By the Brewery

Biscuits, beer-braised brisket, and sandwiches await you on a once-quiet corner of Tennessee Street.

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Less than a decade ago, the Tennessee Brewery was an abandoned shell, Memphis’ version of a European cathedral in ruins. Now, the nearly 130-year-old structure has been reinvented as an apartment building. Robin Joyce setting up shop by the revitalized building, just across the street at 496 Tennessee Street, may have been one of the best things to happen to the apartment residents. Joyce, an experienced caterer, whips up fresh and healthy breakfast and lunch offerings, and has quickly ingratiated herself with the neighborhood via By the Brewery’s delicious salads and sandwiches.

Joyce started her catering company, A Catered Affair, in the late ’80s while pregnant with her first child, Hannah. Fast forward to today, and Hannah now helps out at By the Brewery, handling social media, photography, and even contributing to a peaceful botanical garden mural painted on the far wall within the restaurant.

The artwork adds to the calm and cheery interior, boosted by large windows letting in plenty of sunlight. It’s an easy space to relax in, with its soft white brick walls and an approachable reclaimed wooden counter carrying coffee and dog treats, among other things. On the wall behind the counter hang several blueprints of the original Tennessee Brewery expansion that Joyce has collected over the years. But the decoration that stands out the most is a pair of large vintage wooden doors from New Orleans that leads to the kitchen. “The space was completely empty when we moved in,” she laughs, “so I knew I could work those doors in somehow and put my own little touch on it.”

Joyce has always had a family component to her work. “For a small, family-owned catering company, if you’re tall enough to look over the counter, you’re going to be helping out,” she laughs. “Now, Hannah’s my harshest critic, which I need!”

Diving into the menu, though, it’s hard to see any basis for criticism. By the Brewery ticks a lot of breakfast and lunch options: house-made brewery biscuits infused with Ghost River Grindhouse beer, classic deli sandwiches such as the reuben, and sweet treats anchored by Oreo brownies. First-time arrivals might start with the Tennessee Street biscuit, showcasing crispy fried chicken with homemade pickles and a honey sriracha sauce. But one of the most-requested biscuits is its meatless counterpart, the grits cake biscuit. “It’s Delta Grind grits with smoked gouda that are poured into a pan. We cut them out the same size as the biscuits,” says Joyce. “We bread them and deep-fry them, and they’re dressed in the same way with the sriracha honey. Cooked that way, I’d liken it to polenta. But when you compare it with the chicken biscuit, it’s hard to tell the difference.”

By the Brewery’s hash browns, known as smash browns, are also in high demand. Whole potatoes are chopped up, then dropped into the deep fryer. They emerge from the experience crispy and tender at once. Joyce says that over the course of each weekend, the restaurant sells 100 pounds of potatoes.

One of the biggest lunch hits so far is the avocado toasted sandwich. The top slice of bread holds an egg-in-the-hole, while between the slices are stuffed sauteed spinach and fresh mozzarella. Topping it off are sliced tomatoes, avocadoes, and goat cheese. But the standout for me is Joyce’s take on what’s normally a simple lunchtime staple: grilled cheese.

The brisket grilled cheese piles on tender cuts of chili-rubbed, beer-braised beef, mixed with pepperoncinis and onions. “Instead of packing everything in the middle, we give it a cheesy crust,” says Joyce. “It starts under the whole wheat bread, and the glue that keeps it on is Duke’s Mayonnaise. Instead of grilling it at the center, we do the opposite. The shredded cheese side goes down, and then we load in fresh provolone, muenster, and monterey jack to the center.”

For something a little lighter, there are plenty of salad options. Joyce recommends the Thai noodle salad, with shredded chicken, curly Thai noodles, purple cabbage, carrot shreds, red peppers, green onions, and shelled edamame dressed up with black sesame seeds. And beyond the main menu, Joyce is always incorporating seasonal specials. “When watermelon was really ripe, we put together a watermelon and nectarine salad with blueberries and a citrus dressing. We sometimes walk down to the farmer’s market and see what they have, and go from there.” In recent weeks, Joyce has prepared both gumbo and seafood chowder specials, with proceeds directed to Hurricane Ida relief on the Gulf Coast.

What diners won’t see are traditional breakfast items like pancakes and waffles; that’s by design. “We want a lot of our items to be grab-and-go,” explains Joyce. “We also initially had the idea that we could do a breakfast-in-bed service and deliver items to tenants in the building. But we’ve found that with people working from home more, they’re more likely to want to go out and come to us.”

Having had six months to settle in, Joyce is thinking ahead to what she can add to the experience. With a liquor license in the pipeline, mimosas and bloody marys should soon be gracing brunch tables. She’s also hoping to introduce wine and cheese tastings for the neighborhood. But don’t expect too much menu chopping and changing at the moment. “With Covid still a concern, you have to hang in there since everything’s always changing,” she says. “You have to find your niche and stick to it. But we’ve been really well received since we opened, and we’re looking forward to getting to know the neighborhood better.”

By the Brewery, 496 Tennessee St., 901-310-4341. Open for breakfast and lunch, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Tuesday – Friday; 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Closed Mondays.