This just in: Mac Edwards is selling McEwen’s on Monroe to his friend Burt Smythe. The two worked together at the Half Shell, and Smythe worked at Erling’s and also at McEwen’s for a while.
Smythe starts working at McEwen’s soon as part of the transition, but it’s not official until May 1.
Details are slim, but I’ll get more to you as I learn more. I do know that the concept of the restaurant isn’t supposed to change.
Restaurant business
Responses to “Changes at McEwens on Monroe”
January 15th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Hey there,
Ryan Jones from MyMidtownMemphis here. I work over at Jarrett’s and both the exec chef, David Johnson, and the daytime Sous Chef came from the Jarrett’s kitchen. Anyway, one of them stopped by a few weeks ago to tell us about this and said that Mac is going to still be the owner/landlord of the building and the one next to it but that he is just selling the business. So he’ll still be around a good bit but won’t be hands on anymore. They said that nothing is going to change menu, staff, or concept wise but I suppose that could all change once the new owner gets in there. Also, I don’t know if you were aware of this but Lolo’s Table had their last 1/2 price bottle of wine on Wednesday nights last Wednesday.
January 16th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Well, the cover up is that it will all stay the same. However, i know for a fact that there will be some modernization to McEwen’s down the road. It will come in phases to not scare away the current clientele, however, it will not be the same restaurant in a year. Look forward to changes in a good way. It has a good name now, but as more and more restaurants open downtown, you have to stay with the current trends to survive.Expect a more tapas style with lots of food tasting and many wines by the glass. Mac will be in the neighborhood, but it wont be his restaurant. He will have no ownership of the place, therfore change is inevitable.
March 9th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
McEwen’s on Monroe concept will certainly stay the same. The staff for the most part will stay with the restaurant. Yes, ChefJeff, McEwen’s will have small changes in the coming months, but only to maximize the guest experience. I have know Mac for over 20 years and I will continue to do justice to what he started over 10 years ago.
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