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Grind City July 4th Fireworks

Grind City Brewing Company will host a fireworks display from this view on July 4th (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Pyrotechnics fans can go uptown for the Downtown Memphis Fireworks @ Grind City Brewing Company on July 4th.

Grind City Brewing Company at 76 Waterworks Avenue will host the event with fireworks, live music, food, and drinks. “Everything is ready to rock and roll for the fireworks,” says Grind City president Hopper Seely.

The event will be held in the tap room and on the brewery’s two acres from noon to 10 p.m. “We have the Memphis skyline in the background. We have the bridge. We have the Pyramid. It is quintessential Memphis.” And, he adds, the brewery features “a beautiful natural landscape along the skyline.”

Seely describes the event as a family occasion. It’s for “people from uptown, downtown, Mud Island, the Pinch, and the medical district.” Or anywhere.

Seely believes the last time a Mud Island July 4th fireworks display was held downtown was in 2021. “The first Fourth of July for the brewery, we had just a really great day. Everybody was lined up with blankets and chairs along the fence line watching the fireworks. It was awesome.”

It “has just been kind of a downer in Memphis” after they stopped doing the July 4th downtown fireworks, he says. “Then it hit us. It was a Hail Mary. What if we do it?”

They shared the idea with the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC), which “helped us understand the legality of doing it. Permits. Coding. That kind of stuff. The Commission gave us their support to have the fireworks here and we’re very excited.”

Seely is planning for a crowd. “We are expecting at least 1,000 people to be here. We are able to have up to 5,500 people on site. We’ve got just under two acres of space, so people will be able to sit, play, and watch the fireworks.”

There are picnic tables on the grounds, but attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and chairs.

Hopper Seely (Credit: Michael Donahue)

“It’s going to be a slightly elevated Fourth of July experience,” says Grind City marketing director Anna House. “It almost becomes like a courtyard/backyard experience with food on one side, games and inflatables on the other side.”

A lot of shows are designed for people to just watch the fireworks and go home. “We wanted this to be a party.”

People can bring refillable water, but other drinks, as well as alcoholic drinks, will have to be purchased from the brewery and food from the food trucks. “To make sure the food vendors do OK,” Seely says.

​​Grind City will feature “a few drink options,” including its popular seasonal drink Krispie Treat that they will re-launch at the event. “It is our rice lager that tastes like a home-made krispy treat.”

They will be launching their “Southern Suga’” on July 4th. “It is our newest seltzer and is like a spiked sweet tea, served with a lemon wedge.”

Krispie Treat and Southern Suga’ (Credit: Anna House)

Participating food trucks are Chi Phi Food Truck (Chicago-style hot dogs and Philly cheese steaks), Mempops, El Mero Taco (Mexican), and Champs BBQ (Memphis-style barbecue).

Two lots of paid parking will be available on a first-come-first-served basis but, Seely says, “We will have the police monitor the street for any street parking.”

“We are excited about the fireworks at Grind City,” says Milton Howery III, vice-president of marketing, communications, and events for the DMC. “This event will bring great economic activity to the uptown neighborhood, the north Memphis community, and those communities that connect to downtown and uptown.”

Also, he says, “The DMC is working with other downtown partners to bring the fireworks back to the riverfront in 2025.”

In the meantime, in addition to Grind City’s show, the Red, White & Boom Celebration will be held July 3rd at AutoZone Park. And the “Liberty For All” festival will be held July 3rd  at Liberty Park. 

“The fireworks that were on the riverfront the people could see shoot up from Mud Island, those fireworks were typically a joint effort between multiple entities,” Howery says. Those displays ended a few years ago because of Covid and downtown construction.

To get to Grind City Brewing Company, go north on Second Street by way of Main Street or Front Street to Waterworks Avenue.

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Downtown Mobility Authority Updates Plans, Revenues

Downtown Mobility Center (Photo Credit: Downtown Memphis Commission)

The Downtown Mobility Authority (DMA) has reported that the Downtown Mobility Center is causing revenue and net income to “trend above budget,” and that they are looking to get creative to attract new users.

“Revenue [is] ahead of budget by 3.6 percent and expenses under budget by 5.6 percent,” the authority reported.

The organization met in person on Wednesday, November 15 at 114 North Main Street, while the public was encouraged to join virtually via Zoom. This was the final meeting of the group until January 2024.

