Fun, Food and Fashion All Forthcoming Downtown; New Tenants Sign on at Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center
First Tenant, Jillian's Opened March 14

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Monday, February 19, 2001 – A diverse array of fun and exciting entertainment, eating and shopping venues is joining the list of high-profile tenants slated for the much-anticipated Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center currently under construction downtown at the corner of Third Street and Peabody Place.

If you're hungry or thirsty or just looking for fun and entertainment, the Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center will meet your needs.

With Carnevale of South Beach, noted restaurateur Piero Filpi owner of Mezzanotte in Miami, Fla., brings the beat and flair of Miami's South Beach and his sophisticated Italian dishes to Memphis. For power lunches or dinners, or a nice meal with family Carnevale of South Beach with indoor and "outdoor" seating which will overlook the interior of the Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center, will bring a genuine taste of Italy to downtown Memphis. Menu items will include everything from pizza, salads, soups and pastas to veal, sirloin, fish and chicken dishes. Among the menu items planned are fresh-made mozzarella topped with roasted peppers and mushrooms and Lobata Mezzanote – a flattened veal chop lightly breaded and sautéed, and topped with fresh tomatoes and other seasonings.

Want to experience an authentic Irish Pub and not have to spring for the airfare to Ireland? Then McGuinness Pub will be the place to visit. McGuinness Pub is currently being built from the ground up in Ireland, and will be shipped over to Memphis in pieces, where it will be installed at the Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center by Irish Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center craftsmen.

It's all about the "craic," (pronounced crack) a Gaelic word loosely meaning atmosphere. A first of its kind in the Mid-South, at McGuinness Pub everything from the décor, music, food, drink and hospitality is being painstakingly recreated to make patrons feel like they are in a Dublin pub.

Mrs. Field's Bakery Café, a new concept for the company, pairs America's favorite cookies with PretzelMaker and TCBY. The Bakery Café will offer a full compliment of fresh-from-the-oven cookies and brownies, fresh hand-rolled pretzels and a full line of frozen yogurt and refreshing smoothies giving customers the opportunity to relax and indulge in a number of tasty treats.

Families will also be able to enjoy some all-American fare including burgers, hot dogs, chili dogs, chicken sandwiches and fries at A & W® All American Food, the nation's oldest restaurant chain, famous for its draft root beer and root beer floats.

For fashion-conscience shoppers the Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center will offer a variety of trendy retailers including Ann Taylor Loft. Launched in 1996, Ann Taylor Loft stores extend the Ann Taylor brand of refined style and sensibility to women with a more relaxed lifestyle, at moderate prices.

Gap and Gap Kids are also bringing their popular, upbeat and youthful style to downtown.

Appealing to teens, Claire's is the leading mall-based retailer of popular-priced preteen, and teen accessories, costume jewelry and apparel. Currently operating more than 3,000 stores worldwide, Claire's is considered the source teens look to for "what's hot" in fashion accessories.

Teens can also check out Hot Topic. Hot Topic specializes in apparel, accessories, gifts and music for teens. The store's merchandise reflects a variety of music-related lifestyles including streetwear, retro-influenced lounge, punk and club. Ahead of the curve, if it’s happening in music-related fashion, it’s happening at Hot Topic.

Another trendy specialty shop coming to downtown is Breaking the Mold. The Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center Colorado-based company manufactures, as well as sells unique handmade scented candles. Shoppers will be able to choose the perfect luminescent accent for home or office in 60 different fragrances and a wide range of colors and sizes, accompanied by an assortment of designer accessories in metal, glass and ceramics.

All these great places will be joining Jillian's, Muvico, Tower Records and Starbucks. With all this and more to come, the Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center is set to offer Memphians, Mid-Southerners and tourists alike a one-stop-shop of fun and entertainment unlike anything else in the region and Jillian's, which opened March 14 is just the beginning.

Jillian's is a multidimensional food and entertainment retailer. Complete with a sports video café, dance club, bowling alley, tournament-quality pool tables, and more than 150 electronic simulation games all under one roof.

"Downtown is definitely back, and our tag line 'Come downtown and play' is something that all Memphians will want to experience," said Andrew J. Groveman, senior vice president, Belz Enterprises, developers of Peabody Place. "We're looking forward to offering everyone a wide range of new, fun and exciting entertainment, dining and shopping options downtown."

The Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center is part of the Belz Enterprises Peabody Place development. When completed, the entire Peabody Place development will contain approximately two million square feet of space, which includes 762 hotel rooms, 201 apartments, 565,000 square feet of office space, 420,000 square feet of retail space, and 3,600 parking spaces. The development is the largest mixed-use urban development currently under way in the United States.

Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., Belz Enterprises is a leading innovator in real estate development with interests throughout the South and across the U.S. Belz develops, owns and manages over 25 million square feet of industrial/warehouse/distribution centers, shopping centers, office buildings, mixed-use centers and corporate campuses. The company also owns a group of premier hotels including the Peabody Hotels in Memphis, Orlando and Little Rock.