Deli expansions and newly opened fine sandwich purveyors have finally brought Nashville into its bread, meat and cheese moment. Lunch rushes and expansions indicate booming business for anyone slinging fast, tasty, handheld lunch, particularly for the Italian-inclined palate. The sandwich wave — if it endures — also signals a taste shift for a city that has historically pledged its lunch hour to meat-and-threes, many of which have fought closure or morphed into novelty meals, rather than regular stops, in today’s Nashville.

Both Little Hats Italian Market and 51st Deli have aggressively branched out from original spots in Germantown and The Nations, respectively, hoping to leverage neighborhood brands into city favorites. New entries All’Antico Vinaio (a small chain with locations on th

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