The past few months have been tough on local businesses, particularly restaurants. We’ve seen a few close permanently, and others have to adjust because of the pandemic. But that hasn’t stopped a handful of entrepreneurs from chasing their cooking dreams and opening in the most challenging economy seen in generations.
Boro Bowls, 123 S. Church St., which owner Tosha Worthen calls a “super-fruit cafe,” has a menu centered around the South American acai berry and other fresh fruit bowls and smoothies. Find more at the Boro Bowls Facebook page.
Hungry Bear Cheesesteaks and Wings, 2830 Middle Tennessee Blvd., serves traditional Philly cheesesteaks, wings and maybe Southern barbecue. Call 615-763-1010 or visit the Hungry Bear Facebook page for more.
Crab Fever, at Stones River Town Centre (the mall), serves low-country boil staples like shrimp, crawfish, clams, mussels, corn on the cob, potatoes and sausage alongside a raw bar, crab legs, oysters, sliders, salads and desserts. Learn more at crabfever.com/crab-fever-murfreesboro.
Another Chipotle, at 2113 Memorial Blvd., features Murfreesboro’s first Chipotlane, a drive-thru pickup lane allowing customers to pick up digital orders from this fast-casual burrito joint without leaving their cars. The Murfreesboro restaurant is open every day from 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Lucky Thai, 2705 Old Fort Pkwy, Suite N., has an extensive menu of Thai food with with vegan and gluten-free options. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday–Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Learn more at luckythaitn.com.
Bee Hive Bistro, 2309 Mercury Blvd., the former home of Bread & Butter Sandwich Co., will specialize in Memphis-style wings, home cooking, soul food and Southern favorites. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Fresh Bite, 451 N. Thompson Lane, Unit A, which serves New York-style wings and burgers, along with salads and breakfast options like omelets, pancakes and breakfast platters. Hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Order by calling 615-546-4444 or going to freshbiterestaurant.com.
Sierra Azteca, 352 W. Northfield Blvd., a locally owned Mexican bar and grill in the former home of C.J.’s, offers all the usual Mexican menu items. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. To order, call 615-849-4390.
___
Plans On Hold
The Curious Kitchen purchased a building on State Street near downtown Murfreesboro. Renovations are ongoing, which includes a dispute with the Murfreesboro City Codes Department about its parking lot. The order to pave its parking lot, and tear down a portion of the existing building in order to create a second entrance to that parking lot, came as a surprise to Curious Kitchen owners Helen and Rachel Spensatelli after they purchased the building.
___
CBD News
Volunteer Botanicals has received a $25,000 grant from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s Ag Enterprise Fund for 2020 to have the opportunity to grow and positively impact rural economies through their grant program.
The $25,000 grant will kick off the construction and build-out of Tennessee’s first hemp post-conversion facility. Volunteer Botanicals will use their patent-pending technology to convert raw hemp extracts into various powder and liquid mediums, essentially creating the building blocks for product manufacturers inside and outside of the hemp industry.
Volunteer Botanicals is a company founded by three MTSU students who understand the potential of this powerful, dynamic plant. After two years in business, the company added a fourth partner, also a MTSU grad, and the plan for bringing the technology to Tennessee crystallized.
The new property will be located in Christiana, Tennessee, situated on 99 acres with room to farm, expand and, over time, build a hemp learning center. Volunteer Botanicals consists of CEO Derek Odette, COO Kevin Grisham, CMO Jason Pickle and CBO Charlie Livesay.
Find out more about Volunteer Botanicals at volunteerbotanicals.com.
___
Another Murfreesboro-based company, GreenWay Herbal Products, developer of Tanasi, a line of hemp-derived cannabinoid (CBD) products, has filed for an international patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty GreenWay Herbal Products. The filing is for Tanasi’s hemp extract product line and is one of the first companies in the hemp industry to file for a PCT.
By filing this international patent application, GreenWay Herbal Products can pursue protection for Tanasi’s inventions and products in a large number of countries, paving the way for global distribution.
The Tanasi brand is the first to provide a line of patent-pending formula hemp-derived CBD products developed in a university setting. A team of Ph.Ds from MTSU helped to develop Tanasi’s products, which are manufactured from high-quality hemp sourced in the USA and third-party tested.
Tanasi’s product line currently has 22 different products including hemp-derived full-spectrum tinctures, capsules, lotions, salves, a water-soluble drink concentrate and red panax ginseng extract capsules. All of the Tanasi CBD products contain the patent-pending formulation of cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), the precursor to CBD; are third-party tested, non-psychoactive, whole hemp extracts; and contain the legal threshold of 0.3% THC or less.
Tanasi products are sold at tanasi.com and at select independent retailers.
___
Other Stuff
Are you one of the many who are out of work but unsure of how to find a job during a pandemic? Talntly, a Middle Tennessee professional search firm, has launched as a digital hiring solution for job-seekers and hiring managers challenged by the restrictions posed by COVID-19.
Through on-demand digital interviews and custom skills assessments, Talntly helps companies screen and place job candidates in less time than the traditional model of high-volume résumé submission while eliminating unnecessary face-to-face traffic.
Once a candidate completes a digital interview at their convenience, it can then be shared with multiple hiring companies, eliminating the need for candidates to schedule phone interviews, take days off or attempt to schedule lunch interviews. Hiring managers are able to screen candidates 24/7.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Talntly is offering a free general skills assessment to help individuals better understand their top skills and potential career paths that align with those strengths. To learn more about Talntly, visit talntly.com.
___
Mental Health Cooperative of Murfreesboro is expanding into a new facility to better serve the community’s increasing behavioral health needs. Effective June 1, all MHC Murfreesboro operations will transition from their current location on Memorial Boulevard to their new location located at 1419 Kensington Square Court.
With COVID, MHC Murfreesboro continues to offer mental health services and Community-Based Care Management for children, adolescents and adults by “telemedicine” (phone or video). Face-to-face services are gradually being phased back in as safety allows.
New clients are currently welcomed and can begin services by calling 615-743-1555.
___
Sky Zone, the indoor trampoline park, has opened in the old Big Lots building on Broad Street.
___
Closings Corner
We knew it would happen. Businesses are shuttering in the wake of mandatory closures to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Pier 1 Imports, Victoria’s Secret and Tuesday Morning are closing most of their stores.
J.C. Penney, J. Crew, Neiman Marcus, Hertz and Advantage Rent-A-Car have all filed for bankruptcy protection.
Romano’s Macaroni Grill has permanently closed its restaurant in Murfreesboro’s Gateway. The closest location is now at 517 Opry Mills Drive in Nashville.
There’s a rumor that Family Video on Northfield will be closing after they sell off inventory.
The Ascent announced it will no longer be operating in its home on Park Avenue. The owner, Jeff Hess, said the climbing gym is looking for a new home in Murfreesboro, and in the meantime, memberships are honored at the Crag’s locations in Franklin and Nashville. You can find more details at climbyourrock.com/operational-updates.
Crossfit Murfreesboro, which shared the Park Avenue space with the Ascent, has announced that it has also closed.
If you value a locally owned place or even a national brand, right now is the best time to support them.
