Memphis Garrett, a native of his namesake city and founder of Garrett Hospitality Group, is set to open his “refuge from the ordinary” concept, No Man’s Land, in The Rambler at 400 S Main St later this year.
“The whole idea of No Man’s Land is that it’s almost a state of mind,” Garrett tells What Now Memphis. “So when you’re in No Man’s Land you’re engulfed into cocktail culture, into the element that you’re at, you forget where you’re at – it’s super dark, super sexy, super high-end, and you get transported back in time a little bit.”
Incidentally, despite the level of attention and care that’s given to plating the restaurant’s shareable dishes such as Escargot Mac & Cheese, an Old-Fashioned inspired Foie Gras, and Baked Oysters, dishes that are, for all intents and purposes, highly Instagrammable, the overarching goal is that guests forget they even have a phone, and instead “get lost” in the environment and experience.
“That is where No Man’s Land came from,” says Garrett.
Despite having grown up in the area, Garrett – who rose to prominence with a stint on CBS’ hit show Big Brother – has since relocated to Florida where he operates the flagship No Man’s Land location in Fort Lauderdale. Nevertheless, inspired by the city’s recent surge in culinary creativity, he figured it was time to bring some of the concepts he’s honed over the years back home.
“I grew up there for a period of time – I lived in South Memphis and went to Collierville High School – so that area has always been very dear to my heart, just a lot of history there with me,” says Garrett. “So as I continued my career and really kind of went to the next level, I’ve always wanted to do a place there. But it was never right; the timing wasn’t right, I don’t think Memphis was really ready, and I think we’ve just seen so much growth and investment back into the downtown area of that city, it just made it very appealing to me, and I think it’s time.”
