Empire Building

Memphis Taproom Owners Take On the Shuttered Butcher & The Brewer Space

We're guessing this latest venture will last longer than the Blue Bear Tavern.
We’re guessing this latest venture will last longer than the Blue Bear Tavern. Photo: Naked Philly

Yesterday we floated the idea that the corner property at Fifth and Bainbridge where Tapestry tanked, and is about to surface again was possibly jinxed. Now there’s word that another presumably cursed space is about to come back to life. Brendan Hartranft and Leigh Maida, proprietors of venerable watering holes Memphis Taproom, Resurrection Ale House, and Local 44 have signed a lease on 216 S. 11th Street, the Insider reports. The space was last inhabited (for a hot minute) by The Butcher & The Brewer, and before that The Boilermaker, Blue Bear Tavern, and (for a rather lengthy stretch) Doc Watson’s.

Based on the sterling track record, and the continued success that Hartranft and Maida enjoy with their other three operations, we’re guessing this latest venture — their first in Center City — will have some staying power. Details are few, but the couple expects to have the unnamed bar and restaurant open and pouring beers by mid-March, which is when their second kid is due. Mazel tov!

Memphis Taproom/Local 44 crew going into Center City [Insider]

Memphis Taproom Owners Take On the Shuttered Butcher & The Brewer Space