During the meeting, officials gave updates on the Downtown Mobility Center at 60 Beale Street. The center opened on August 3, and was a $42 million project. When announced, the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC) said that there would be about 960 parking spaces, a biker commuter station, and commercial space.

To encourage use of the garage, the DMA has offered incentives with places like the Orpheum, where they encourage season ticket holders to use a special promo code for parking discounts.

“We’re really pleased that the Mobility Center has been trending above budget in terms of revenue,” officials said. “We have parking agreements already established with AutoZone with the parking on street corners. We’re working with Premium [Parking] to get creative with adding more subscriptions and helping the user utilization at the facility.”

The authority says it continually looks to plan and manage future hospitality and maintenance items for the facility. It is also looking to increase occupancy, and is selecting tenants for the retail space in the facility.

The DMA also reported other highlights in other garages such as First Park Place, Criminal Justice Center, and 250 Peabody Place. Officials said the First Park Place garage at 21 South Second Street is over budget (eight percent) in revenue, and noted that it is a “high performing facility across the portfolio.”

The garage at 250 Peabody Place has also seen significant growth, specifically between September and October, where officials say transient parking grew 60 percent. According to officials, this is due to the start of the FedExForum event season, as well as Memphis Redbird games.

Officials also discussed electric vehicle (EV) charging use, as the Downtown Mobility Center includes four EV charging spaces. Other DMA facilities have two of these spaces.

“[The] goal is to have 2 percent existing and 5 percent EV-ready capacity, ramping up as demand dictates,” said the DMA. “In every parking facility 2 percent of spaces are already open, with chargers on site, and five percent EV-ready, so they can be plugged in and installed as needed.”

The most used garage for EV charging is the Barboro Flats Garage at 100 Gayoso Avenue. DMA officials said that the DMC is working with Premium Parking and Blink, another electric vehicle charging group, to install additional chargers at the garage, with no purchase or installation charge to the DMA.

DMC president and mayor-elect Paul Young also announced that demolition can begin on the DMA’s 100 North Main Street, the city’s tallest building. According to Young, officials met around this same time last year to discuss interior demolition to start the project. Young said that they have not closed on the project, but expects them to in the coming months.

“The development team is ready to begin,” said Young. “They’re going to be doing a groundbreaking on November 30, where they’re going to kick off the start of the process. It’s been a long journey.”

Edge Development Growth Engine (EDGE) is providing a loan to the developer team for the project to cover some of the costs.

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DMC’s ‘Open On Main’ Program Brings Three Women-Owned Businesses Downtown

Photo credit: ARCHd via Facebook

The Downtown Memphis Commission has partnered with the Women Business Center South to give three women-owned businesses the support and resources to launch a physical storefront on, as a part of their “Open on Main” initiative.

Winners include:

• Tina Tilton of The Podcast Center, “a cutting-edge space dedicated to podcasting and creating audio content.” The Podcast Center will be located at 10 North Main Suite 100.


• Kristen and Lindsey Archer of ARCHd, who “specialize in creating high-quality, handcrafted goods made of wood and marble.” ARCHd will be located at 65 Monroe Suite A.

• Valencia Leonard of Oh So Sweets Skincare, who offer a “range of natural and high-quality skincare products.” Oh So Sweets Skincare will be located at 65 Monroe Suite B.

“The Downtown Memphis Commission’s Open On Main Initiative pairs emerging retailers and entrepreneurs with vacant storefronts in Downtown,” said the DMC. “The program is designed to help retailers test their market-strategies and to create a stronger retail ecosystem and better pedestrian experience in our core city.”

This collaboration offers the business owner one year of rent paid for a retail space, marketing and technical support, and other additional benefits.

Vonesha Mitchell, executive director of the Women Business Center South, said the program has operated for several years, and that the DMC has helped more than 35 retail operators test the market Downtown. Mitchell added that the DMC reached out to test a partnership with the clients of the WBC South, which are women-owned small businesses.

The Women Business Center South (WBCS) was launched in July of 2021 by the Women’s Business Enterprise Council South, a regional partner organization of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. The regional group provides women-owned businesses and entrepreneurs in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, and Louisiana with resources for their business ventures.

“Entrepreneurialism is difficult, period, but those problems are magnified when you get into looking at groups that sort of experience macro problems period, and that’s like minorities or women” said Mitchell. “We focus on trying to level the playing field for women when it comes to definitely accessing resources and so those can be financial or through the area of expertise.”

