Misael and Amai Alvarado owned five burger restaurants in California. "We moved here because there's nothing like this," Misael said. "In California, there's too much competition." The Alvarados' restaurant, Tommy's Burgers, is set to open April 1 at 4969 Park Ave. Tommy's will specialize in California-style burgers. "We put the meat on the char-broil, not on the grill. It's juicy," Misael said. "This is different." The Alvarados found the Park Avenue spot by googling. That led them to Barry Maynard of Gill Properties, who brokered the deal for both sides, along with Frank Dyer III. The location has gone through a few iterations over the years. It began, according to Maynard, as a Huddle House. It then became a CK's, and later an E's 24 Hour Cafe. More recently, the Waffle Iron relocated from Collierville to the spot. Then, it was El Palacio. Tommy's offers an extensive menu, serving breakfast, including breakfast platters and sandwiches, hot cakes, burritos, and omelettes. In addition to the burgers, they will offer sandwiches, such as tuna, Philly cheesesteak, patty melt, Polish sausage, and fish. Dinner plates include fish and chips, fried chicken, jumbo shrimp, and a ribeye sandwich. They will also have Mexican dishes like fajitas, tacos, and quesadillas. There will be milkshakes, too, and Boba drinks. The burgers at Tommy's are topped with Thousand Island dressing. There is the chili cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger, jalapeno cheeseburger, and a burger topped with pastrami. Misael's recommendation? Go for the pastrami burger. "Nobody has pastrami burgers around here," he said. "It is really good." The Alvarados have done some small renovations to the space and have painted the outside a bright, inviting yellow. They plan to add a patio out front. The restaurant is set to be open seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Capacity is around 52. Misael said he expects to employ around 10 people. "Nobody has this menu here in Memphis," he said of Tommy's. "I was living here for five years, and I didn't see anything like this." Related Articles

Union Depot, the large-scale mixed-use development in Bartlett, is now underway. The long-planned $162 million project is being built by Blue Sky Communities, which is led by developer Keith Grant of Grant & Co. Union Depot was designed by Shapiro & Co. Architects PC. The development is set to bring 70 townhomes, 337 apartments, and 85,000 square feet of commercial space to a 74-acre property right off of U.S. Highway 70, at the site of the former Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home. Ground was broken in January, and Union Depot is now entering the vertical construction phases. The developers look to have the project come online in spring 2025. Barry Maynard and Frank Dyer III with Gill Properties are handling the commercial sales and leasing for Union Depot. “It's something Bartlett hasn’t seen in a long time,” Shapiro & Co. president and CEO Brad Shapiro told MBJ. “They haven't seen the scale of this, the mixed-use area with a whole, traditional neighborhood. It's a really nice blend of single-family homes, mixed-use buildings, some loft apartments, and commercial areas.” Shapiro said that the project came together with much more support than large mixed-use projects normally do in suburbs nationally. “It's something that was really favorably received by the mayor and the aldermen of Bartlett because they also recognize that this is something new and upscale, that the citizens would really appreciate and want [it],” Shapiro said. “In a lot of cases, developers face an uphill battle in cities with governments not being very development-friendly. Here, they were very favorable to this because they saw the design integrity and what the developers wanted to bring to the table.” Union Depot brings a different look to Bartlett, with Shapiro noting that the project leans more toward urban design styles, including its color, than what suburbs typically see. Renderings, provided by Shapiro, show greens, blues, and reds mixing with the grays, whites, and browns of many traditionally styled buildings. The project also had a unique design-related challenge: Shapiro & Co. was in the process of construction on its new headquarters in the Edge District. Shapiro said that the company had to work in a temporary office located under what is now their operational headquarters at 435 Madison Ave. Shapiro said that coordination with Union Depot's contractor, Grant & Co., keeping a focus on work and collaboration, and remembering that less challenging days were ahead kept the team locked in. “We'd be sitting there and little bits and pieces of concrete would come down on our desktops,” Shapiro said. “We're like, ‘What's going on here?’ It was challenging for sure. It was one of those things where we really had an eye on the prize at the end of the day, and the prize was this beautiful [headquarters] office space.”

