The Arcade Restaurant has the sole privilege to be the most ancient café in Memphis, TN. The place started as a dinner eatery founded by Speros Zepatos back in 1919, having migrated to Memphis from Cephalonia, Greece. The restaurant is located right at the corner of G.E. Patterson and South Main Street. In the year 1925, Patterson tore the wooden structure apart and built a new building featuring a Greek revival style, fully equipped with retail stores, signifying the ‘arcade’ name.
In the 1950s, Harry Zepatos, Patterson’s son took the arcade to a whole new level, converting it into the hip eatery that exists to date. The amazing boomerang table tops and edges have since faded away given the years long coffee cups, plates and elbows that have rested atop of them. However, the original storefronts and stunning neon signage have all stood and passed the test of time.
Downtown Memphis was a thriving hub all through the mid-1960’s, with the intersection being among Memphis’ busiest spaces. Memphians, train passengers and soldiers, all crowded these wide sidewalks 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The intersection was so busy that traffic policemen had to direct traffic all day and night long. Then, all of a sudden, with the decline of the railroad, thwarted downtown business with the assassination of Martin Luther King, the region became a ghost town in the 1970s. As people moved to the suburbs, buildings got abandoned and boarded up.
However, the late 1980s saw a rebirth of Memphis. Interestingly, the only place that seemed to survive through all the struggle was the Arcade Restaurant. As you take a gander around this old and re-discovered part of “Bluff City“, you will notice that the eatery still exudes the same style and vibe that it did so many years ago. While the buildings surrounding it have been refurbished, the old-time charm still exists. Once again, the area started to thrive, with the South Main Farmer’s Market, the Friday Night Art Trolley Tours, world class art galleries, tons of new businesses, the Civil Rights Museum, and the local residents creativity bringing this “new” neighborhood to life!
The Arcade sits right in at the center of this historic area, taking you back to a point in time. This restaurant exudes a nostalgic old-school feeling that allures to artists, photographers, movie makers and writers from across the globe. Scenes from renowned movies including ‘Great Balls of Fire’, ‘Mystery Train’, ‘The firm’ ’21 Grams’, ‘The Client’, just to name a few, have all been filmed here. Notable publications and magazines such as Esquire, Southern Living, Sports and Travel have all featured this restaurant in their publications. Celebrities from across the globe have had awesome meals here. With all this kind of exposure, business at the Arcade is forever booming, with the restaurant always making a point to deliver and live up to its expectations!
Brought to you by Plumbing Emergency Memphis
While in town make sure to visit the birthplace of rock ‘n roll… Sun Studio, Memphis, TN