Dog Haus Biergarten has reopened. After a storyline worthy of a soap opera, Dog Haus corporate reopened the beleaguered hot dog joint on Sept. 22.

Starting in July, investors Larry Lavine and Richard Reeves have closed Dog Haus Biergarten in Murfreesboro, Checkers in Nashville, La Vergne and Smyrna, and a Taco Johns and Church’s Chicken in Columbia.

However, the Dog Haus bigwigs came to the rescue of the Murfreesboro restaurant, paid employees their back pay, reopened the store and rehired about 85 percent of its former employees.

The Broad Street restaurant and biergarten serves a variety of all-beef hot dogs, corn dogs, chili dogs, turkey dogs, bacon-wrapped dogs, sausages and burgers with toppings ranging from egg and caramelized onion to sauerkraut and basil aioli.

Management at the California-based Dog Haus says that the Cowboy—a beef dog wrapped in bacon, topped with cheddar cheese sauce, crispy onions and barbecue sauce, served on split and toasted King’s Hawaiian rolls—is probably the most popular item at the Murfreesboro location, and that each Dog Haus store works with local breweries as they select their beer menu.

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Uncle Bud’s is back and ready to serve you catfish and hush puppies. The Middle Tennessee legend returned to town in late September.

According to the “Catfish Chronicle,” the original owners of the Franklin location (yes, the one with the lake) have gained ownership again. They hope to bring its catfish, chicken and such back to the midstate.

The new Uncle Bud’s is in the old Jazzmatazz (and Sante Fe before that) building off Old Fort Parkway.

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There’s a sign up saying “Poke Fun Hawaiian Cuisine” on a window in the outparcel building near Chophouse on Medical Center. Poke is a traditional Hawaiin dish that includes diced fish, and the new eatery will offer bowls featuring tuna, yellowtail, crab, shrimp or octopus along with the customer’s choice of veggies, sauces and toppings.

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Chef Wang’s has new owners.

The restaurant closed a few months ago with little warning. In September, Crystal Dong, daughter-in-law of the new owner, reported that the building will soon become Yoki Buffet.

The new owners plan to reopen in January 2019 after an extensive remodel. Dong said the interior would change but the buffet menu would stay the same but with a few additions.

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Speaking of timeless fare, the Waffle House takeover continues with a proposed diner on New Salem Highway near Cason Lane. The Murfreesboro Planning Commission approved plans to build a 1,991-square-foot restaurant near the strip mall that houses Pizza Inn.

This would be the seventh Waffle House in Murfreesboro. They are becoming as common as Walmarts.

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On the other end of Warrior Drive, Little Caesars plans to open near Rick’s BBQ. No opening date has yet been announced for the newest location for hot and ready pizzas.

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219 Mixed Cuisine will hold a grand opening Oct. 9 at 219 NW Broad St.

The restaurant formerly known as the Gondolier has changed its menu to feature Thai, Italian and American with a sushi bar. Sadly, the dessert case is gone.

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On the heels of being named one of the top 10 burgers in America, Burger Republic made another prestigious TripAdvisor list: The best burger in Tennessee.

The list accounts for ratio and quality of the burger reviews compared to overall ratings and reviews, as well as the quality and quantity of reviews received in the past year. Featured restaurants have a minimum of 4 out of 5 bubbles, 100 reviews and 10 locations or less as of June 2018.

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Gathering at Milton Craft Fair

After months of extensive restoration, the much-anticipated grand opening of The Gathering at Milton, a historic event venue, will be celebrated Saturday, Oct. 13, with a Fall Market and Craft Fair. The century-old building sits near the Milton Post Office. Formerly, it was Manuel’s Cajun Country Store and earlier Cherry’s Market, where everything from flour to feed was sold.

The vision of new owners Alanna and Phillip Vaught to bring back the location as a place for people to gather comes alive from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for a great autumn day of making memories in Milton. Nestled 15 miles northeast of Murfreesboro, just off state Route 96 past Lascassas, the town will buzz with music, food trucks, including Good ’Ol Sloppy Top and carefully selected vendors.

More than 50 Fall Market and Craft Fair vendors will pack the location to the brim. Vendors can be found on the venue’s Facebook page. The band, Texarkana, will perform from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Gathering at Milton is located at 12026 Milton St.

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Georgia-based Stars and Strikes has opened its brand-new Smyrna, Tennessee, location.

The Smyrna location is Stars and Strikes’ 12th location and its first in the state of Tennessee. The company has invested over $7 million in the new facility, creating more than 100 jobs.

