Baby Jack’s closes in Bartlett, building for sale
Baby Jack’s in Bartlett has closed and the building will be sold. (Alys Drake/The Daily Memphian)
Baby Jack’s restaurant in Bartlett is officially closed.
Baby Jack’s owner Will Clem is retiring and selling the building at 7610 U.S. 70 after 15 years in business.
“There’s a chance the business could reopen under a new owner, but the building could also become a new concept for a new entrepreneur in Bartlett,” Clem said Tuesday, July 22. “The for-sale sign is going up today.”
The 1,800-square-foot building in Bartlett is the last of three Baby Jack’s locations to shut down.
“It feels good,” said Clem, who also has sold his and his wife’s stakes in Memphis Meats and Bite Ninja. “This was actually planned for a little over a year. The restaurants have actually been a hobby for the last few years.”
Following his father’s death from cancer last year, Clem decided to make a career change with a focus on medicine. He has a doctorate in bioengineering.
“That’s actually what brought me to Memphis was the orthopedics industry,” Clem said.
He said he now intends to become a high-complexity lab director. To do that, he will need to complete a fellowship in the next couple of years.
His restaurant is available as a turn-key opportunity complete with equipment, trademarks, websites, recipes and procedures.
If the buyer prefers to change the concept, they could move in with little build-out cost. The asking price is $1.2 million.
“I hate to see Baby Jack’s close, but I understand Will’s reasoning,” Bartlett Alderman Kevin Quinn said, adding he hopes the location will be another restaurant or coffee shop. “Local residents often tell me the east side of Bartlett could use a coffee shop.”
Before Baby Jack’s occupied the building, a Starbucks was there.
Clem started Baby Jack’s as a catering business in 2010 and opened the Bartlett location in 2012, adding locations in Oakland and Arlington in subsequent years. Those two locations closed earlier this year.
On July 7, the Bartlett Planning Commission unanimously voted down a favorable recommendation on a special-use permit for a new Collectibles By Goodwill retail and drop-off center to go in the Baby Jack’s location.
In April, the Bartlett Board of Zoning Appeals also voted down an application for an attended Goodwill donation center at the site.
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Baby Jacks BBQ Bartlett Business Subscriber OnlyAre you enjoying your subscription?
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Michael Waddell
Michael Waddell is a native Memphian with more than 20 years of professional writing and editorial experience, working most recently with The Daily News and High Ground News.
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