Ranked # 10 Gill Properties Inc. gillprop.com 6815 Poplar Ave. #110 Germantown, TN 38138 901-758-1100 Total Agents; 8 Full Time Employees: 16 Percentage of Business Office: 30% Industrial: NA Retail: 70% Executive: Ray Gill, President

The Whimsy Cookie Co. retail store at 4704 Poplar Ave. is being demolished, which opens up a prime spot of real estate in East Memphis. The site is already spoken for. It is set to become parking for Soul Fish Cafe at 4720 Poplar Ave. Brown Gill of Gill Properties, Inc. represents Soul Fish. He said he had no official role in the deal. He served to connect the parties, which included Nina Tayloe, who had the ground leases. Tiger Bryant owns Soul Fish Cafe, along with Raymond Williams. Bryant said that Soul Fish's Poplar location is second only to Germantown, as far as customer traffic. The other locations are in Cooper Young and Cordova. "We were looking for a long-term solution to make sure we secure parking for Poplar because we just renewed our lease there," he said. Bryant said they will use the existing parking behind Soul Fish for employees, with customer parking on the site of the former Whimsy building. "We will reorient the entrances," he said. "We'll still have the front entrance but have walkways and handicap access." Bryant estimated the deal will bring parking up to 50-plus spaces. Soul Fish currently has 20 parking spots at its Poplar location. The new lot will feature plantings and lighting. Bryant said he is planning to do something similar at the Cooper Young location at 862 Cooper St., with a neighboring building being taken down for parking. He's talked with the Cooper Young Garden Society about adding green space. "I'm not trying to concrete the city," he said. "I'm just trying to make it easier for our patrons." Bryant said he had hoped to have the Poplar Avenue lot ready by Lent — Soul Fish sells a lot of fish — but the demo staging was being done Feb. 9. The Cooper Young demo should start this week. Bryant noted that at the Cooper Young location, patrons aren't averse to walking a few blocks. But, at the Poplar store, there's not really such a scenario for a mom, with kids and a stroller in tow. "It's going to really help traffic flow. The patrons are the ones who are gonna really benefit from it all," Bryant said. "As you can imagine, I hate spending a bunch of money for parking, but it's a necessary evil."

Ranked # 12 Gill Properties Inc. gillprop.com 6815 Poplar Ave. #110 Germantown, TN 38138 901-758-1100 Commercial S.F. developed since company founded: 2,000,000 Commercial S.F. completed in 2023: 27,000 Local projects completed in 2023: White Oak on White Station Type of development: Retail, office, self storage Founded: 1983 Ray Gill, President

Collierville building fully leased, up for sale The 7,800-square-foot building at 547 West Poplar Ave. is now fully leased and on the market. Lula Harriss, owner of the local 40-year-old dress company, Lula’s Fashion, leased 4,153 square feet. Her son, Steven Harriss, rented the remaining square footage for his photography studio. The landlord, Apple Enterprises, bought the property in 2023 for $1.3 million. Apple Enterprises renovated the property, now valued at $2.5 million. Barry Maynard and Frank Dyer III with Gill Properties facilitated the leases, the purchase of the building and now the sale.

Fair Break Federal Credit Union moves on Covington Pike Fair Break Federal Credit Union leased a 1,631-square-foot space at 3074 Covington Pike for seven years and four months. The low-income-designated credit union was represented by Gill Properties Barry Maynard and Frank Dyer III as well as the landlord.