The  U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Business Survey said that “1.15 million or 19.9 percent of employer businesses in 2020 were minority-owned.” The survey also said that 1.24 million (21.4 percent) were owned by women.

Mitchell said that women may not have access to attorneys or real estate brokers in their organic network when they are trying to open a business, particularly a brick and mortar business. This is where the WBCS works to “fill in those gaps.”

The chosen applicants were evaluated by their business proposals, their preparedness to go into a “storefront opportunity, and other technical elements.

“We want to set them up for success, so making sure they had some of the technical elements required, and just being prepared and equipped to not only run their business, but run it in a brick and mortar,” said Mitchell. 

She also said they wanted to look at new concepts, such as things and ideas that had not been seen in the program previously, to give a more “diverse group” of business an opportunity. 

Mitchell added that they also wanted to choose businesses that would create more energy and stimulation in the Downtown area. She said this included evaluating the ways that the applicants had made efforts to draw customers and traffic prior to applying.

The “Open on Main” grand opening is scheduled for September 7th  at the intersection of Main and Monroe in Downtown Memphis.

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New Life for Existing Buildings Planned for Main Street, South Main

(Courtesy Downtown Memphis Commission)

The latest designs for the proposed Dream Hotel on Main Street emerged Wednesday, as did plans for a former Masonic lodge on South Main. 

Plans for a Dream Hotel to be built at 122 Main, the site of the former Royal Furniture store, emerged in 2019. Developers projected the hotel be open in 2022. Plans changed and the developer sought new public incentives for the project. 

(Courtesy Downtown Memphis Commission)

The project adds a tower above the existing structure. The new, 10-story building will house seven floors of hotel rooms and three floors of luxury apartments.  

(Courtesy Downtown Memphis Commission)

“Dream Hotel is cultivating a Memphis-centric, mixed-use hotel development fulfilling local and international interests in adventurous dining and cultural experiences,” reads the application for the project. “The new hotel entrance on Gayoso Avenue draws upon the late art deco architecture style of the existing mid-century modern building and introduces a splash of color to a material palette derived from the building’s historic use – the 1947 Black and White Department Store.”

(Courtesy Downtown Memphis Commission)

“Entrances to the signature brasserie restaurant and luxurious cocktail bar will be emphasized along Main Street’s pedestrian street by extending the existing vertical windows to the ground plane, where the building edge will be lined with outdoor restaurant seating covered by the existing marquee canopy.”

Courtesy Downtown Memphis Commission

The details came in the company’s application to the Downtown Memphis Commission’s (DMC) Design Review Board. That board will review the building new look in a meeting next week. 

Developers are also planning the DeSoto Lofts at 154 G.E. Patterson on South Main. The $4.6 million project will create 10 one-bedroom lofts in the old building. 

(Courtesy Downtown Memphis Commission)

It will also become the new headquarters for UrbanARCH, the architectural firm involved in the new Concourse B at Memphis International Airport, Hotel Napoleon, and Snowden Grove Amphitheater.

The firm has been located on South Main since 2002. Its leaders say they want to stay in the area “but with 12 full-time employees, they must relocate in order to have room for growth.” 

The abandoned building there was once the site of the DeSoto Hotel, built in 1913, and hosted hotel guests for about 50 years. 

“The structure once served underprivileged travelers and railroad personnel from the nearby Union and Central train stations,” reads the application from the company. 

Since the early ’70s, the building has been known as the Prince Hall fellowship Mason’s Lodge, the company said. 

UrbanARCH is seeking a 10-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes deal from the DMC. The DMC staff supports the project as it preserves and reuses a historic building, strengthens the connection between South Main and South City, brings new residents to Downtown, and helps retain an established Downtown business.

The request will be reviewed by a DMC board next week. 

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Patio Porkers Brings Former Memphis In May Event to Beale Street

Credit: Downtown Memphis Commission

Patio Porkers is back, but on Beale Street.

It has been division for amateur barbecue teams for years, offering smaller sites and lower costs for teams during the Memphis In May (MIM) World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.

Patio Porkers was cut in 2021 when the contest temporarily moved to Liberty Park. The division came back, though, during last year’s contest. 

MIM made no announcement that the Patio Porkers division had been cut. But a Friday statement from the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC) characterized the division as “formerly part” of the MIM barbecue contest.

This year’s inaugural Patio Porkers on Beale event will be organized by the DMC and Beale Street Management. The event will bring 30 teams to Handy Park on Saturday, May 20th for a single-day, ribs-only competition.

