MEMPHIS, TN - Overton Square was once a favorite Memphis hot spot, bustling with business. Not so much anymore. Business after business has closed shop in the Midtown neighborhood and one more is about to do the same.
Yosemite Sam's has been feeding customers at the corner of Madison and Cooper since 1972, but it will soon close its doors for good, owner Faye Pannell tells abc24.com.
Pannell says Yosemite Sam's will close its doors for good August 27th, partly because Overton Square is just not as popular as it once was.
"It used to be people in the street day and night, it's just nothing like that anymore."
Douglas Griggs is a regular at Yosemite Sam's and he says the state Overton Square is in right now is sad. He tells abc24.com, "I've been coming here since 1969, 1970 and I've seen the decay here."
Pannell and Griggs say that decay can be attributed to the fact that there are just more things to do now.
Pannell says "I think [with] Beale Street, a lot of places out east that used to not be there and Tunica, a lot of people go down there."
Griggs tells abc24.com, "I think it's just the evolution of the city, now we've got downtown."
