New owners to transform now-shuttered iconic shop on Beale Street

After months, even years of anticipation, the Downtown Memphis Commission made a major announcement about a new business coming to Beale Street. The new shop will occupy an old space that holds a special place in many hearts: Tater Red’s Lucky Mojos, where you could find fun and funky gifts for 30 years.

The store struggled during the pandemic and ultimately closed in 2021. With the dense uncertainty of the global shutdown, many stores closed their doors. But on Friday, May 19, the DMC revealed the plans for this valuable real estate on one of the country’s most famous streets. And Action News 5 got to meet the new tenants.

Ashley Parham and Daryl Andrews are transforming iconic Tater Red’s into a new pop-up gift shop and incubator for local artists.

“We have big shoes to fill,” Parham told Action News 5 about taking control of the store, “These people need a space. They need help with telling their story. They need help with branding, ideation and getting the word out about their art.”

Kinfolk will graduate from breakfast pop-up to Harbor Town restaurant

For more than a year now, the Kinfolk pop-up at Downtown’s Comeback Coffee, with its big cathead biscuits and playful platters heavy on regionally sourced ingredients, has been a popular option in a city hungry for weekend breakfast and brunch options.

Come July, that option will go away. But only briefly.

In August, Kinfolk is set to move into permanent digs in Harbor Town, taking over the space at 111 Harbor Town Square that was recently and briefly home to the taco shop Inches.

It’s the culmination of a multi-year test drive for chef/co-owner Cole Jeanes, who first tried out the Kinfolk concept at the short-lived 409 S. Main St. food hall a few years ago before bringing it back at Comeback Coffee last February.

Popular Memphis breakfast pop-up Kinfolk to open a restaurant. Here’s what we know.

Kinfolk will soon have its own home.

The popular weekend breakfast pop-up at Comeback Coffee is moving to 111 Harbor Town Square this summer.

Chef and owner Cole Jeanes said he hopes to open the restaurant in mid-August.

“Think of this as version 3.0 of Kinfolk,” he said of his plans for the next step of his business.

Jeanes first launched Kinfolk in 2017 as a vendor at the now-closed Puck Food Hall. After a stint catering private events and working for chef Jimmy Gentry (where his famous herb biscuits appeared on the brunch menu of P.O. Press), Jeanes relaunched Kinfolk in February 2022 at Comeback Coffee.

A. Schwab digital scavenger hunt brings basement archives to life

A. Schwab Dry Goods has digitized nearly 5,000 items from its basement archives and is celebrating with an online scavenger hunt to help Memphians win prizes and learn more about the historic retailer.

The project is a collaboration between Schwab’s, Storyboard Memphis and DIG Memphis. Storyboard is a nonprofit multimedia organization that highlights local arts and culture, and DIG is the digital archive of Memphis Public Libraries.

Downtown’s Bluefin rebrands as Momoya

Bluefin, the Asian fusion eatery located at 135 South Main Street, reopened under a different name Friday.

Now called Momoya, the restaurant is a take on a Japanese hibachi-meets-classic American cuisine flavor.

Much of the previous Bluefin menu will transfer over to Momoya. But there will also be a number of other dishes offered at Momoya, as well.