“We can’t wait to welcome 30 of the best backyard barbecue teams to world-famous Beale for the ultimate amateur title,” said DMC president Paul Young. “Bringing the Patio Porkers competition to Beale just feels right.”

The competition is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society competition. The winning team will take home $1,000 in prize money, a trophy, and bragging rights. 

The contest will be free and open to the public. But — as any MIM barbecue vet will tell you — that doesn’t mean it’s free to eat. Teams usually cook for themselves, their friends, and judges and are not obligated to share any food with the public. 

However, the DMC noted that Beale Street has 10 restaurants that all serve barbecue. They include: 

Alfred’s on Beale

BB King’s Blues Club

Blues City Cafe

Jerry Lee Lewis Cafe & Honky Tonk

Jerry Lawler’s Hall of Fame Bar & Grill

King’s Palace Cafe

The Pig on Beale

Rum Boogie Cafe

Silky O’Sullivan’s 

Tin Roof

Applications for teams are now available with a deadline of April 3rd. Click here for more details.

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Downtown Projects Could Bring a Skybridge, a Boat Dock, and (Maybe) Huge Koi

Credit: Downtown Memphis Commission

New designs for Downtown show a skybridge on Front Street, a boat dock at Greenbelt Park, and a new co-working space (with koi) in the Edge District. 

The Downtown Memphis Commission’s (DMC) Design Review Board (DRB) meets next week to review the proposed designs. That approval is a sort of first step for a project to come to fruition.    

Here are some of the most interesting proposals:

1. Skybridge from AutoZone to the Mobility Center

Credit: Downtown Memphis Commission

AutoZone Inc. has proposed building a skybridge from the under-construction, $42 million Downtown Mobility Center and its Downtown headquarters. 

The bridge would connect from the Mobility Center’s fifth level to AutoZone’s third level, spanning the intersection of Front Street and Peabody Place.

“This skybridge will be an enclosed and secure connection for AutoZone employees and their visitors,” reads a description of the project. “The exterior of the skybridge will extend the modern aesthetic of the Mobility Center using the same metal finishes and curtain wall glazing.”

2. Greenbelt Park boat dock

Credit: Downtown Memphis Commission
Credit: Downtown Memphis Commission

Greenbelt Park already has a boat ramp at its northern edge. But the city is proposing to dock more than jon boats. 

“With the growth of the number of cruising vessels on the Mississippi River, the city of Memphis needs to be able to accommodate multiple vessels docking Downtown,” reads a description of the project.  

Cruising vessels. Cruise ships. River boats. That’s what the city has in mind for Greenbelt Park. 

An enormous dock would jut into the river just north of the existing boat ramp. Two shade structures would be built nearby for passengers waiting land transportation. Another building would house golf carts for passengers. The parking lot would be patched and new lighting added. 

But DMC staff thinks the project will be good for locals, too. 

“The new pedestrian paths will help connect visitors to the park’s existing trail system, and the shade structures will provide a welcome amenity during warm weather,” reads the staff report. “The proposed structures blend well with the landscape of the park, and the use of the golf cart storage structure for signage and art near the entrance to the lot will assist with wayfinding.”

The project is slated to begin construction next month. 

3. Creative Co-Working

Credit: Downtown Memphis Commission

A tucked-away and vacant space in the Edge District is due for a glow up a new purpose. 

The project will bring two new storefronts, one an office for cnct. design + develop and the other would be studios, gallery space, and retail space for Ugly Art Co. The building at 635 Madison sits in a corner near the intersection of Marshall and Madison with an alley connecting the two streets. 

“Art will spill into the alley in the form of asphalt art and lighting,” reads a description.  “The alley will connect the site, strengthening access to a central courtyard and pedestrian traffic within the Edge District.”

Design renderings show the massive white walls of the building covered with a mural of koi fish. The application says the fish are only placeholders (bummer) “but the koi fish theme is expected to carry through to the final design (huzzah!). 

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State of Downtown: People Return Post-Pandemic, Population Increases

Credit: Downtown Memphis Commission

Downtown Memphis bounced back and expanded last year, according to the Downtown Memphis Commission’s (DMC) 2022 State of Downtown report. 

Restaurants and nightlife returned. The Grizzlies had a hot run. Live music played every day of the year. With all of this, “Downtown Memphis saw tourism rebound and pedestrian counts return to pre-pandemic levels.”

