Several of the independent shops that opened near the Public Square this summer already had customers before they had a downtown address. One plant shop sold from a website and at pop-ups. A cafe had been mailing Bibles around the world for a decade. A marketplace brought together more than 20 makers who each had a following of their own. Downtown Murfreesboro's newest storefronts are where these businesses ended up, not where they began. That history shapes what you'll find inside each one.
A Plant Shop That Outgrew the Pop-Up Table
Sprout & Sprig Plants opened a physical shop at 418 N. Maney Ave. after operating online and at local pop-ups. The online catalog still runs more than 300 items. That includes rare plants, pet-safe plants, merch and art, and the website carries care tips for specific plants.
That order of events is useful if you shop there. The store came out of an online business, so the website is the place to look up what's available and how to care for it. The Maney Avenue shop is where you go to see the plants in person before you buy. The shop is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Those late weekday hours run well past the end of a workday, so you can stop by after work.
Ten Years of Shipping, Then a Front Door on West Main
Bibles and Coffee took the same route, and over a much longer stretch. The company held its grand opening at 214 W. Main St. on Friday, July 24. In its announcement it said the cafe was the next step after "10 years and over 13,000 Bibles shipped worldwide" as an online business. The Murfreesboro Pulse describes it as a coffee shop and boutique that sells faith-based gifts and Bibles.
A decade of online orders, many of them shipped out of state, gave the owners a clear picture of their audience before they took on a downtown lease. The cafe is open Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Those are daytime hours that fit a weekday morning coffee or a Saturday spent downtown.
Twenty Makers, One Lease on East Lytle
Wren & Willow handles that same move to a storefront for a group of businesses at once. The marketplace at 111 E. Lytle St., just off the Public Square, opened with more than 20 local small businesses, makers and artists under one roof. Shelves carry resin art, sourdough, clothing, home decor and gifts.
Owner Lindsay called the September opening phase one. A second phase, planned for mid to late September, would add space for about 10 more vendors and bring the total past 30 local businesses and artists. Whether that expansion has opened yet hasn't been confirmed publicly, so it's worth asking at the counter. The marketplace also invites new vendors to stop by the store or reach out on Instagram or by email. A sourdough baker or resin artist can take a spot without signing a whole lease, which makes Wren & Willow a step between selling from home and opening a shop.
The Established Places Made Room
The newcomers have company. Joanie's at 13 S. Public Square expanded into the space next door this summer, nearly doubling its footprint. The addition brings a coffee bar, a lounge with couches, more table seating, colorful artwork and a tabletop Pac-Man arcade game. The Pulse reported that the extra room also lets Joanie's offer more wines and gives people space to meet, work remotely or linger over coffee.
218 Tavern opened at 218 W. Vine St. with an indoor tavern and an outdoor area for concerts and hanging out, where local bands play live music. Local bands draw crowds that have grown up at other venues, the same way the shops above built customers before they had storefronts.
Most of the season's big-name openings went to the commercial corridors. City Barbeque opened at 107 N. Thompson Ln. in July, and Bubba's 33 followed at 119 N. Thompson Lane in September. The new businesses near the courthouse are smaller and locally owned, and each had built an audience somewhere before it opened.
A Saturday Morning Around the Square, by the Clock
Published hours make it possible to plan a Saturday around these stops:
- 7 a.m. Joanie's opens. It runs 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
- 8 a.m. The Saturday Market sets up around the Historic Rutherford County Courthouse and runs until noon. Bibles and Coffee opens at the same hour.
- Late morning. Wren & Willow on East Lytle. Its hours weren't in the coverage, so check its Instagram before you go.
- 11 a.m. Sprout & Sprig opens on North Maney.
- Evening. 218 Tavern on West Vine, depending on who's playing. Its hours weren't in the coverage either.
The Saturday Market season ends October 31, 2026. As of today, that leaves four Saturdays: October 10, 17, 24 and 31.
The Fall Calendar Runs on the Same Small Formats
Pop-ups, booths and single nights out are where several of these shops got started. The downtown calendar through December is made up of the same kinds of events, held on the courthouse lawn and in the storefronts around it. Here's what Main Street Murfreesboro and the City have listed:
- Scarecrows on the square. Voting opened October 5, and winners will be announced October 30.
- Friday, October 30, 3 to 5 p.m. Family trick-or-treating around the Public Square.
- Saturday, October 31, 8 a.m. to noon. The final Saturday Market of the season.
- Friday, November 6, 5 to 8 p.m. Sip, Shop & Stroll, Holiday Edition, with downtown storefronts as the stops. The Boro Art Crawl starts at 5 p.m. the same evening on South Public Square.
- Friday, December 4, 6 p.m. The Christmas tree lighting on South Public Square, with caroling, Santa, children's activities and carriage rides.
- Sunday, December 13, 2 to 4 p.m. The City's Christmas Parade starts on East Main Street by MTSU and ends on Walnut Street, one block past the square.
November 6 is the busiest night on the list. Sip, Shop & Stroll and the Art Crawl run the same evening, so the Wren & Willow makers, the art crawl and the newer shops on Main and Maney can all be visited in a single three-hour walk. For a maker trying out a downtown audience, few nights on the calendar will put more people on the sidewalk.
The Same Story, a Few Miles Out
The best-known opening of the fall follows the same pattern on a larger scale, and it's not on the square. Chinwag opens October 22 at The Fountains at Gateway, in the former Burger Republic space. Chef Alex Belew is a Murfreesboro native who won Season 21 of Hell's Kitchen and became head chef at the show's restaurant at Caesars Atlantic City. Before that, he ran a catering company and the Murfreesboro restaurant Dallas & Jane. Like the shops downtown, he's opening with an audience he built elsewhere, this time on national TV and in Atlantic City.
Chinwag's site describes a casual, full-service bistro built around smoke, fire, fresh ingredients and global techniques, with cocktails, beer and wine. Early previews have shown a Korean fried chicken sandwich and a Key West shrimp fritter. Dinner reservations are open now. Lunch starts November 3 and runs Tuesday through Saturday. Sundays are dinner only, and the restaurant is closed Mondays.
Every business in this post made the jump from a pop-up, a web store or a borrowed kitchen to a lease and a sign of its own. If you own commercial property near the square, or you're a business owner weighing that same move, Mike Winton Realty & Auction works on commercial property across Southern Middle Tennessee and can walk you through your options. Buy, Sell, or Auction.
