Food Files: Old Mellow Mushroom to become Bojangles
The Mellow Mushroom restaurant at 5138 Park Ave. was originally built as a bank and later housed AAA. (The Daily Memphian file)
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Wild Beet Salad Co. pauses retail, continues catering
Wild Beet had been renting month-to-month. (The Daily Memphian file)
Wild Beet Salad Co., formerly Lettuce Eat, will close its 6641 Poplar Ave. location at year end.
The health-focused restaurant placed a sign on the door Wednesday, Nov. 6, alerting customers of its closure and search for a new location.
The restaurant is in Carrefour at Kirby Woods, part of the Standard Germantown project, a mixed-use development planned to be built on the shopping mall site after it is demolished. The development is set to be completed by 2030.
Owner Kelcie Noloner said when the building was bought a few years ago, they knew they would eventually have to leave their home of 10½ years. They were initially told they had to move by summer 2026 — now, Wild Beet has less than two months to find a new place.
“I want to stay in the same area, but there’s not many options,” Noloner said. “We are looking in East Memphis and a little bit further into Germantown.”
Like most of the tenants, Wild Beet had been renting month-to-month. However, a couple of tenants had signed multiple-year leases before the ownership team bought the mall, and recently, those tenants moved out early, allowing for an earlier demolition timeline, said project manager Adam Slovis with Slovis Commercial.
Noloner said they will still operate as a catering service while they look for another location, working out of a shared commercial kitchen called The Kitchen Co-Op. She said they have an average of six catering orders daily with a minimum of two and a maximum of 13.
“We have a ton of catering,” Noloner said. “I’m sure we’ll be there four or five hours a day, depending on the orders.”
Noloner said they need from 2,000 square feet to 2,500 square feet of space for the future location, preferably between Interstate 240 and Germantown Parkway. However, she hasn’t had much luck in the area unless someone closes soon.
“We want to be as quick as we can because (of) my employees,” Noloner said. “I don’t want to have too much of a gap for them.”
Noloner is working with brokers Nelson Cannon and Dan Rutkowski with Cannon Austin Cannon.
Noloner said she would try to give as many updates as possible throughout the process on social media.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to open soon,” Noloner said.
Elise Desserts Co. warehouse
Elise Dessert Co.’s pudding line is sold in all Memphis-area Krogers, South Point Grocery, Cordelia’s Market and High Point Grocery. (Courtesy Bria Walls)
Elise Desserts Co. closed its storefront at 3536 Walker Ave. and is focusing on expansion into more grocery stores.
Now, owner Bria Woods has “got the keys” to a warehouse.
The 1,875-square-foot space will hold a larger commercial kitchen at 1691 Shelby Oaks Drive, which will help continue making Wood’s Pudding, a dessert line featuring banana pudding and cookie pudding.
“If you would’ve told me I was going to close my storefront six months ago and move to a warehouse to scale my business, I would’ve not believed you,” Woods said in an Oct. 31 social media post. “I love my storefront so much, but God definitely had other plans.”
Woods thanked her “village” for the support throughout the process.
Elise Dessert Co.’s pudding line is sold in all Memphis-area Krogers, South Point Grocery, Cordelia’s Market and High Point Grocery.
Mellow Mushroom site to turn into Bojangles
The former Mellow Mushroom at 5138 Park Ave. will soon be demolished and rebuilt into a Bojangles.
The Bojangles will be 3,037 square feet with two drive-thru canopies owned by 210 Development LLC, according to documents obtained by The Daily Memphian.
The building designer is the Bentonville, Arkansas-based architect and engineering company HFA.
Bojangles could not be reached for comment.
Topics
Elise Dessert Co. Wild Beet Salad Co. Bojangles Subscriber OnlyAre you enjoying your subscription?
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Sophia Surrett
Sophia Surrett is a University of Alabama graduate, where she received her B.A. in news media and M.A. in journalism and media studies. She covers small business, nonprofits, restaurant real estate, hospitality and tourism, manufacturing, and transportation and logistics.
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