Not that long ago, the Tennessee Brewery was an abandoned ruin that was facing demolition, but its restoration as a condominium development has transformed the stretch of Tennessee Street where it is located. Across the street from the development are new buildings that contain shops and restaurants, one of which is a rather small cafe called By The Brewery.
Memphis has a plethora of breakfast restaurants these days, having gone from a past where there were not enough morning options to one where there are likely more than the city can support, but By The Brewery has a different niche, in that its menu is largely centered around homemade biscuits. They can be had with chicken, with brisket, with traditional bacon or sausage and eggs, or with various preserves. I opted for a breakfast bowl, which is an open-faced biscuit covered with eggs, melted cheese and bacon; not only was it amazingly delicious and filling, but it came with “smashed browns,” which are not what they sound like. They are rather large chunks of potato, well seasoned, and fried hard so that they are a golden orange and crunchy on the outside. They were so delicious that I was tempted to order a second helping. Coffee is from J. Brooks which is one of Memphis’ superb local roasters.
My only complaint with By The Brewery is that unlike most of Memphis’ other breakfast spots, they cut breakfast off extremely early, at 11 AM, except on Saturdays and Sundays. This is apparently because they have quite a lunch menu of sandwiches and salads, although not much on it would appeal to me. On weekends, they serve the breakfast items until 2 PM, which is closing, but I wish they would do that all week. There is really nothing like By The Brewery elsewhere in town (Rise Biscuits in Germantown is the most similar) and I would visit far more often if breakfast could be had later.
By The Brewery
496 Tennessee Street
Memphis, TN 38130
(901) 310-4341