Firebirds Wood Fired Grill recently opened its newest location at 2532 Medical Center Pkwy. in Murfreesboro, the brand’s second restaurant in the greater Nashville area. Restaurant hours are from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

The award-winning American restaurant and steakhouse, known for preparing its seasoned and hand-cut aged steaks and fresh seafood over an open flame, offers 6,000-square-feet of space for guests to enjoy the unique dinner experience, with the restaurant’s scratch kitchen visible from the dining room.

The extensive Firebirds menu also includes seared tuna, ribs, burgers, bacon deviled eggs, cheesesteak egg rolls, crab cakes, wings, salads and a five-layer lemon cake. And the concept’s Firebar serves Firebirds’ signature Double Black Diamond Martini, an infusion of fresh pineapple and pineapple vodka.

“I’ve had the distinct privilege of being a part of the hospitality community in Middle Tennessee for years, and there’s nothing quite like the energy and vibrancy of the food scene here. As we have for years at Firebirds in Brentwood, my team and I look forward to serving only the finest wood-fired steaks, seafood and more to this growing community in historic Murfreesboro,” said Kevin Hodges, general manager of Firebirds in Murfreesboro. “On behalf of the entire Firebirds team, we couldn’t be more thrilled to serve our neighbors in Clari Park for years to come.”

The location hosted a pre-opening event and fundraiser for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation—the restaurant company’s national charity partner—to aid in the fight against childhood cancer. In addition to raising funds pre-opening and hosting other events throughout the year, for every Alex’s Lemonade purchased in every Firebirds restaurant, $1.25 is donated to the foundation. Firebirds has raised about $3.5 million to fund impactful research, raise awareness and empower communities to help cure childhood cancer.

A privately-owned, polished casual American restaurant concept, Firebirds offers an energetic twist on the traditional grill, searing its items over locally sourced hickory, oak or pecan wood on its exposed wood-fired grill. For more information, visit firebirdsrestaurants.com.

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More plans for the Clari Park development on Medical Center Parkway have been announced, including plans to build a new P.F. Chang’s location.

P.F. Chang’s currently has five Tennessee locations which include Chattanooga, Franklin, Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville.

P.F. Chang’s may be the first internationally recognized multi-unit Asian culinary brand to honor and celebrate wok cooking as the center of the guest experience. With roots in Chinese cuisine, its current menu features dishes from across all of Asia, honoring cultures and recipes from Japan, Korea, Thailand and other areas.

P.F. Chang’s now has more than 300 restaurants.

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Clari Park on Medical Center Parkway will also include a Raising Cane’s. Raising Cane’s offers a variety of chicken meals, its own popular Cane’s Sauce, and its crinkle-cut fries made from center-cut grade A potatoes, as well as a side of Texas toast for most meals. This will be the second Raising Cane’s location in the area in addition to their Smyrna location at 380 Sam Ridley Parkway W. The chain also has Cookeville, Knoxville and Nashville eateries.

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Mr. Brews Taphouse recently received its commercial building permit for its 14th restaurant location, which will be at 5525 Franklin Rd. in Murfreesboro. The new restaurant is expected to open by the beginning of December. Mr. Brews will offer a variety of burgers and craft beers. The new restaurant will also feature an outside patio area allowing customers to bring their dogs.

The Mr. Brews franchise began with its first location in 2013 in Weston, Wisconsin. Most of its current locations exist in Wisconsin, with additional locations in Arizona, Florida, Kansas and Kentucky.

The restaurant also offers sweet potato fries and fresh-cut chips, black bean patties, Certified Hereford beef burgers, and vegetarian options.

Gourmet burger options include the Kentucky Bourbon Classic, the Rajun’ Cajun and the Brews-chetta burger. Select your favorite cheese, with options like pepper jack, bleu cheese and havarti, and finish off a burger with extras like a fried egg or bacon. It also serves grilled cheese, mac n’ cheese, chicken tenders and burger sliders to keep the kids happy.

For more information, visit mrbrewstaphouse.com.

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The Earth Experience Museum of Natural History, located at 816 Old Salem Rd., recently announced that it has acquired a 2,500-pound triceratops skull.

The skull was found and retrieved from Montana, which was around 3,200 miles round-trip—a journey documented on the Earth Experience Facebook page—and museum staff say they are excited to have the massive fossil as part of its exhibit.

The Earth Experience has been in the process of removing the plaster and rock from around the skull, a process that will be visible to the public. Museum guests can observe this while at the Murfreesboro facility. Other museum exhibits include archeological relics from Antarctica and Madagascar to minerals, rocks, fossils and other locally-found items. For more information, visit earthexperience.org.

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Aldi’s newest location at 5109 Franklin Rd. has officially opened, with store hours from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, every day.

The store receives fresh produce daily and Aldi management say they are proud to support shoppers with their great deals on meats, canned goods and more.

Aldi has opened more than 1,000 stores throughout America within the last 10 years.

“Our stores are designed to make grocery shopping smarter, faster and easier, and we’ve been voted the price leader for six years running,” said Aldi’s Divisional Vice President Amy Peters. “We have served this community for more than 18 years and are excited to continue to offer Murfreesboro residents an affordable way of shopping.”

Aldi offers a variety of organic produce delivered daily, a selection of cheese, alcoholic beverages, gluten-free and plant-based food, non-perishables and more. Shoppers now have the option to pick up orders via curbside pickup, as well as the option for delivery.

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Kona Ice of Middle Tennessee recently announced that it will open a new business this fall. The business, called Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee, will offer a variety of drinks including frappes, cold brews, iced and warm coffee, frozen beverages, flavored hot chocolate, energy drinks, lemonades, teas and more.

