Joe and Dough Cafe recently opened its new location at 1220 E. Northfield Blvd. in Murfreesboro.

The cafe offers nearly countless breakfast options in addition to its lunch and dessert options, some of which include apple, cherry and pineapple fritters, cinnamon rolls, and gluten-free cake donuts during the weekend. Current hours are from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Sunday, which is 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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Shortly after completing its current location on Old Fort Parkway, Whataburger announced that it will open a second Murfreesboro location, which, along with a Smyrna location, will make for three locations in Rutherford County.

The new Murfreesboro location will be located on Memorial Boulevard, and will open in 2023. Other locations include Hermitage, Gallatin, Madison, Nashville, Mt. Juliet and two in Lebanon. The franchise expects to expand across Tennessee even more over the coming years, but as of now, these locations are the only ones that have been announced. For more information, visit stories.whataburger.com.

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Lots of business news on Vine Street lately.

Electric Peach Tattoo recently re-opened at its new location at 118 W. Vine St. after originally announcing its move two months ago. The new location is just across the street from the public library, and current hours are from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday through Thursday (closed on Friday). For more information, call 615-900-3768.

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Vine Street Market recently announced its rebranding and is now called Doodles Kitchen and Bakery, and is run by new owners Charlie and Danielle Gallipoli. The bakery, located at 117 E. Vine St., is considered a “prepared food and takeout style market.”

Even with the recent rebranding and name change, the bakery still offers some of the same great lunch, dinner, snacks and sweets options as before, including ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat full meals. Some of these items include casseroles, meat and veggies, soups and a variety of baked goods. The bakery offers online access to its weekly menu as well as a service for ordering ahead. Other offered items include retail and gift items, local homemade goods and products from other local companies. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday. For more information, visit thevinestreetmarket.com.

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Backroom Unique Home Furnishings is coming to Vine Street at the corner of Walnut Street near Boro Kabob.

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The Alley on Main, 223 W. Main St., has dubbed the lot next to the primary restaurant The Yard, calling it “a sister restaurant of the Alley featuring high flavor food straight from our food trucks.” The open-air space, with canvas coverings for shade, rain protection, and turf on the ground, has games like giant Jenga and outdoor seating to enjoy drink specials and fine food outside the popular downtown Murfreesboro restaurant.

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Frontier Building, a general construction and design-build contractor recently broke ground on a new commercial development project at 2901 S. Church St. Frontier Building has worked on over 400 projects across 22 states. This upcoming project is scheduled for completion this October and will include a 9,388-square-foot complex that will host a Panda Express with a drive-thru, a Jersey Mike’s Subs, and three other businesses. The parking lot will provide parking spaces for 74 customers. For more information, visit frontierbuilding.com.

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Although The Wellness Emporium has closed its Murfreesboro location, its Woodbury location will remain open. The Murfreesboro location has been successful for three years, but with unexpected challenges the business experienced during COVID, ownership opted for the Murfreesboro closure. The business mentioned in a recent Facebook post that closing the Murfreesboro location will help to ease the workload and provide more time to discover what works for the team and their mission to help people who are dedicated to better health and well-being. For more information, visit halfhillfarm.com.

In related news, The Wellness Emporium’s previous location will soon be home to Bean Loft Coffee Company’s first brick-and-mortar dine-in coffee shop, which is located just beside The Boulevard Bar and Grille at the corner of Middle Tennessee and Main streets.

Bean Loft Coffee started out as a small food truck, and with the support of locals and local businesses, owner Akirah Chaney has decided to open a permanent location and a second coffee trailer. Both are expected to be used for weddings and private events. The projected opening date is this September. Products offered at this location will include coffee, smoothies and loaded waffles. For more information, visit facebook.com/beanloft.

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7Brew Coffee announced that it expects to open its first Tennessee location by Sept. 9, located at 217 N. Thompson Ln. beside Slim Chickens. The location will feature a drive-thru with two lanes, which differs from 7Brew’s usual coffee-stand experience. 7Brew currently has 21 locations across the southern and midwestern states including Arkansas, Missouri, South Carolina, Kansas and Texas.

The 7Brew menu features seven original flavors, hot and cold coffees, energy drinks and teas, sodas, smoothies and shakes. For more information, visit 7brew.com.

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The Rutherford County Veterans Community Center recently opened its Memorial Boulevard location at 439 Rice St. The location will host many upcoming events for local veterans and others, including fundraising events, meetings and more. It will serve as an event space for different local veteran organizations and events, as well as a site to collect donations. For more information, visit rutherfordvetcenter.com.

