Local on the Square will close Saturday, October 28th, and Madison Tavern will take over the space at 2126 Madison Avenue in November.
“We’re hoping to be open — if dreams come true — for Thanksgiving,” says Tim Quinn. He and his wife Tarrah are the new owners. “Probably a couple of weeks afterward if things don’t go perfectly.”
Describing Madison Tavern, Tim, who also owns Local on Main Street with his wife, says, “It will be a neighborhood place. I want it to be a nice spot — something that can be for a nice occasion to go out, but also casual enough to go to every day if you live in the neighborhood or nearby.”
He doesn’t want to compare Madison Tavern to Local on the Square, which he describes as “iconic,” but he wants to keep that same “cool atmosphere. We’re trying to create that same feel where people can come in and they’re comfortable and just hang out.”
Tim wants it to be the place where people can go if they’re planning to stay for dinner or drinks or go somewhere else before or after. If they’re not staying for dinner, they can get drinks before going across the street to dinner at Porch and Parlor or to see a show at Lafayette’s Music Room, he says.
As for Madison Tavern’s fare, Tim says, “I want to try to keep a fairly small menu. Some burgers. Some sandwiches. Some nice dinner plates. As much of it from scratch as possible. Locally sourced whenever we can. Downtown, we put some hydroponic towers in. We’re growing our own herbs.”
He plans to “offer some strong seafood” items, including catfish, which has been a “huge thing” at Local on Main Street.
Tim also wants to include beef. “I’m sure a beef tenderloin. Or a filet. But big steaks don’t tend to go over. People come in, they’re wanting to get a nice meal, willing to spend money, but they want to be in and out in 30 minutes: ‘I’ve got a show to see.’”
Madison Tavern will offer specials, which will depend on what is locally sourced that week. “We want to have a solid menu. A couple of daily specials.”
They will be open for dinner only around 3 p.m. during the first week, Tim says. “We want to catch that happy hour crowd. We’ll have nice happy hour specials. Small plates.”
He plans to stay open until 1am on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, but “be out of there by midnight” the rest of the week.
And he wants to have “a very welcoming atmosphere and specials” for service industry people who want to grab some food and drinks when they get off work. He wants to “keep those guys happy. They work hard.”
As for the decor, Tim says he wants Madison Avenue to have “a lodge feeling. There will be some stained glass chandeliers. I want to put some copper, tin tiles on the ceiling. Change the colors of the booths, the walls. Some hunter greens and burgundies. Then some blues. A couple of different neutral colors. Anything we can change, we’re going to change. We want it to be obvious that somebody’s come in and done something different.”
The Quinns also owned Memphis Clover Club, but Tim says, “The lease came up to be signed. I wasn’t willing to commit that much longer. I dropped out of that lease. I closed that one down at the beginning of last week.”
Local on the Square opened October 2012, says owner Jeff Johnson, who now lives in Santa Rosa, Florida. “We had a great run and enjoyed it,” he says. “But part of it was not living in town anymore. And trying to manage it from afar. It wasn’t what I wanted to continue to do. I’ve got some other business interests I’m concentrating on.
“I’ve had a lovely time in the 30 years I’ve been in the restaurant business in some capacity. Maybe one day down there in Florida or another town, I’d like to get into it again. Right now in my life I’m concentrating on real estate development and short-term rentals. Which is where I’d like to concentrate my efforts.”
He’s not disappearing from Memphis, though. “I still have a home in Memphis. I’m not going to be a stranger, by any means. And if Tim needs any advice along the way, I’ll offer that, too.”
And, Johnson says, “I think he’s going to do well.”