By Michael Waddell, Special to The Daily Memphian Published: March 21, 2025 4:00 AM CT Construction has begun on a Chipotle at the northeast corner of the Stage and Kirby Whitten roads intersection. (Michael Waddell/Special to The Daily Memphian) Site work is underway on new infill construction at one of Bartlett’s busiest intersections. Crews with Grinder Taber Grinder began digging up the parking lot this week for a new freestanding Chipotle restaurant on the northeast corner of the Stage and Kirby Whitten roads intersection. The new 2,330-square-foot building, located in Gill Properties’ Stage Centre commercial development, will fill in a section of a large parking lot between the center’s CVS and Dollar General stores. “Permits are in hand for Chipotle’s construction,” Patty Bullock, Gill Properties senior vice president, said. “(We are) responsible for the site work and building shell, which should take six months to complete.” Chipotle will be responsible for the interior construction. Bullock anticipates an opening by the end of the year. Gill Properties President Ray Gill estimates the cost of construction at approximately $2.5 million. The center picked up two new tenants last year, with Tommy’s Burger California Style moving into a freestanding building previously occupied by Back Yard Burgers and an O’Reilly Auto Parts superstore opening in part of former grocery store space that sat vacant for almost 18 years. A 22,000-square-foot space adjacent to O’Reilly’s space remains available. “We’re speaking with several interested prospects,” Bullock said. “Bartlett is growing, and we would like to make sure we lease to a tenant that aligns with the market’s long-term viability.” Gill told The Daily Memphian last fall that he wants to build another 10,000-square-foot building behind the Tommy’s Burger California Style building. Activity near that intersection has increased throughout the past year, with traffic counts hitting 26,854 vehicles per day on Stage and Kirby Whitten roads registering 19,430, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Transportation. “In ‘24 it was much higher than in ‘23, but there was a decline before that,” Bartlett Traffic Engineer Becky Bailey said. She expects the $220 million Union Depot mixed-use project at Stage and U.S. 70 to increase those traffic numbers even more in the coming years. Commercial space at a premium in Bartlett’s big retail centers Stage Road Place is home to Stage Road Barber Shop, Bluff City Escape Rooms, Holliday Flowers, Pho 64, Intensity Martial Arts and more. (Michael Waddell/Special to The Daily Memphian) Across the intersection from Stage Centre and across Stage Road from Union Depot, one of Bartlett’s oldest strip centers, Stage Road Place, is rumored to be considering extensive facade improvements. The building owners are hoping to modernize their center before nearly 2,000 new residents are expected to move in at Union Depot across the street throughout the next few years. Bartlett Alderman Kevin Quinn says he has heard the strip center owners would like to renovate, and he said he hopes they are able to get it done since it’s such a prominent building. “It’s definitely extremely outdated in the style and has continued to have several vacancies, so maybe that will help keep (tenants),” he said. “Even the best quality business will have problems attracting new clients if the building’s in bad shape or very outdated.” The center at 6761 Stage Road opened in the early 1970s and had an Ace Hardware as a main anchor. Today, it is home to the Stage Road Barber Shop, Bluff City Escape Rooms, Holliday Flowers, Pho 64, Intensity Martial Arts and more.

