or

Andrew J. Groveman
Belz Enterprises
901/260-7278

Two new businesses open doors at Peabody Place

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, March 18, 1999 – First American National Bank and Viking Culinary Arts Center have joined the growing community of businesses at Peabody Place.

First American opened its location in the development three weeks ago; Viking will open to the public this Saturday, March 20.

First American National Bank
Located at Main and Gayoso, the full-service First American branch is open Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m.- 4 p.m., and Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. A 24-hour ATM also is available.

"We’re excited to have First American’s presence in the Peabody Place development," said Andrew Groveman, vice president of marketing and administration for Belz Enterprises. "In many ways the central goal of Peabody Place is to improve the quality of life downtown. By bringing basic services such as banking to the area we continue to do just that."

The Peabody Place location is First American’s 24th location in greater Memphis, and one of 378 across the Southeast.

Viking Culinary Arts Center
Located on the sixth floor of Pembroke Square at 119 South Main, the Viking Culinary Arts Center is the first cooking school of its kind in the country. Centering around an in-house teaching kitchen and cooking theater, the center will offer multi-day courses limited to 12 students, demonstration classes accommodating as many as 35 students and corporate programs aimed at building teamwork among company employees.

Individual instruction will be offered in the teaching kitchen, with weekend and evening courses available. Hands-on courses last between one and five days.

"When looking to establish our first culinary center, we found the Peabody Place development attractive because of the metropolitan atmosphere a downtown location offers," said Colleen DePete, cooking school director. "Our Pembroke Square location makes it possible to attract convention participants and downtown visitors to experience the center, while offering unique goods and services to Memphis-area cooking enthusiasts."

Peabody Place developer Belz Enterprises also sees value in expanding services for downtowners.

"With each new tenant we grow ever closer to building the city within a city that has been embodied by Peabody Place," Groveman said. "Soon Memphians working and living downtown will have access to a full-service community at Peabody Place – banks, grocery stores, restaurants, apartments, unique retail attractions and office space all are a vital part of that mix."

The Culinary Center also includes an upscale retail store that offers professional-quality kitchen tools and accessories. Although no direct sales of major appliances will be available through the outlet, customers interested in purchasing Viking ranges, dishwashers, refrigerators, and other large appliances will be referred to a local Viking dealer.

"The culinary center concept is another innovation from Viking, the originator of commercial-type appliances for home use," said David Atwood, project manager. "Now consumers can test drive Viking products before deciding which ones to purchase – that’s a whole new approach in this industry."

Based in Greenwood, Mississippi, Viking Range Corporation specializes in commercial-style and commercial-quality kitchen supplies made exclusively for the home. The Memphis location of Viking Culinary Arts Center is the first such operation in the United States, though the company plans an additional location in Nashville this summer and expansion into other major cities as the concept is further developed.

First American National Bank and Viking Culinary Arts Center are the newest additions to Belz Enterprises’ Peabody Place development in downtown Memphis. When completed, Peabody Place will contain approximately two million square feet of space, with 762 hotel rooms, 201 apartments, 565,000 square feet of office space, 420,000 square feet of retail space, and 3,600 parking spaces.

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