Credit: Majestic Grille

Downtown’s population got a boost, too. The DMC said those living Downtown rose by 6 percent in 2022, up to 26,086 residents. 

Credit: DMC

One of the DMC’s jobs is to attract and retain development Downtown. This is largely done through tax abatements. 

Last year, the DMC gave tax breaks to 38 projects that it says will bring 1,165 apartment units, 310 hotel rooms, 85,000 square feet of retail space, 5,500 square feet of office space, and 1,000 parking spaces. 

”Our stewardship of Downtown is critical to our entire community,” said DMC president and CEO Paul Young. “Downtown is the Memphis the world recognizes: We are Beale Street, the Grizzlies, Sun Studio, and the National Civil Rights Museum.

Wiseacre’s Downtown taproom. (Photo: DCA)

“We are also the neighborhood of choice for Autozone, St. Jude, and FedExLogistics, as well as six breweries, one world-class distillery, and countless innovators in the arts, music-tech, med-tech, and ag-tech space.”

Credit: DMC

The DMC also expanded the reach of its Groove On Demand ride service from and eight-mile area to 12. About 50,000 Grove On Demand rides were taken last year, the DMC said. 

Groove On-Demand

The DMC also won an award from the International Downtown Association for its work on diversity, equity, and inclusion. On that front, the DMC took over the region’s Emerging Developer curriculum, which encourages a developer community that looks more like the Memphis community.

The DMC is also focusing on safety. It recently won a county grant  to work with the University of Memphis to develop new safety strategies. It also plans to expand the Blue Suede Brigade to include overnight shifts.

“’Downtown for everyone’ is more than a slogan,” Young said. “It is the fight song for our entire community. We take it seriously. We are Downtown Memphis.”

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Inaugural Memphis Hip Hop Architecture Camp to Aid in Diversity in Architecture

(Courtesy Hip Hop Architecture Camp)

The Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC) and Design Marketplace Material Bank have partnered to bring the Hip Hop Architecture Camp to Connect Music on Vance this week.

The Hip Hop Architecture Camp was created in 2016 by Michael Ford, a licensed architect. The week-long camp is designed to “introduce underrepresented youth to architecture, urban planning, creative place-making and economic development through the lens of hip hop culture.”

The camp is based on “four Cs,” which are creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. According to the DMC, students will work in unison with architects, urban planners, designers, community activists, and hip hop artists throughout the camp to “create unique visions for their communities ​​which include the creation of physical models, digital models, and the creation of a Hip Hop Architecture track and music video summarizing their designs. ”

“Downtown has to be everybody’s neighborhood,” says Brett Roler, the DMC’s senior vice president of planning and development “We’re trying to build a Downtown for everybody. … We try to make decisions through that lens. ‘Are we building a Downtown that is fair and equitable and inclusive and inviting for everyone in Memphis and across Shelby County.”

Roler says that this is a part of the DMC’s commitment to “promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in our city’s future.

“We know that diversity, it just doesn’t happen by accident. So, what we’re trying to do is take intentional steps to invite people, to encourage people to be proactive in making a Downtown that everyone feels connected to.”

According to Roler, the Hip Hop Architecture Camp is an opportunity for students to gain exposure to architecture by using hip hop music and culture as a catalyst while also showing them the many ways that they can play a role in their community.

“You might say ‘What’s hip hop got to do with architecture?’ and I think that’s a fair question,” Roler said. “However, if kids feel like hip hop and music [are] something that [young people] are comfortable with, something that is accessible to them. There are ideas and principles that apply equally to architecture and hip hop. Whether we’re talking about form, rhythm, structure, it’s all the same. I think Michael has found a way to take something that can be boring, and esoteric, and complicated more accessible and interesting.”

Only 2.8 percent of architects in the United States are minorities, according to the DMC. While a 2022 report from the National Council of Architectural Registration Board states that diversity efforts in the architecture field have improved, the DMC says that minority groups continue to be underrepresented.

(Courtesy Hip Hop Architecture Camp)

“If Downtown is really going to be a place for everyone, then everyone has to help create it,” Roler continues. “People of color are woefully underrepresented in the design field, architecture, urban design, and landscape architecture.

“What I love about Hip Hop Architecture Camp is that it gives us the chance to show kids that they can be a part of creating neighborhoods that you love. You can play a role in building great places and great neighborhoods.”

