Customers order lunch at Mojo Burrito in St. Elmo in this 2009 file photo.Slick's Burgers rang in the work week with a grand reopening at its new location in Chattanooga's Southside on Monday.
The restaurant has a new menu and new beers on tap, said Robb Peterson, who co-owns Slick's with Eric Taslimi.
The duo first opened the restaurant in St. Elmo in late 2013 and remained at 3950 Tennessee Ave. for more than a year until their lease was up. Peterson and Taslimi weren't able to negotiate a new lease so the business partners looked for a new location.
They built the new site, 309 E. Main St., from the ground up. It includes a retrofitted metal trailer. The owners declined to share construction costs.
Slick's, which grinds its own beef and turkey but also has veggie burgers, prides itself on using fresh ingredients, Peterson said. It gets its bread from Niedlov's, also located in the Southside.
"Nothing is frozen," he said. "We don't use prepackaged frozen food."
Mojo Burrito on Jan. 1 began leasing the St. Elmo space Slick's had been in. Dever Dever & Dever Properties, which owns the building, opted not to renew the lease for Slick's, said Susan Dever.
"We gave them a lot and that wasn't enough, so we decided to sever the relationship," Dever said. "I think Mojo is going to be great there."
Slick's Burgers is now open in a new building in the 300 block of East Main Street.Mojo Burrito is leasing the space to relocate its current St. Elmo location, 3815 St. Elmo Ave., the eatery's first. It also has locations in East Brainerd and Red Bank.
Mojo Burrito owner Eve Williams had wanted to buy the property, but Dever Properties didn't want to sell it, Susan Dever said. Dever declined to say how long the lease was for.
Williams, who could not be reached Friday, is adding a porch and storage area to the 2,250-square-foot building and remodeling it, Dever said. It was built in 1966.
Williams plans to continue to own the restaurant's current St. Elmo location but isn't sure what she will do with it, she said on a video at stelmohomes.com, a website that shares information about properties in the neighborhood.
Mojo Burrito is moving to the new location for parking accommodations and to have more room, Williams said. The new location will have a full menu and is expected to be the first of Mojo's with limited dining service -- only for beverages and appetizers on the deck and porch. It also is expected to serve breakfast, beginning on weekends. It's not clear when the new St. Elmo's location will open.
Staff writer Alex Green contributed to this report.
Contact staff writer Mitra Malek at mmalek@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6406. Follow her on Twitter @MitraMalek.