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The Journey Home recently announced plans to build a new facility to host those in need and provide resources for the local homeless communities. According to the recent announcement, the new building will provide 23,000 square feet of space with 10 short-term family units, as well as resources for mental and physical health support, programs to provide assistance with employment, hygiene and clothing, wellness, meals, and more—all of which are offered by the current location at 308 W. Castle St. For more information, visit lovegodservepeople.org.

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Experienced real estate professionals Tabitha King and Melanie Harper recently launched Authority Title and Escrow—located at 319 Hickerson Dr. in Murfreesboro—dedicated to the real estate and title industry. King and Harper are known as veterans of the business and offer more than 40 years of combined experience, top-notch service and trusted solutions. The business includes providing customized and tailored solutions for residential and commercial closings, and is open to serve realtors, lenders, investors, home buyers and sellers throughout Tennessee.

King was raised in Middle Tennessee, while Harper, a native of Southern California, moved to the area in 2007. They aim to make closing a smooth, effortless and hassle-free occasion.

“Launching Authority Title is the culmination of years of planning and dreaming,” said King. “We’ve recognized the growing need for a closing partner that is a true master over all areas of a real estate transaction. I’m thrilled to be working with this team to provide exceptional service and peace of mind for such an important milestone in so many people’s lives.”

In addition to residential and commercial properties, Authority Title and Escrow provides title closing services for land purchases and new construction projects. The team also has the ability to conduct remote closings, and performs 1031 exchanges, private lending transactions, and quitclaim deed preparations.

For more information, visit authorityclosings.com.

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Discovery Plaza, the large development at the corner of Church and Broad streets, is for sale for $9.5 million. This includes the main building, which houses the United Grocery Outlet and other tenants as well as the Party Fowl and Sammi’s Pizza buildings. Find more on this at swansondevelopments.com.

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The Nashville Advertising Co-op of Sonic Drive-Ins awarded 83 $1,000 scholarships to employees of their drive-ins this summer. Over the past 20 years the area Sonic Drive-Ins have given in excess of a million dollars in scholarships to employees.

The program began as the idea of Robert Newberry, owner and operator of the Lewisburg Sonic. Newberry and other operators were looking for incentives that would help reduce turnover and attract higher caliber employees.

“Aiding employees in their education experience has helped many drive-ins keep well-trained associates on board,” he stated.

In order to qualify for these scholarships, the employees must have worked in the drive-in for at least one year, acquire written recommendations from their store managers, teachers, and other community leaders, have completed high school and be accepted in good standing with a college or university.

Pictured: Samara Sanders and Hailey Luangaphay, employees of Murfreesboro Sonic Drive-In locations, each received a $1,000 scholarship from Sonic. Samara will be a sophomore studying business management at Alabama A&M University. Hailey study nursing as a freshman at South College – Nashville.

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According to a banner hung above a space within the Kroger shopping center at Northfield Boulevard and Broad Street, a restaurant called Q&R Cafe will move into the unit.

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Sketchers, the family footwear brand featuring athletic and casual shoes plus apparel, has opened a warehouse outlet in Murfreesboro at 1971 Old Fort Pkwy. in Towne Centre near Target and T.J. Maxx.

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Epicurean Olive Oil Co. recently closed its store at The Avenue after a decade at the location, due to medical circumstances. However, the company announced that it will continue to offer its well-loved products on its website and at The Painted Tree Marketplace locations. Painted Tree locations include The Oaks Shopping Center at 552 N. Thompson Ln. in Murfreesboro, 1113 Murfreesboro Rd. in Franklin, and 9630 Kingston Pike in Knoxville. For more information, visit epicureanoliveoil.com.

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CLOSINGS

Murfreesboro Pawn & Gold (formerly known as Murfreesboro Pawn & Gun) on Broad Street has closed permanently.

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Pita Pit on South Rutherford has permanently closed after about a decade at the location. However, there are more than 200 locations across the United States, and 580 worldwide. Fans of the restaurant are sad to see it go and hope that another Tennessee location will eventually open, although as of now, there are not any current plans for another location.

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Georgia’s Sports Bar & Grill in Smyrna has closed.

“The economy, coupled with surging gas and food prices, has put us in a position where we can’t afford to keep the business open any longer,” according to a farewell statement from owners Jason and Georgia Warrick. “We want to thank all our employees and customers for everything they have done for us in the last 10 years. It has been an interesting ride for sure.”