Nashville veteran chef Jason Matheson has decided to open his first full-service restaurant, Primrose Table, in Murfreesboro.
With the tables set for a spring 2019 opening, Matheson aims to serve fine fare at a fair price.
He said the menu will feature familiar favorites with a refined flair, like Korean BBQ-stuffed potato skins, cornbread panzanella salad, and a roasted chicken breast with Woodford Reserve wild mushroom sauce. Other offerings will include Wagyu burgers, shrimp and lobster rolls, fish and chips, hearty seasonal salads, grilled steaks and chicken, char-grilled lamb, pulled pork sandwiches, fresh fish and more.
Primrose Table plans to serve dinner six nights a week (closed on Sundays), offering a full bar in addition to a “vibrant selection” of wines. Matheson has spent time in the kitchens of Nashville’s Watermark, Marsh House and Cork & Cow restaurants. he started his career at 101st Airborne and New Orleans Seafood Manor.
Primrose Table will be located in the Climb Murfreesboro (old Hastings) building at 1650 Memorial Blvd. in the Parkside development owned by Baker Storey McDonald Properties.
Matheson and his wife, Nevada, have also been selling flowers at craft fairs and food truck events out of the back of their classic GMC pickup, but now they want to branch out with private events like baby/bridal showers, birthday parties and wedding receptions.
They will deliver your flower orders in their all-original 1972 GMC pick-up truck with Primrose Flower Truck emblazoned on the side.
“We had The Very Idea put a frame and canvas canopy on the back for us to protect the flowers,” Matheson said.
You’ll never find a mobile flower shop with more style.
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More Food News
This fall Donut Country was voted the “Sweetest Bakery in Tennessee” during the Sweetest Bakery in America Contest. Sponsored by Dawn Foods, the annual contest seeks to find the sweetest of the sweets. The national winner was Lochel’s Bakery in Hatboro, Pennsylvania.
Speaking of doughnuts, Krispy Kreme got a building permit to make hot and fresh deliciousness on Medical Center Parkway. Back in November 2017, the Murfreesboro Planning Commission approved plans for a multi-tenant development called Robert Rose Village East, 10 mixed-use lots on 32.9 acres adjacent to the multi-tenant complex that houses The Chop House. Robert Rose Village East would also be home to an apartment complex, Dwell Well Vintage Gateway, and a hotel and bank as proposed.
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The restaurant formerly known as the Gondolier, located at 219 NW Broad St., has officially reopened with a new concept and name. 219 Mixed Cuisine is now serving a menu featuring Thai, Italian and American cuisine with a sushi bar.
The shop next to Pad Thai Cafe on South Church Street looks to be changing into an “Asian Mini Mart” if the sign above the door is to be believed. I don’t know what that means exactly, but I’ll be sure to check it out.
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Boro Town Cakes has opened its “grab and go” location about a block from its primary spot on the Square. The new shop, Boro Town Cakes Too, will offer convenient foods for busy attorneys at the new Judicial Center on Lytle Street. All the offerings, sandwiches, breakfast items and sweet treats will be made at the original location for purchase at the new location.
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Other Business News
A Smyrna multi-tenant commercial development sold for $5.85 million in September, according to records from the Rutherford County Register of Deeds. Built in 1999, the development known as Stewartsboro Crossing was sold by Smyrna Holdings to Maverick Management of Nashville. The company is owned by motel magnate Miten Patel. The strip mall, located at the corner of Old Nashville Highway and Almaville Road, is anchored by Food Lion and a Dollar General.
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Drake’s Barber Shop is expanding with a second location. Called “Heroes of the Road,” the new shop will be housed in the Pilot Travel Center in Lebanon.
A new furniture store called The Rust Bucket opened at 507 Memorial Blvd. in Murfreesboro. The shop offers handmade, real wood furniture for those looking for a rustic, farmhouse aesthetic.
The shopping center on the corner of Salem Pike and Cason Lane is getting rearranged. Three Rivers Family Dentistry will expand and take over more of the shopping center, including the former home of Shave. The barbershop has moved to a different unit in the front of the building, facing Salem Pike.
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A new women’s clothing store, Jae Lynn Boutique, has opened. Located at 3138 S. Church St., Suite K, the shop is an expansion of the original Jae Lynn in Fayetteville.