The 55,000-square-foot facility located at 333 N. Lowry St. will house 24 bowling lanes, 8 of which are VIP lanes in the signature Main St. Lounge.

In addition to bowling, Stars and Strikes features a 7,000-square-foot arcade that houses more than 100 popular video and redemption games. The arcade includes a prize store where players can browse for prizes that can be purchased with game prize tickets. The facility also encompasses a two-story laser tag arena, bumper cars, 7/10 Grille restaurant and a large full-service bar surrounded by big-screen TVs for sports viewing.

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A recent real estate deal fell through and likely killed “Project Wolverine,” a tax incentive package that would have brought 850 jobs to La Vergne.

The company behind the plan was later revealed to be Amazon.

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Franklin Synergy Bank opened its newest location at 310 W. Main St. in Murfreesboro.

To celebrate, the bank held a Big Rutherford Giveback poll. More than 3,000 people voted, and Greenhouse Ministries was awarded the top prize of $5,000 from Franklin Synergy Bank.

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Speaking of good people doing good work, the Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Center is moving its offices. They found the space at 1423 Kensington Square Place in Murfreesboro.

“With more than 30 years of serving the needs of survivors and seeing a steady increase in numbers of clients served, we knew that we needed to think strategically about our future plans and the need for more office space,” explained Karen Lampert, the center’s Executive Director.

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The big box on South Church Street that started life as a Food Lion and lived briefly as an IGA will soon be a Planet Fitness. No timeline has been announced.

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Ka’Elegance Boutique has opened on the second floor at 105 N. Maple St. on the Murfreesboro Public Square. The shop features high-end ladies’ fashion and shoes.

The boutique was born from “a vision that God gave me to break the cycles of oppression, depression, poverty, learned helplessness, etc. of His people,” the owner, Karen Bolden, said on her website.

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Modern City Furniture has opened in the former Salvation Army store. The store is a chain retailer that provides an assortment of unique and high-quality, brand-new furniture, home-decor items, and mattresses at affordable prices.

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Jeff Hess and Jeremy King, of The Ascent, will soon open a bicycle shop on Veterans Parkway near Lemongrass Sushi and Thai. The shop, know as Spoke Easy, will sell Giant brand bicycles and other bike accessories and will also offer bicycle repair service.

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Murfreesboro Medical Clinic broke ground on a satellite campus in mid-September on Shelbyville Highway (South Church Street) at Volunteer Road. The 30,000 square-foot building will have multiple practices, with a focus on family care and pediatricians. It is expected to open in summer 2019.

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Kin-Soul is a new local company that has created a way to help those awkward moments at funerals.

The company created a ribbon that says “Family” that will be marketed to funeral homes. They can be worn so those attending the funeral will be able to identify the family members of the deceased.

“Kin-Soul will be blazing a trail in order to become the 2019 new trend in the industry it is intended for. We have a waiting list of orders, ready for kick-off. Word-of-mouth has this industry excited for this change,” Kin-Soul founder and CEO Kim Honeycutt said. Find out more at kin-soul.com.

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Reox Automotive Closes

Reox Automotive has closed its doors on Broad Street but hopes to reopen in another location, owner Danielle Sapienza announced recently.

Sapienza said she and her husband didn’t know anyone when they moved to Murfreesboro in 2012. But since taking over Reox, they have turned customers into friends.

So it was with a heavy heart that they had to reassess the business’s future after an increase in rent and a key investor (Sapienza’s father) pulled his support in the wake of a medical diagnosis, she said.

“Though we gained so many new customers, we really couldn’t afford to stay here anymore. The rent had really eaten up a lot of our possible profit,” Sapienza said.

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The Future of Milkshakes in Murfreesboro

Rumors have been swirling about the possible closure of Reeves-Sain Drug Store. Nothing has been officially confirmed but it does seem likely.

In early September, Walgreens and Fred’s (which owns Reeves-Sain) announced they have entered into an agreement for Walgreens to buy pharmacy patient prescription files and related pharmacy inventory of 185 Fred’s stores located across 10 Southeastern states. This more than likely includes those of the Murfreesboro staple.

Calls and emails to Walgreen’s corporate office have as yet gone unanswered.

But for a clue, look to all the empty and overgrown Rite-Aids around town. Walgreen’s likes its branding, and the chain closed many of the area Rite-Aids after recently acquiring them. And Reeves-Sain doesn’t look anything like the typical Walgreens’ corner drug store.

If I were a betting woman, I’d lay down odds that Walgreens will end up closing the store. It’s not a matter of if, but when.