WREG — News — LPI Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Overton Square is the heart of a bustling Midtown Memphis district where arts of all kinds have turned the four corners of Memphis Cooper Street and Madison Avenue into a magnet for foodies, music lovers, and theatre enthusiasts.

The second TGIFriday’s in America opened on Madison Avenue at Cooper Street May 21, 1970, after a successful bid to sell liquor by the drink passed in the Tennessee legislature.

Soon after, Overton Square was bustling with restaurants, shops and music venues like the original Lafayette’s, helping propel the careers of some of the biggest names in music.

“Lafayette’s Music Room was hosting. I mean, you name it, we got our hands on Billy Joel, Kansas, Kiss, Barry Manilow, Henry Gross, Leon Russell, and these are all names at the time that hadn’t made it huge yet, but were on their way up,” said Lafayette’s Music Room General Manager Julien Salley, Jr.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Could the Highland Strip be the “new Beale Street?” Some say it may be on the way.

The recent opening of Maciel’s Tortas and Tacos at 525 S. Highland Street last weekend is just one example of the growth happening there.

Ryan Haskett, a frequent visitor to the Strip and regular DJ and performer at The Bluff, says good things are happening on the Strip.

“I think that Highland Strip is booming. I think this is the new Beale Street of Memphis. We have a ton of new businesses that are opening,” Haskett said.

The row of early 20th-century storefronts near the University of Memphis has gone through ups and downs since it became popular with college students in the late 1960s.

But for the past couple of years, it has been the scene of a major renovation effort by owner Loeb Properties, which also redeveloped Overton Square.

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