Edge District restaurants Bar Limina and Gussied Up received $44,650 in improvement grants Thursday, May 22, from the Downtown Memphis Commission Center City Development Corp. 

The CCDC awarded Gussied Up, a dive bar from the owners of Hard Times Deli, a $30,000 Retail Tenant Improvement Grant to renovate the vacant 1,100-square-foot space at 655 Marshall Ave.

Gussied Up, co-owned by chefs Harrison Downing, Cole Jeanes and Schuyler O’Brien, will begin a $183,500 construction project in June to open for business in the fall.

Hard Times Deli owners to open bar in Edge District

“To us, this will build that final piece of what we’re trying to put together there,” O’Brien said. “We think it complements everything else and grows that area. … I think this is going to be beneficial for everybody.” 

The restaurant is on the south side of the Hard Times Deli between Monroe and Union avenues and will create 15 jobs.

The DMC grant will go toward developments for the flooring, ceiling, interior walls, casework, millwork and mechanical, plumbing and electrical upgrades.

Downing said the site has good visibility from Union Avenue and will entice more residents and tourists to go through the Edge District and see the different businesses in the area.

Next door at 631 Madison Ave., Bar Limina was also awarded a $14,650 Exterior Improvement Grant for sidewalk and curb repairs, landscaping along the building edge, new fabric canopies above the facade windows and a new sign.

The total exterior project costs about $47,300 for the 6,199-square-foot building on the south side of Madison Avenue between Neely and North Orleans streets.

Owner Josh Conley expects the cocktail bar to open May 30.

“This area has seen significant growth, and we’re thrilled to support the continued momentum with the opening of these two new businesses,” said Chandell Ryan, DMC president. “We’re proud to provide an incentive that helps fuel this progress and contributes to Downtown’s economic vitality.”

Conley and Patrick Brown, an architect for Cnct Design — the owners of the building — said they do have some concerns about parking in the Edge District. Conley said there’s a communal 40-spot parking lot across the street from the bar, but he would like to see some street parking approved for the area.

Ryan said there have been early conversations about street parking for the Edge District.

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A couple miles south of the Edge District, the CCDC board also approved a $30,000 special grant request to add street musicians along Main Street in Downtown for Main Street Sounds.

Sara Barrera, DMC economic development manager, and Milton Howery, DMC vice president of communications, have worked on bringing busking back to Downtown Memphis after a 2017 pilot program proved beneficial for Main Street. 

The Main Street Sounds program would incentivize local artists to sit along Main Street from Jefferson Avenue on the north to Peabody Place on the south and play music starting in late June until late September.

“It’s time to pick it back up,” Barrera said. “This can be a distinguishing factor that attracts people to Main Street Mall and Downtown Memphis.” 

Barrera said the program will produce about 480 hours of music on the Main Street Mall with musicians playing two- and three-hour blocks throughout the week for lunch and dinner hours.

“Music is in the DNA of Memphis. It sets us apart, and it unifies us at the same time,” Ryan said. “DMC’s Main Street Sounds busking program is a bold move to add 500 hours of music that will bring our streets to life, making Downtown feel more welcoming and supporting our efforts to create a lively and safer environment.”