Mo’Bay Beignet Co. at 585 South Cooper closed January 7th.
“We’re just temporarily closing,” says owner Theresa Monteleone, who, along with her husband, John, were owners of the business located in the former Midtown location of Muddy’s Bake Shop..
Mo’Bay had a neighborhood hang-out feel to it. Customers could relax and let their kids play on the lawn while they enjoyed coffee, espresso, tea, syrups, and beignets.
“It’s an emotional time,” says Monteleone, who was in the process of moving.
“Lots of customers have supported us on a daily basis. Some of them on a weekly basis.”
And, she says, “We even have a customer that’s starting a GoFundMe for us to keep us in the Midtown area.”
But, she says, “The rent is so high in a lot of these places. You really have to make a lot of revenue to cover just that rent.”
She and her husband moved to Memphis after their daughter and her husband moved here in 2021. “We’ve always wanted to own our own business,” Monteleone said in a 2023 interview.
Her son-in-law suggested they look into Mo’Bay. “The Lord just kind of dropped this in our lap,” she said. “Someone we knew, the actual owner of the franchise, created this in the middle of the pandemic. She was looking for franchisees.”
They got the eighth Mo’Bay franchise. And, Monteleone said, “We do have the secret recipe and what have you for the beignets.”
As for the decor, Monteleone didn’t want just images of Elvis and other well-known Memphis icons adorning the walls. She wanted a female artist.
A large vinyl graphic of the late blues guitarist, Memphis Minnie, hung on one wall.
As for where they’re moving, Monteleone says, “It could be anywhere. No holds barred. We’re looking everywhere. We don’t know yet. Everything is up in the air. We don’t know where we’re going. We don’t know when it’s going to be. We’re just in the process of looking and trying to find another place right now.
“We just weren’t having enough business, to be honest with you. We had tons of business to begin with, but it really just kept declining.”
It’s the location, Monteleone says. “Everybody has been very nice and we had nothing but great reviews. So, I definitely don’t think it’s our customer service.”
They want to find a place with “a little more car and foot traffic on a daily basis. Where rent is not so high. All those things combined kind of killed us.”
They put equipment and furniture up for sale because they didn’t want to rent a storage facility, Monteleone says. Everything is now going in their garage. “There are a few places we looked at that already have all the equipment,” she says. “Beignets are made by hand. You roll it out and cut it. The only equipment you use is a fryer.”
They also want to recoup money they put into the business. “We’re trying to get back some of the money we put into 585 Cooper because that was everything John and I had. We took everything we had and put it into this location. So, the landlord is pretty much getting a newly renovated building.”
