LPI Memphis to turn 22 Cooper into ‘Gateway to Overton Square’

By Neil Strebig, Daily Memphian

Standing across from the Memphian Hotel, a “For Lease” sign stares sits along the facade that once read: B-A-R-I R-I-S-T-O-R-A-N-T-E.

LPI Memphis isn’t sad that Bari left — after all, they only moved down the street. Rather, they’re mulling over a vacant property in what they believe can be the “gateway to Overton Square.”

“We want it to be inviting,” said Jeff Dawson of LPI. “This is the entrance to the space. It needs to be worthy of that sort of greeting.”

The real estate development company headed by patriarch Robert Loeb and his brother Louis Loeb began its construction on Overton Square in 2012. At the time, the area was dilapidated. Today, Overton Square is one of the neighborhood catalysts in Midtown.

Dawson said their team estimates more than a million visitors frequent the Square annually, making it one of the top tourist destinations in Memphis.

More than a dozen buildings later, the team has their eyes set on 22 S. Cooper St., the former site of Bari Bari had been the building’s main tenant for 19 years before closing in May 2021. The restaurant reopened just down the street at 524 S. Cooper St. three months later.

Dawson said the building, which dates back to 1915, hasn’t lost its authenticity. His team began demolition and renovation two months ago, already removing 80 tons of debris from inside the property. They plan on restoring the building while maintaining several of the building’s historic features.

The wooden Bari bar? That will remain and be preserved.

“A lot of locals remember this bar area,” he said.

Dawson is hoping that the team can find a suitable restaurant tenant again in the 4,800-square-foot building. He acknowledged that since the Memphian opened across the street last May, the property and area has attracted more national and regional interest, including one potential party from Los Angeles.

Regardless of whether the next tenant is a local or a transplant, Dawson said they are willing to wait until they find a suitable business owner who has done their research and understands the neighborhood and the fabric of Midtown and Overton Square. That fabric is the hegemony he and the team at LPI believe exists at Overton Square.

LPI sees each restaurant, each mural, each boutique hotel, each vacant 22 Cooper St. as a vital element to the neighborhood they’ve restored.

For Dawson, the former Bari building is one of the last buildings that the team hasn’t completely restored and given a new life.

And perhaps, that’s why they’re so eager to see what the next chapter of the building — of Overton Square — will be.

“This is one of the final ones that is undergoing a major transformation,” he said. “What better way than a clean slate?”