Photo by D. Patrick Harding A large crowd gathers in front of the stage at Rhythm & Brews in this file photo. Moe's Original Bar B Que is slated to open in the Market Street site in February.A founding partner in downtown Chattanooga's Mellow Mushroom restaurant is opening a nearby barbecue eatery, citing what he calls a growing dynamism in the central city.
Moe's Original Bar B Que of Chattanooga is under construction at 221 Market St., space that for years had held Rhythm & Brews, said Jason Jones, a part owner of the new restaurant.
Moe's is slated to open in February and hold 115 seats in the 3,450-square-foot location, he said.
"We chose Moe's because it's a funky, renegade little company," Jones said about the business he co owns with partners LJ Knight and Travis Griffith. "Its culture is a lot like Mellow's."
The Vail, Colo.-based Moe's operates about 50 restaurants, including five open or planned in Tennessee, four in Georgia and 17 in Alabama.
The founders met at the University of Alabama and shared a mutual interest in barbecue. In 2001, they reconnected in Vail and decided they wanted to start their own concept. The company now has restaurants in the Southeast, Northeast and West.
Moe's currently has eight restaurants under construction, Franchising Today said last month, and the company is working on expanding into Mexico City and Australia. Moe's officials hope to be at 100 stores by the end of 2020.
Jones said he has seen downtown grow over the last couple of decades as a partner and primary operator of the Broad Street and East Brainerd Mellow Mushroom restaurants.
The central city is seeing an array of new housing, mostly apartments, go up and more are planned. Also, a half dozen new hotels downtown are under construction or on the drawing board.
Moe's will offer daily specials and rotating sides with influences from creole to soul food to Southwestern flavor, Jones said.
"Everything is scratch-made daily, and it's our intention to sell out each day," Jones said. "We won't serve reheated meats from the day before."
Live music may be offered from time to time, he said.
The partners like the site because of the legacy of Rhythm & Brews, Jones said. Rhythm & Brews, a downtown staple for 16 years, closed last year.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.