By Abigail Warren, Daily Memphian Published: May 12, 2025 4:00 AM CT The former Carrefour site might have a promising future, but current vacancies make what lies ahead an open question. The center on the southwest corner of Poplar Avenue and Kirby Parkway was once a mall before transforming into an open-air shopping structure. Its latest transformation is to a shell, empty and waiting for activity that will transform it. arrefour, now called The Standard Germantown, is one of several projects underway in the suburb. Some developers are facing delays due to different complexities in their projects, whether it’s the topography or their desires for mixed-use. Carrefour is one of those that seemed to stall. Activity halted after crews finished the new multistory building along Poplar Avenue on the north side of the property. Last week, workers inside had the bifold doors open as they began outfitting the space for a new Andrew Michael restaurant, Josephine Estelle. Chefs Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman said they hope to open in late summer or early fall. But since previous tenants left the main structure in the center of the property, work has become dormant as developers wait for demolition. That work could begin in the next 60 days, said Adam Slovis who with Billy Orgel is part of the team operating under the name “CRE Devco Germantown.” Developers of the 10 acres are asking for tax-increment financing, which has never been used in the suburb, and city leaders have yet to approve the funding vehicle. TIFs in Germantown are specific to spur development with projects needing public infrastructure. TIFs allow some of the property taxes to go back to the developer as the property values increase. The city still gets the bulk of the increased tax revenue, but the developers can use some of it to continue building. They must front the money at first. There is a challenge to making sure demolition can happen safely because of Carrefour’s variations. It was a mall with a whole different quadrant that was removed to create the open-air concept. The strip that had Swanky’s, Petra Cafe and other retailers parallel to Poplar Avenue on the northwest portion of the property was added later. It’s one story compared to the former mall’s two-story concept. Alongside teams from the city, Slovis has looked at old building plans and more recent ones to determine what’s there. Demolition, a significant hurdle, could begin in 60 days. (Courtesy Slovis Commercial) A big reason for the demolition delay is understanding what’s there to avoid hazards when crews clear the structures. Designs are ready for 320 loft units on Kirby Parkway with 27,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor. “That allows us to go after pretty much anything,” Slovis said about potential retail tenants. “... It’s anything to start building what we believe will be an upgraded upper-level neighborhood mixed-use project to complement the people living there and the city of Germantown and the neighbors.” When Ray Gill dreamed of a new mixed-use project on the former Kirby Farm property less than a mile east of Carrefour, that style of new development hadn’t truly been explored. He said he knew he wanted office and hospitality on the 10 acres now known as TraVure. Mid-America Apartments occupies about 90,000 square feet of the 150,000-square-foot office building, and a payment-in-lieu of taxes incentive was given to the company, not the developers. Several financial companies and Gill Properties lease the remaining space. “I have to pinch myself how nice this building is,” Gill said. “I built it, but I never really appreciated it until I moved in.” Gill sold the back 4 acres to a hotel group in 2012. It’s a dual-branded hotel, Home2 Suites and Hilton Garden Inn. He’s working on a third attempt to round out TraVure as the northwestern 2 acres remain vacant. Plans submitted to Germantown will be reviewed in July, city officials said. Previous plans for the final phase included a two-story structure of offices. In 2022, he pivoted. Germantown approved a three-story building with retail on the ground floor and offices above. He said he thinks the new iteration is the proper solution. Youth Villages, family of Alegend Jones release statement Gill Properties developed White Oak on White Station Road in East Memphis. The retail center north of Poplar includes Rotolo’s Craft & Crust, Nothing Bundt Cakes and a women’s health clinic. “We said, ‘You know, we ought to replicate the White Station success for retail here,’” Gill said. So in the proposed 35,000-square-foot building, he said he wants retail on the ground floor with offices above it, just two stories. “We’ve been trying for six years to do more office. ... I think the Memphis market is not as resilient and doesn’t have the dynamic growth in corporate office, which we hoped we would sell to one single user,” Gill said. “This better suits the market.” He said he hoped to have the future building done two years ago but the COVID-19 pandemic slowed him while he waited for office demand to return. “If I could have anticipated COVID, I wouldn’t have built this building because of the decline of office,” he said sitting inside his TraVure conference room. “It reached a trough, and now it’s coming back.” With TraVure and The Standard, Gill said he expects increased activity near Poplar Avenue and Kirby Parkway. Poplar Avenue forms the border between Germantown and Memphis. A shopping district with various businesses is on the northwest corner while The Forum office complex covers the northeast. “It’s always been a pivotal intersection,” he said. “The density that Carrefour is going to provide will be interesting to see what happens here. I think we need more housing diversity in Germantown.” Further east in the city’s Central Business District, Thornwood has six phases complete, and the next phase is undergoing the suburb’s review process. Spence Ray said “The Registry” will consist of 61 luxury multifamily units and he hopes construction begins this summer. Political Roundup: Why Republicans want partisan school board primaries “We may end up doing a portion of those, maybe a substantial portion of those as condos that people can buy,” he said. He said he would like half of the units to be condos. There will be retail on the first floor similar to Market Row northeast of Neshoba and Germantown roads and the shops below TownePlace Suites. “I can’t envision us doing anything else in Thornwood without that (mix of uses in a building),” he said. The Registry will include a rooftop pool. Memphis May art exhibitions feature AAPI, youth artists He said he hopes to complete Thornwood in the next five to six years. “At some point, you will be able to turn off Poplar and Exeter and as you drive north all the way to Thornwood you are going to see an urban landscape design of Exeter with wide sidewalks, pedestrian-friendly bike lanes from Poplar to Neshoba,” he said. “That would be my dream, … that streetscape. That wow factor is very important.” He said he thinks the upcoming corner is one of the most strategic corners in the whole development. The final phase will have about 8,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor, but Ray said he is unsure what will be above it. It could be residences, condos or a new hotel. Added hospitality is contingent on the status of TownePlace Suites, but it’s done well since opening last summer. Ray started going through Germantown’s approval process in 2012 and thought he could do the project in six years, but it’s taken more than twice as long as he hoped. Part of that is due to Germantown’s lengthy approval process, he said. He’s also added challenging features, like underground parking. Ray estimates 85% of the parking is underground or interior. Ray is also responsible for Glasgow, the redevelopment of the Germantown Country Club into a residential subdivision. The roads are finished and bridges are installed. Water and sewer are in, but Memphis Light, Gas and Water is installing gas and electricity, a necessity before homes are constructed. “They have indicated to us we have one of their biggest and best crews,” he said. “Based on what they’ve told us, it’s one of the bigger subdivisions they’ve done in a long time.” MLGW must finish before the guardhouse, mail room and amenities are built. Then Ray can start selling lots. “We want consistency without cookie-cutter,” Ray said about the design of the homes. He said he hopes they are going up by the end of the summer. The unique infrastructure and amenities of the site have been part of the delay. They are unlike any development in Shelby County, Ray said. Pedestrian trails like those on the Wolf River Greenway, a linear park, a lodge, fountains, wrought-iron fencing and landscaping are planned. “There’s a lot of things about this that are very unique,” he said. “It’s a huge undertaking. Know this. There’s never been a day where we’ve said, ‘Let’s lay that aside and focus (on another project). “We focus on it every single day.”

