Soul & Spirits Brewery is getting ready to add a major new feature to its Uptown neighborhood location in Memphis: an expansive outdoor beer garden complete with shaded seating, a dog park, a children’s play area, and a permanent space for food trucks.
The brewery’s plans cleared a key milestone this week when the Downtown Memphis Commission’s Design Review Board approved the project. The review was required because Soul & Spirits received an Exterior Improvement Grant of up to $40,000 from the Center City Development Corporation on October 15 — part of a total $118,750 project budget for the expansion.
With design approval now secured, construction is expected to begin at 845 N. Main in January or February 2026, with an opening targeted for April or May.
“The outdoor space will give the customers an extension of our vibes from the indoors, with an excellent view of downtown,” Blair Perry, Soul & Spirits’ CEO and co-founder, told Memphis Beer Blog.
“It also makes the street more vibrant and inviting. We are aiming for this beer garden to make our space more welcoming and have the final thing that our customers have been asking for — a cool patio to sit outside and enjoy our exceptional beers.”
Renderings from Soul & Spirits’ Design Review Board application:
Features of the new beer garden
Plans call for a new concrete patio with permanent hexagon tables, sun-sail shading, and string lighting for improved ambience.
Other features include:
- Dog park with artificial turf and six-foot fencing
- Children’s playground with blue rubber surfacing, a small climbing ladder, slide, and swings
- Designated food truck parking area with barrel planters
- New black wrought-iron fencing facing the street
- Gated access for food trucks to load and unload
- Additional lighting on the south wall
Customers will only have access to the beer garden from the main front entrance of the brewery.
‘A safer and more welcoming space’
In its recommendation for approval, the Design Review Board Staff Report board highlighted Soul & Spirits’ role as a “key neighborhood amenity” within a rapidly growing area:
“This portion of Uptown has experienced strong growth in recent years, with projects like the mixed-use Snuff District, new affordable housing at Uptown Flats and Burkle & Main, and innovative ‘missing middle’ housing at Malone Park Commons. Soul and Spirits is positioned in the middle of this growth as a key neighborhood amenity that can provide a ‘third place’ for residents and visitors alike to gather.
The proposed outdoor beer garden, dog park and kids’ playground at Soul and Spirits will further enhance this gathering place by creating an active outdoor space that makes the street more vibrant, inviting and exciting. The proposed improvements promote a safer and more welcoming space in the beer garden and creates additional space for people to enjoy their time at Soul and Spirits.“
Soul & Spirits previously received an Exterior Improvement Grant in 2022 that expired before the project could move forward. This time, the brewery is ready to make it happen.