Renasant Bank Designs a Transparent Memphis Headquarters

Bankers have often built their buildings with materials like stone, brick and cement to symbolize the institution’s strength, stability and staying power.

Renasant Bank leaders will project more modern symbolism in their new glassy, Memphis headquarters that is to open in September in the heart of East Memphis’ Poplar Corridor.

“Retail banking has changed a lot over the years,” said project architect Jason Weeks, a senior associate at LRK. “In the old days it was ‘Your money is safe inside a fortress, a really heavy box that makes you feel safe.’

“Well, now retail banking is open, and we want to highlight that. We want to allow the glass to open that up and invite people in more,” he said of the $15 million building at 5575 Poplar. “Your money is still just as safe. But it’s an opportunity to really reach out to the community.”

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Yoga instructor starts anew with Chickasaw Gardens studio

In the haste to open her very own studio during the busy holiday season, yoga instructor Yolandrea Clark had to handle a lot of details.

She found her building in the Chickasaw Gardens neighborhood at the end of November, signed her lease on Dec. 10, and was up and running on New Year's Day. Between setting up an online registration system, handling code enforcement, securing equipment, and even attending jury duty, she toiled over one of the last features of her studio to fall into place.

Clark really wanted a specific kind of flooring.

“I wanted rubber floors, because I have people with joint replacements. It’s much easier on them,” she said.

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Collierville chiropractor opening East Memphis office

A Collierville chiropractor is opening a second office location in East Memphis.

The Chiro Place, a family-based chiropractic practice that serves all ages, is opening its second office at 3179 Poplar Ave., across from East High School.

Owned and operated by Dr. Dena Granger, The Chiro Place is leasing a 1,500-square-foot space in Loeb Properties’ Shops of Chickasaw Gardens.

"Currently, with us being in Collierville we have a lot of patients who commute from the Memphis area," Granger said. "We were looking for a good, neutral spot to serve more of the Memphis community." 

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Renovated Donut Shop Rounds Into Shape

An incoming donut shop seems poised to add to the city’s whimsical, kitsch architecture and signage, in the tradition of the rotating Sputnik at Joe’s Wines & Liquor, the flashing neon at Gibson's Donuts and the long-gone Pop Tunes dancing neon musical notes.

The future shop at 1776 Union Ave. features a corner patio so round that it mimics the donuts to be made and sold inside.

In case there’s any doubt about the circular symbolism, a giant donut-shaped sign will be installed atop the patio, according to an architectural rendering provided by landlord Loeb Properties.

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ErinWay Shopping Center to Undergo Renovation

A shopping center in the heart of East Memphis will soon undergo a renovation.

Loeb Properties this week applied to do work on its ErinWay Center at 4870 Poplar. The document estimates the first phase of work will cost about $750,000.

The J-shaped center anchored by Huey’s occupies 4.1 acres with 44,487 square feet of commercial space and parking.

The strip center is bordered by Poplar to the south, St. Nick on the west and Erin Drive on the east.

“We'll be making some cosmetic and construction adjustments to this plan as we work our way around the building, and are staging the renovation in phases to work around the busy holiday shopping season,’’ Loeb Properties spokeswoman Ciara Neill said in an email to The Daily Memphian.

“In the first phase, which is just about to kick off, we'll be renovating the western side of the building around Sakura Japanese Restaurant and the European Wax Center,’’ she said. “We're currently exploring the addition of a fun splash of color on that wing of the building through an artistic installation facing St. Nick Street, and after the holidays will pick back up with construction on the south and east facades of the shopping center.’’

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Porch & Parlor Plans Lush Interior and Early 2019 Opening

The opening of Porch & Parlor in the former Bar Louie spot in Overton Square has been pushed back a bit, from late 2018 to early 2019.

In May, Russ Graham and Tom Powers announced they leased the space and would open Porch & Parlor, making it the third in the local restaurant portfolio that includes Flight and Southern Social. The plan was always to offer upscale dining, but researching the building’s history led them to reconsider the interior design.

“We’re embracing when the building was built, which was during the Belle Epoque era,” Graham said.

The era, which encompassed the Gilded Age in the U.S., was a time of prosperity for many around the world, a time when the wealthy spent exorbitantly and the extravagant Art Nouveau style was in demand. The lavish look will figure in the design of the new restaurant.

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