Leonard’s Pit Barbecue in six to eight weeks will leave its long-standing space, at 5465 Fox Plaza Dr., in exchange for the Abner’s Famous Chicken Tenders building, at 1100 North Germantown Parkway.
An employee at the century-old barbecue joint Sunday told What Now Memphis the move is expected to happen in mid-July 2023 if all goes according to plan. The existing Leonard’s space is not fit for operation, they said.
In the long run, Leonard’s Pit Barbecue plans to build a brand-spanking new restaurant in Bartlett from the ground up, but construction has yet to start despite plans being announced for the restaurant in December 2022.
Plans for the upcoming Bartlett location were just recently finalized by the city which means construction could be underway any day, the employee said.
All of the changes at Leonard’s Pit Barbecue are under the direction of new owners Matthew and Wendy McCrory, Brad Turner and Edward LaPlante, the latter of which co-own the Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken, at 2943 North Germantown Road, which sits a block away from the planned Bartlett Leonard’s.
“We are looking to expand Leonard’s beyond the one (Bartlett) location,” McCrory told Daily Memphian last year. “We do have a lot of challenges with that building (on Fox Plaza). It’s a very old building, and it’s tucked away into a corner where there’s really not a whole lot going on.”
