Belltower to open second coffee location in Shelby Farms
The new Belltower Coffeehouse is expected to open in the early fall, within Shelby Farms Park’s First Horizon Foundation Visitor Center at 6903 N. Great View Drive. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian file)
A popular Memphis coffee shop is opening its second location — and it will give fans of Shelby Farms a way to order from anywhere in the park.
The new Belltower Coffeehouse is expected to open in the early fall, within Shelby Farms Park’s First Horizon Foundation Visitor Center at 6903 N. Great View Drive.
“We definitely have a lifelong relationship with the park,” said Belltower Managing Partner and owner Christopher Galbreath in a release. “This new shop is also special to us because it is fully funded by investors.”
Both Galbreath and owner Micah Dempsey ran cross country at Shelby Farms during high school and college. Both graduated high school in 2015.
Opening the second location brings their connection back “full circle” to the park.
“We had a mutual acquaintance who knew the space has been vacant (within the First Horizon Foundation Visitor Center) for a while,” Galbreath said. “(Shelby Farms Park) were looking for the right tenant, and, so, I reached out and had a conversation.”
Angie Whitfield, Shelby Farms Park’s marketing and communications senior manager, said the Visitors Center location has been vacant since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new coffee shop will be 950 square feet with grab-and-go offerings as well as indoor and outdoor seating.
The menu and drinks will be the same as in the original Belltower location on South Highland Street. The Shelby Farms space, although smaller than the original Belltower, is expected to offer the same ambiance and customer experience as the first.
However, the new location will not include a community pottery studio like the location on Highland.
Guests will be able to place a mobile order from anywhere in the park and pick up their purchases at the visitor's center.
“We’re excited to be able to better serve our visitors by expanding food and beverage options in the park through our new partnership,” said Shelby Farms Park Conversancy CEO Jen Andrews.
The new location will be funded by six individual investors, making this the first funded shop for Belltower. Having additional investors for new locations will be the company’s business strategy moving forward, according to Galbreath, especially as they look to open more shops in Memphis and across the region.
Belltower opened in 2017 after a few successful pop-up spots across Memphis. Soon after, the business partners secured a one-year lease at the South Highland location.
Galbreath plans to open three more shops in Memphis. Eventually, he wants to open throughout the region, in cities with a college or university and within a three-hour radius of Memphis. Their decision to expand to the park was driven by the desire to provide visitors with a unique experience within the park’s surroundings.
The grand opening is expected to be in September but could change due to the timing of permits and equipment, Galbreath said.
Store hours are expected to be 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
Topics
Shelby Farms ParkRashod Cobb
Rashod Cobb is a Mayoral Fellow in Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris’s office. He can be reached at Rashod.Cobb@shelbycountytn.gov.
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