It will offer all sorts of flavor options—vanilla, caramel, mocha, white chocolate, hazelnut and spiced chai, as well as seasonal flavors: honey blueberry, available from March 1 to May 1, vanilla horchata from May 1 to July 1, pumpkin pie from Sept. 1 to Nov.1, and peppermint from Nov. 1 to Jan. 1.

Travelin’ Tom’s, like Kona Ice, will set up at a variety of events around Middle Tennessee. The business is currently hiring “positive people that don’t mind working hard” with coffee and barista experience to staff this coffee shop on wheels. For more information or to apply, email willrod@kona-ice.com or visit facebook.com/konaiceofmiddletennessee.

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Bonchon Korean Fried Chicken has opened its Murfreesboro location at 1718 Memorial Blvd., featuring chicken wings and strips fried crispy and tossed in its signature soy garlic or spicy sauce, as well as bulgogi, kimchi, udon noodle soup, fried rice, katsu, Korean tacos, pork buns and more.

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Woodfin Funeral Chapel will celebrate its 130th anniversary with a public celebration on Sunday, Oct. 15, at 4 p.m. The event will be held at the Murfreesboro location, 1488 Lascassas Pk., and will include refreshments, music and a guest speaker.

Woodfin also invites residents who have experienced grief to take part in their weekly Mourning Walk, held every Thursday at 9:30 a.m. Those interested will meet at Oakland’s Park pavilion, located at 900 N. Maney Ave. in Murfreesboro.

The Woodfin Funeral Chapels in Murfreesboro and Smyrna, a six-generation business, have been independent and family-owned since 1893. For more information, visit woodfinchapel.com.

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A new eatery called MexiChina will soon open in the Marathon gas Station on Old Fort Parkway in the restaurant space formerly occupied by Flying Chicken Station. The new eatery will offer a variety of Mexican and Chinese menu options, and will be the second location in the area in addition to MexiChina’s La Vergne location on Nir Shreibman Boulevard, just off of Waldron Road and Murfreesboro Road. For more information, visit mexichinarestauranttn.com.

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Taziki’s Murfreesboro location has opened at The Oaks, 1855 Medical Center Pkwy., serving beef, lamb, salmon, shrimp and chicken available on a bed of rice, on a salad or as a wrap, along with hummus, soup pasta and more.

Taziki’s originated in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1998 and has since grown to over 90 locations, primarily in the Southeast.

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The Tennessee Digital Marketing Association recently launched with intent to assist local professionals in growing their digital marketing skills by helping them learn in a judgment-free zone. TDMA offers a peer mentoring model and offers marketers a low-cost place to learn while being supported by other marketers and local experts. Fueled by discussion, brainstorming and sharing, the environment stimulates learning, creativity and collaboration.

“Marketing has evolved incredibly fast, and the volume of skills that marketers are expected to master is daunting: the explosion in disruptive artificial intelligence tools, a reduced ability to target audiences with online advertising due to privacy changes and the 2024 loss of third-party cookies, [and] major shifts in SEO and media relations,” said TDMA founder and CEO and Murfreesboro resident Carrie Morgan. “Lately, every time we master one tool or tactic, it changes or another takes its place. It’s a tough environment with high client and employer expectations.”

Morgan has more than 30 years of agency, corporate and nonprofit marketing experience. Her core competencies include keyword analysis, on-page search engine optimization, content marketing and market positioning. She is a keyword analyst consultant, and the award-winning author of Above the Noise: Creating Trust, Value & Reputation Online Using Basic Digital PR, and a Google Women TechMakers Ambassador.

She spent years searching for an association that was part mastermind group, part think tank, and part peer mentoring, where marketing professionals could truly work together, and eventually decided to create TDMA as a solution.

“By lifting each other, we lift the community,” said Morgan. “My goal is to start something that really resonates with marketing professionals . . . helping each other improve instead of fearing competition. This is essential for marketers concerned with remaining relevant through these changes. It’s also beneficial to local businesses by continually strengthening the pool of available talent in the area.”

The organization will begin with offering one event per month in Nashville, starting with the Oct. 12 “Must-Know AI Tools and Tactics for Marketing Professionals” at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, and plans to follow that with other Murfreesboro and Nashville events.

For more information, visit thetdma.com or contact Carrie Morgan at 602-478-9919 or hello@thetdma.com.

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The Murfreesboro Driver Services Center at 1035 Samsonite Blvd. has closed temporarily for a remodel, and will reopen sometime in mid-November.

While the Murfreesboro Driver Services Center is closed, road skills tests can be scheduled at the new Murfreesboro Express Driver Services Center at 3906 Blaze Dr.

Citizens can also visit the four self-service kiosks in Rutherford County, located at the La Vergne Public Library, Linebaugh Public Library, MTSU’s Blueprint Print Shop, and at the Rutherford County Clerk’s office.

Services included at the kiosks include handgun permit renewals, replacing or renewing a driver’s license, paying driver’s reinstatement fees, changing an address or obtaining a voter registration card.

For more information, visit tn.gov/safety/driver-services.

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CLOSED

As previously mentioned, after just a couple of years of operation within the Marathon on Old Fort Parkway, Flying Chicken Station has closed due to staff members retiring, according to management at the gas station.

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The Moonlite Drive-In in Woodbury recently announced that it has closed permanently due to the staff wanting more time with their families. Despite the theater closing, the facility will still offer a place for special events and fundraising. According to their Facebook page, a few events are already in the works, with more information to come.

Many locals have commented on Moonlite’s Facebook page suggesting they would love to see the business sold to a new owner in order to continue the drive-in, as it has been one of Woodbury’s main attractions since it opened in 2005. Visit facebook.com/themoonlite for further information.

Those wanting a drive-in experience can visit the Stardust Drive-In in Watertown, which according to owner Barry Floyd, will remain open.