According to its website, “With Southern roots, a love for the Lord, and a fierce loyalty to her family and friends, Jae Lynn loves to give and have a good time while bringing women together in support and celebration of one another.”
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Closings Corner
A Rutherford County institution has closed for good. The Omni Hut’s last lunch was served Oct. 12. After closing temporarily due to staffing issues, the restaurant reopened in July with a revamped menu and hours, but the lunch buffet wasn’t enough to keep the 60-year-old eatery afloat.
After 18 years, Murfreesboro Outdoors closed to business.
“We want to thank everyone that has supported us the last 18 years. If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have been able to make it as long as we did. We had some fantastic customers, that turned into even better friends,” the owners said in a farewell Facebook post.
The specialty sports goods store that focused on outdoor gear, guns and ammo, and hunting and fishing supplies was located on Broad Street.
KAM’s Boutique on Thompson Lane and Yogurt House at 2333 Memorial Blvd. in Murfreesboro have also both closed, according to Facebook posts.
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More Area Business Stuff
John Jones Real Estate marked its 10th anniversary with a luncheon in October.
Jones launched his own real estate agency Oct. 1, 2008, right at the beginning of the Great Recession.
“We opened at the worst possible time when the bottom fell out of the real estate market and we still prospered,” said Michele Bufford, whose 20th anniversary with Jones was Oct. 6.
Jones and crew celebrated with an office party and probably selling a few houses.
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While they didn’t come to stay, a record 2.13 million visitors came to Rutherford County in 2017, a 7.4 percent increase from 2016’s then record-breaking mark of 1.98 million visitors.
Numbers released in August showed the tourism-related spending in Rutherford County in 2017 increased from $331.89 to $351.45 million, placing Rutherford County in the top 10 counties across the state for travel-related expenditures.
If more tourism means fewer taxes out of my pockets . . . welcome, visitors!
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Milton just got what is likely to become an attraction for visitors. After months of careful restoration, The Gathering at Milton and its adjoining grounds buzzed with happy chatter and excitement during the opening celebration with a Fall Market and Craft Fair. Organizers estimate more than 2,000 visitors from throughout Middle Tennessee and beyond attended the event that featured more than 50 artisans, food, music and children’s activities.
The new owners, Phillip and Alanna Vaught, said they will hold a Milton Christmas Gathering holiday open house, which will be free to the public, on Saturday, Nov. 24, from 4–8 p.m.
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Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland was the recipient of the Joe M. Rodgers Spirit of America Award at the MTSU Jones College of Business-hosted Leadership Summit. This award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated the highest ideals in keeping with the American spirit of innovation, entrepreneurship and commitment to others. The Pulse offers a congratulatory tip of the hat to Mayor McFarland.
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Jason Chambers, the proprietor of Middle Tennessee Hydroponics and Gardening on Clark Boulevard, opened a hemp and CBD dispensary adjacent to the gardening store in June 2018.
The shop opened with a bang, and many Rutherford County residents were very receptive to the availability of hemp and CBD products, many saying that these plant-based remedies—the hemp flower, oils and other products derived for low-THC cannabis—helped them out tremendously with various physical ailments.
Shortly after the store’s big opening, however, a legal dispute with another operator of the store arose and unfolded over the past months.
The hemp store eventually closed in early October.
However, after a busy few weeks of disappointed customers and store renovations, Chambers states that the Clark Boulevard Hydroponics store “will be selling the same hemp and CBD products as before,” under the Hydroponics and Gardening name.
“With all new businesses, there are ups and downs, people come and go, names change. But, through all that, what we are here to do is help people,” Chambers said. “Industrial hemp is a new wave of natural well-being and we were around from the start. From our farm and other local growers, directly to our clients, we are passionate about this amazing plant. Though our name is changed on the outside, we are the same on the inside.”
The former store name is being dissolved as part of the legal agreement.
For more information on Chambers’ store, visit midtnhydro.com.
Meanwhile, Trinity Mealor, Chambers’ former partner, has formed Tennessee Hemp Supply and opened a location on Rutherford Boulevard, near Media Rerun and WalMart, as well as locations in Shelbyville, Cookeville and Clarksville.
The Murfreesboro Tennessee Hemp Supply store recently announced that they plan to stay open 24 hours a day, and will offer a drive-through window service.
For more details on this store, visit tennesseehempsupply.com.
