A Toast To Pride, Punchin’ Bags, and Bird Puns with The Mockingbird

The Mockingbird is a playful diner in Nashville, TN co-owned and operated by husband and husband team Mikey Corona and Brian Riggenbach. The pair also stay busy running Tío Fun Taqueria, a fast-casual concept with two locations in the Nashville area, and recently participated in the inaugural Big Queer Food Fest (BQFF) in Boston, MA, which was sponsored in part by Toast.

Toast works to create technology to help restaurants power the little things that make for stellar hospitality, the “Toast to…” series celebrates the great people who help power restaurants and great experiences every day. We sat down with Corona and Riggenbach to talk about participating in BQFF, the best and gayest things on their menu, and those little things that make people flock to their restaurants.

While I was in art school I worked at some of Chicago’s top restaurants and became further enamored with the way food was a connector to culture. As an artist, I’ve always followed my creativity wherever it led—and eventually, it guided me to the dinner plate, where I found a new and meaningful way to express myself.

With no school on Sundays, I found joy in cooking for our crew—it became our way to slow down, connect, and nourish each other. Our dinner parties grew larger each week, and that’s kind of how our business got started. We eventually outgrew our apartment and took these dinners around town and hosted them out of unique spaces (museums, galleries, alleyways, etc). Then we set our eyes on a brick and mortar spot—we ended up packing up our lives, and our knives, and moving to Nashville, and we ended up opening The Mockingbird.

Tell us about The Mockingbird, what are you known for?

MC: The Mockingbird is a modern diner with global takes on comfort food. We like to say that much like mockingbirds mimic their surroundings through song—we mimic our surroundings through food. The menu is a “playlist” of sorts, with the “Best Ofs” from our travels, life experiences, and both our backgrounds that we combine in one harmoniously curated menu. 

We have been open eight years this August, and I’d say by far the most popular thing is our Punchin' Bag. It's our daily punch, served in a plastic bag with a curly straw, and you can spike it with whatever booze you like. We got the idea from one of our trips that we took to Mexico City when we first met. We were walking through the mercados and we saw how they serve agua frescas served in little bolsas. It’s insanely popular—people come here just to have that cocktail.

MC: The night before we'll usually touch base and say, ‘where are you gonna start your day?’ Because wherever he’s going, I'll go to the other spot to make sure that all is okay there. We do log into Toast almost every time, because we utilize Toast Catering and Events. Having the calendar section there is fantastic because we can click on all of our restaurants and see what is going on for the day, and then make sure that everything is good to go on that front.

How do you explain your job to your parents? 

MC: Oftentimes we try not to, because we don't want to stress them out too much—LOL. Seriously though, they’re so supportive of what we're doing, and they’ll come and visit and see what it takes and  how much we've devoted ourselves to these spots. A lot of times we have to miss out on family celebrations, birthdays, and weddings, and we feel like we're disappointing them. But then, when they come through and they know it was a dream of ours for so long and how it’s finally come true. We've been together 21 years and in business together 15 years now. So they're there to remind us that we started this for a reason, they help us reflect back on how far we come.

What’s the hardest part about your job? And what’s the most rewarding?

BR: The hardest part of our job is the people, and the most rewarding part is the people. Humans are complicated beings. We have three restaurants, so that’s a lot of personalities to balance—guests and employees. It is hard to take on all of that energy sometimes. However, when I get the opportunity to be part of milestone celebrations, witness personal growth, and see someone fulfill their potential—those moments are rewarding to the core for me.

MC: I think the most difficult thing about this industry for me is the amount of time that it takes away from your personal life. When you run a restaurant, it doesn't turn off when the lights are off—there’s always planning, scheduling, hiring, ordering, and updating systems. Thankfully, Toast makes it pretty easy for us to do that from anywhere. I remember old school days where you had to be at the point of sale system to plug things in, and it took forever for changes to happen.  But then the most rewarding thing is whenever it all comes together. It's go time, the doors are open and you have a restaurant full of people who are enjoying themselves. Not just your guests, but your team members. That’s something that is magical to witness.

At Toast we’re focused on the little things that elevate a good dining experience into a great one. What seemingly little thing do you do at The Mockingbird to show your guests exceptional hospitality? 

BR: We like to dish out  “element of surprise” moments for our guests—which means a lot of anticipating their needs. For birthdays, we'll send out a little cookie or a dessert. We'll make a sign to put on the table if we know in advance that says happy birthday or anniversary, and we customize it for our style—it’s not just “Happy Birthday,” it’s “Happy Flocking Birthday.” [Ed Note: because it’s The Mockingbird, get it?]. 

MC: It's those little touches, right? It's all bird-themed and a little cheesy, but super fun. I really believe those personal bits are what make an ordinary celebration EXTRAordinary. 

You recently attended the inaugural (!!) BQFF—what kind of community is formed at events like these? Anything that really stuck with you or a key takeaway?

MC: I had a blast.

BR: There you go, yes, it was so much fun. It was great to meet a lot of people from across the country and kind of make these connections. Everyone's so busy, and everyone's spread out in all the different cities, too. So you might be able to make one connection when you're in Portland, OR or Charlotte, NC, or wherever, but to have so many of us under one roof together for the ultimate collab meal was beyond. It was a food fest for the fabulous!

MC: It was, different than any other food fest we've been to, because—

BR: It was REALLY gay! 

MC: It was very gay. There's not a lot of us in the culinary scene who are out and open and proud. To have that as the base, we knew that we could be comfortable with talking about our relationship, and the struggles of being a husband to husband duo in the deep South. Being able to vent and have that camaraderie with another group of individuals in the same industry as we are was so refreshing. Sharing a sense of connection and kinship with a that group was deeply rewarding, uplifting, and exactly the kind of renewal our hearts needed.

We asked you what’s your favorite thing on the menu but, because it’s Pride, what’s the gayest thing on the menu?

This interview was edited for space and clarity.

Mikey Corona and Brian Riggenbach are co-owners of two restaurant concepts in Nashville, The Mockingbird and Tío Fun Taqueria. 

To learn more about The Mockingbird you can visit their website or follow them on Instagram.

To learn more about Tío Fun, you can also visit their website or follow them on Instagram.