Roler says that they initially explored other options for camps, such as producing their own. However after seeing the success of the Hip Hop Architecture Camps in other cities as well as the way the experts teach students important concepts in a fun and appealing way, they decided to bring the camp to Memphis.

The DMC is also helping to sponsor an architecture camp hosted by the Memphis chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), which Roler says is geared more so to students who have already solidified that they want to pursue a career in architecture. Roler says that he hopes the Hip Hop Architecture camp will serve as a “feeder” for the AIA camp to continue diversity efforts in architecture, as this camp is for students who may be unfamiliar.

“How do we ensure that the people building Downtown are reflective of our broader community?” Roler asked. “If our broader community is 65 percent African American, I think we need more people of color building Downtown, developing Downtown, opening businesses Downtown, and that’s what we are working on.”

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“Nothing Is off the Table” for Two Rare Vacancies on Beale Street

Credit: Toby Sells

Beale Street’s seemingly unending chain of neon has two dim links, and the street’s manager hopes to make them shine again. 

The Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC) is looking for proposals from businesses to fill two “extremely rare” vacancies on a street that has long been Tennessee’s top tourist destination. 

These spaces once housed Black Diamond bar (its still-swinging sign calls it “The Jewel of Beale“) and Tater Red’s Lucky Mojos and Voodoo Healing (known to most as just Tater Red’s and as the place on Beale you could get a pack of smokes, a Coke, and a Memphis-themed, penis-shaped souvenir hex candle).

Black Diamond closed in 2012, according to a Flyer story at the time, on an expectation that Tater Red’s would expand into the space. Tater Red’s remained open but struggled through the pandemic. The shop continued operating through November 2020, though the owner Leo Allred said he was considering closing. Red’s closed temporarily in January 2021 and was closed for good by at least September 2021.       

The DMC opened requests for proposals for the two empty spaces in April. Proposals are due by May 20th. Finalists will be interviewed late June/early July. Tenant selections and lease negotiations are expected to run until early August.  

“We think it’s a great opportunity for any business that wants to experience the vibrancy of Beale Street,” said DMC president Paul Young. “It’s one of the top tourism destinations in the state of Tennessee and in the nation, quite frankly.”

The opportunity on Beale is, indeed, rare, Young said. Other spaces on Beale are vacant but those spaces have leases. Negotiations on those leases are underway. The vacancies in the former Black Diamond and Tater Red’s locations are “open, free, and clear,” Young said. 

In the past, lease holders have been able to sell their leases to new tenants. (This is the way new businesses have traditionally secured a space on the street, Young said.) They negotiate terms and, then, must get approval from the city of Memphis. 

So, these deals come to city leaders with terms already secured. Young said the deals for the Black Diamond and Tater Red’s locations will be the first time in a long time the city has been able to offer open solicitations on Beale Street real estate. 

Credit: Toby Sells

Young said he wasn’t sure when the last time this opportunity arose on the street. When he asks other Beale Street merchants about it, they can’t remember either, he said. 

The DMC is marketing the locations — 151 Beale, 153 Beale, and 155 Beale — as one. The whole suite offers 3,300 square feet of interior space featuring bathrooms, a kitchen, two entrances on Beale, and a 2,500-square-foot rear patio space. All of it is sandwiched between King Jerry Lawler’s Hall of Fame Bar & Grille and B.B. King’s Blues Club.

Merchants and visitors have said they’d love to have more on Beale open during mornings and day times, Young said. But “nothing is off the table,” when it comes to the vacant locations.

“We want to see what’s out there and who is interested in being on the street,” Young said. “So, this really is an open solicitation.”         

DMC president Paul Young said 2020 was a “tough year” for Beale businesses but they “rebounded pretty well” in 2021. Business is trending up in 2022, he said, though it’s still not back up to some of its peak periods from the past. But the rising trend line has continued, especially as the Grizzlies have continued a run in the NBA playoffs. 

Because of Covid, tourism spending in Tennessee fell by $7.7 billion between 2019 and 2020, according to the latest figures from the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. Tourism dollars fell by about $1.2 billion between those years, from about $3.7 billion in 2019 to about $2.5 billion in 2020. 

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VIDEO: Getting Back Out There: South Point Grocery

Credit: Toby Sells/YouTube

The folks at Castle Retail Group, who brought you Cash Saver and the new High Point Grocery, unveil their new Downtown grocery store — South Point Grocery — on Thursday.