' first of his twelve tasks was to kill the Nemean lion—and that lion is from our village. Vas is inspired by a family heritage name, Vasilios—which is my middle name, my dad's middle name, my grandfather's name, my brother's name… everyone in our family is associated with this name in some kind of way or fashion. Bar Ena was also named after Shivani’s dad's village in India, so they both have that heritage aspect without being direct.
The architecture feels like it's telling its own story. What were some of the biggest design inspirations behind the space?
Alex: My passion has always been design. The natural progression of everything was to find a way to use my artistic creativity to make it into something that people could enjoy and wear. I think Cafe Babu, for me, was the first instinct where I was watching people enjoy the architecture every day. I think my favorite part is being able to share a little bit of us with Nashville. There is something so beautiful about how authentic everything is, but then also how people are receiving it. Being able to share our culture and heritage, while also being able to cultivate such a beautiful community, has been unreal. I'm from Nashville originally, and I feel like we're at a really good moment in Nashville's history. I hope we're showcasing that if you stay true to yourself, you can create something really special in your own world.
Tell us about the clothing design! How would you describe the style of the clothing someone will find at Leo Vas?
Alex: Shivani is my muse in so many ways—from style to attitude to personality, to what the Leo Vas woman is. We are getting a lot of the materials manufactured in her home village, so the translation and the aspect of that is very much tied to her, but I do all the design work for all the clothing. We are designing with seasons in mind—our first collection, the Nisi Edit, is very much a Mediterranean influence, European style summer wear. Altogether, there are about forty-five different looks that we have. We have a very neutral palette, but we do have a little bit of a color within that—whether it's gold or red or green that is popping up, it all fits within this season's collection.
What kinds of brands, fabrics, or silhouettes are you most excited for people to discover?
Alex: We are actually going to Shivani’s village in India to source the fabrics, and we have ateliers there that make the fabrics. The beautiful thing about what we do is that everything is conceptual. There's a particular gold thread used in her village that we have used in a lot of our fabrics that, even though they're Mediterranean cuts, are very much part of her region. We always try to tie it back together. I have linens that are from Belgium, silks from India…we try to give back directly to our heritage in the businesses that we have here.
Shivani: It’s really cool to see how he can truly see everything from such a holistic point of view—the fact that he's able to bring in elements of things that he's thinking about from an architectural standpoint and then also bring that similar aspect into a specific piece itself is just so interesting to see that design buildout.
You've created a coffee maker destination with Cafe Babu, a beautifully curated retail experience with Leo Vas, and now you're adding Bar Ena next door. How does each concept build on the next, and what excites you most about bringing all three together?
Shivani: Cafe Babu was my dream. I always knew I wanted to open up a coffee shop, and then Alex, from the architecture standpoint, was going through a rut where he was wanting to be able to design freely. It has been such a fun way to combine our worlds. I gave him full design freedom and it became like a personal story for us. We never expected to be where we're at today. The cafe was the perfect mirror of merging both of our cultures—it’s Greek-inspired, Indian-inspired, and blends both of our cultures in a really seamless way. Now that we’ve expanded across the street for Leo Vas and Bar Ena, I almost feel like Alex has his side and I have my side. Leo Vas feels very Mediterranean and Greek, while Bar Ena is quintessential Indian.
Looking ahead, what do you hope Leo Vas represents in Nashville five years from now—not just as a store, but as part of the city's creative culture?
Alex: I hope people understand that Nashville is at a place where if you do what you're passionate about, you do what you love, you do what's true to you, there are other people here in the community that will support it if it's done truthfully.
Shivani: Alex said it so perfectly—I hope five years from now, the communities continue to build and we can continue advocating and bringing these special spaces for people to be able to find their own personal escapes. At Cafe Babu, I love the community nights that we have and the different cultures that we can appreciate and highlight. Continuing being a space where people can just converse, laugh, get away, but also continue to feel appreciated or feel like they have another space to go to is always the goal.