ICSC MAY, 2003PAGE 8

Peabody Place At Heart Of Downtown Renaissance

Downtown Memphis has experienced a revolution in recent years and has become a vibrant urban center bustling with activity, commerce, and culture around the clock. With more than $2 billion invested in development, Downtown Memphis is a national model for urban revitalization.

Serving as a catalyst for Downtown’s redevelopment is Belz Enterprises’ Peabody Place, a two-million-square-foot complex of multi-use retail, office, hotel, entertainment, and residential buildings.

Within a six-block area, Peabody Place is home to two hotels, a retail and entertainment center, a high-rise office tower, and four historic buildings that have been restored to house offices, a museum, apartments, and retail space. Among the tenants are restaurants, a grocery store, a new florist, advertising agencies, architectural firms, retail stores, and a movie theater.

A visit to the Peabody Place Museum, which was founded by Jack and Marilyn Belz, affords a rare glimpse at an extensive collection of ancient Chinese art, European art, and Judaica.

Or if a shopping spree followed by dinner and a movie is more your style, the Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center is the place to go. The 300,000 square-foot complex includes a 22-screen Muvico cinema with a large-format 500-seat six-story theater, and restaurants such as Jillian’s Restaurant and Entertainment, Isaac Hayes’ Music-Food-Passion, Dan McGuinness Irish Pub, Puccini and Pasta, and Texas de Brazil.

The retail and entertainment center offers plenty of shopping favorites, as well. With everything from Ann Taylor Loft, Tower Records, the Gap and Gap Kids, and Victoria’s Secret, to Hot Topic and Isaac Hayes’ Studio and Kitchen, even the most finicky shoppers are sure to find something they like.

Texas De Brazil Offers Churrascaria-style Dining To The Mid-South

Mid-Southerners looking for a new, fun, and unique dining experience will find one at Texas de Brazil, the newest one-of-a-kind eatery to make its home in the Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center.

The 8,000-square-foot, Brazilian-inspired restaurant specializes in slow-roasted and perfectly seasoned cuts of beef, pork, chicken, lamb, and sausage seasoned with rock salt and cooked over an open flame in the traditional method used by Southern Brazilian guachos. A combination of mesquite, hickory, apple, cherry, pecan, and alder woods creates a robust grilled flavor.

Servers roam throughout the restaurant and offer guests the roasted meats on sword-like skewers that are taken directly from the grill. A Texas-size side bar offers diners an abundance of more than 30 house salads, hot appetizers, cheeses, and soups. House-baked Brazilian cheese bread, fried bananas, and signature Texas de Brazil cocktails are also favorites.

Texas de Brazil recently announced that it is expanding into the Orlando area. The company will build a 10,000-square-foot restaurant at Belz Designer Outlet Centre at the north end of International Drive.  Scheduled to open near the end of this year, the new restaurant will offer the same mouth-watering specialties found in the other locations.

Sharp Flowers Brings Romantic Blooms To Downtown Memphis

After fifteen years of honing his floral skills in New York, John Streeter has returned to Memphis to reopen Sharp Flowers, a family flower shop that was once located in The Peabody Memphis hotel.

Begun by his grandmother during the Great Depression, Streeter took over the family business and moved it from Arkansas to The Peabody in 1983. His magnificent floral designs adorned The Peabody fountain until 1988, when he decided to move to New York.

The new shop is located in Pembroke Square and offers a variety of exotic flowers and unique arrangements. Patrons will find everything from classic red roses to more rare and unusual blooms such as the Lobster Tail Haliconias and Hawaiian Obaki.

"I am like an antique dealer on the hunt for the rare find," said Streeter. "I search every country, every grower to find something I haven’t seen before."

Sharp Flowers offers a full range of services, from get well and anniversary bouquets, to large-scale receptions and corporate installations.

Swig Martini Bar Stirs Up Excitement

Whether you like your martini shaken or stirred, with vodka or gin, dry, or with a twist, Swig Martini Bar is sure to have something to tantalize everyone’s taste buds.

The upscale bar is scheduled to open in late June off of the lobby in The Tower at Peabody Place. This is the second location for the San Antonio, Texas-based establishment.

According to operations manager, Dan Parrott, the company had been considering a second location for some time, and was looking for a market with staying power. "You have restaurants in Memphis, such as the Rendevous that have been here for years," explained Parrot. "We were looking for a city that could provide that kind of longevity."

In addition to an extensive menu of more than 70 martinis, Swig will serve wine, cognac, cocktails, and food in addition to offering live music seven days a week with no cover.

Coco & Lilly to Offer Memphis The Latest In High Fashions

Scheduled to open in May at the Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center, Coco & Lilly clothing store will feature the latest European fashions for men, women, and juniors at reasonable prices.

According to David Amsellem, store manager, Coco & Lilly will bring the latest ready-to-wear fashions, accessories, and footwear to Memphis. "We carry the fashions you find on the runways in Paris and Milan but at affordable prices," said Amsellem.

To keep up with the latest trends, Coco & Lilly receives new merchandise daily. "The styles change every month," explained Amsellem. "Daily shipments ensure that our merchandise is always current."