Is Hard Rock Hotel still planning a Downtown Memphis location? | Know Your 901

Neil Strebig, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·2 min read
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Today's column asks:

Is the Hard Rock Hotel still happening Downtown?

For about a decade, there has been talk of Hard Rock Hotel coming to Beale Street in Downtown Memphis.
For about a decade, there has been talk of Hard Rock Hotel coming to Beale Street in Downtown Memphis.

Ultimately, it's unlikely. The initial story of Hard Rock Hotel coming to Memphis dates back to 2014. The plan was then to build a hotel on top of the existing Hard Rock Cafe at 126 Beale St.

Those plans ultimately evolved and migrated farther south on Beale Street. In April 2022, a zoning permit was filed with the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development for a potential Hard Rock Hotel at the Jerry Lee Lewis' Cafe and Honky Tonk site.

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That permit outlined a 2.071-acre lot along Beale Street, the lot included Jerry Lee Lewis' cafe, Coyote Ugly Saloon, W.C. Handy Home and Museum, Memphis Police Department's Beale Street Station, Twelve Bar and the New Daisy Theatre. (At the time, the New Daisy was still closed, it has since announced it would be reopening.)

Jerry Lee Lewis' Cafe & Honky Tonk is shown on Beale Street in Downtown Memphis on April 16, 2020.
Jerry Lee Lewis' Cafe & Honky Tonk is shown on Beale Street in Downtown Memphis on April 16, 2020.

In April 2022, the interest and possibility of Hard Rock Hotel coming to Memphis were still very much alive.

With the closure and sale of the Hard Rock Cafe, it appears that intrigue has also dwindled. In June 2023, Hard Rock Cafe announced it would be closing and laying off 52 employees. The Hard Rock Cafe and Hard Rock Hotel entities operate independently under the Hard Rock International company.

No further movement or permits have been filed for a Hard Rock Hotel since 2022. Very little comment has surfaced on the record regarding the franchise and its interest in Memphis, both locally and from the company itself.

Hard Rock Hotel did not respond to a request for comment for this story, while Memphis Tourism declined to comment.

Neil Strebig is a journalist with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at neil.strebig@commercialappeal.com, 901-426-0679 or via X: @neilStrebig.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Is Hard Rock Hotel coming to Memphis? Project seems unlikely