Daily Memphian By Sophia Surrett, Daily Memphian Updated: January 22, 2025 4:00 AM CT | Published: January 22, 2025 4:00 AM CT https://dailymemphian.com/subscriber/section/businessreal-estate/article/49347/crosstown-memphis-midtown-olive-branch-business-commercial-real-estate

A Wave of Best Wash Laundromats coming to Memphis Best Wash Laundromats, a St. Louis-based 24/7 laundromat company, plans to open a dozen or more locations in the Memphis area. Best Wash has 17 sites open and 10 in the works across Missouri, Illinois and West Tennessee. Most recently, Best Wash opened in the 5,000-square-foot building formerly occupied by Regions Bank at 3558 S. Mendenhall Road. The company signed a 20-year lease with four five-year extension opportunities. The 10-year-old company hired Tom O’Hara, who focused on growing the laundromat business and expanding its presence. O’Hara said they are focused on similar metro areas like St. Louis and recreate what they built in the chosen city. “We have really been in an expansion and growth mode,” O’Hara said. “That’s what led us to Memphis.” O’Hara said by February, the company will have six Best Wash Laundromat locations. Frank Dyer III and Barry Maynard with Gill Properties represented both the landlord, GeStault Power Academy, and the tenant, the O'Hara family. Dyer and Maynard will facilitate leases for all Best Wash Laundromat locations. Two more locations are expected to open soon, including a 3,000-square-foot space at 2887 Covington Pike and a 5,452-square-foto space at 6819 Winchester Road. Over the next five years, Best Wash plans to open 25 to 30 locations. Dan Walker & Associates is the general contractor for the Memphis locations, with each site costing about $1.2 million to $2 million to build.

DAILY MEMPHIAN By Sophia Surrett, Updated: October 09, 2024 9:11 AM CT | Published: October 09, 2024 4:00 AM CT Inked: Medical building sold for more than $9 million Welcome to Inked, a column that notes some of the week’s commercial real estate transactions and updates in the greater Memphis area that may have gone unnoticed. Leased Medical Office Building Sold The fully leased 18,000-square-foot medical office building at 1717 Massey Road has been sold to Mill Valley, California-based Four Corners Property Trust for $9.45 million, about $540 per square foot. Four Corner Property Trust is an independent, publicly traded company that buys, acquires and leases retail and restaurant buildings nationwide. Baptist Medical Group renewed a 12-and-a-half-year lease for the building, which houses its pediatrics general physician work and a pharmacy. The seller was Wolf River LLC. Gill Properties brokers Barry Maynard and Frank Dyer III represented both sides of the lease and landlord as well as the purchase. Maynard said this is the highest price per square foot sold for a medical office building in Shelby County, according to Gill Properties and CoStar Group data. The closest is $490 per square foot in Atoka, Tennessee, at 11645 U.S. 51.