BOGARD restaurant looks for a new location
BOGARD restaurant will no longer be renting the Overton Square building at 2110 Madison, where Schweinehaus and, more recently, Stanley Bar-B-Que operated.
“BOGARD is still happening,” said Edward Bogard, philanthropist and founder of SoGiv, a nonprofit that designs, makes and sells shoes and gives the proceeds to charitable organizations. “Our goal is to open by Dec. 18.”
Bogard had originally planned to open the restaurant in Overton Square with former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins and Mem10 Consulting CEO Preston Butts Jr., as partners in the venture. Hollins and Butts will no longer be part of the restaurant.
Due to withdrawal of Hollins and Butts, Bogard is in the process of putting together a new ownership group, as well as looking for a new space.
In a press release, Butts said, “The upcoming Overton Square restaurant with SoGiv nonprofit director Ed Bogard, BOGARD, has been suspended as the ownership team refocuses on their new leadership priorities.”
Both Hollins and Butts were appointed to the mayoral transition team for Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris. Hollins will lead the transition team as cochairman with former Downtown Memphis Commission president Paul Morris.
The idea behind the concept is that the restaurant will provide 100,000 free meals per year through the Mid-South Food Bank. The 100,000-meal projection is based on $30,000, or 2 percent of sales, going to the Mid-South Food Bank.
The menu will feature Southern-inspired dishes like fried green tomatoes and shrimp and grits.
Bogard says the new restaurant will be close to Overton Square in what he considers to be “the heart of Memphis.”