Board approves $30K grant for MFS Brewing’s Memphis brewery, taproom project

MFS Brewing’s plans to open a new brewery and taproom in Downtown Memphis got a big boost today thanks to the Center City Development Corporation.

The CCDC board approved a request for a $30,000 Retail Tenant Improvement grant to help MFS Brewing make improvements to the planned brewery location at 206 GE Patterson.

The partners behind MFS Brewing (Memphis Filling Station) hope to open a brewery in the 4,300-square-foot-space as soon as the summer of 2024.

The Retail Tenant Improvement grant program is designed to encourage new businesses to open ground-floor locations along priority corridors and within targeted retail areas.

Grant funds may be used for permanent improvements such as interior demolition/buildout, electrical work and plumbing.

The Center City Development Corporation is a nonprofit entity, chartered by the City of Memphis, Shelby County, and the State of Tennessee, that “promotes redevelopment and combats deterioration in the Central Business Improvement District.”

Now that the grant has been approved, the MFS team will work to sign a lease with the building’s owner, CGI Partnership.

Prior to today’s board approval, the Downtown Memphis Commission staff had endorsed the brewery’s grant application, citing the value the project would bring to the neighborhood.

“Filling this vacancy will better connect the pedestrian street network in this area by adding a new point of interest and destination within the neighborhood,” staff wrote in their recommendation.

“A key goal of the Downtown Memphis Retail Strategy is to build a strong critical mass of stores and activities within existing retail nodes. This business will further this strategic goal by activating a currently vacant ground-floor retail space in one of the targeted nodes, increasing the range of retail offerings in the neighborhood.”

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