While Nashville's Hillsboro Village is best known today as an upscale shopping district with local eateries and retail shopping, the area did not begin to take shape until the 1920s. In the early years, the village consisted of a drugstore and two grocery stores, and by 1909, a handful of residents organized a church named Belmont United Methodist Church. Although the name "Hillsboro Village" did not appear in Nashville newspapers until the 1940s in advertisements, many businesses were operating 20 years prior. Never home to box stores, the businesses were all mom-and-pop operations. Brown's Diner's history dates back to 1927, and the well-known Pancake Pantry opened in 1961. While many Nashville malls closed, Hillsboro Village continues to thrive and is protected by an urban design overlay.