New restaurant in Cooper Young sets opening date

By Susan Ellis – Memphis Business Journal

September 10, 2026

John Currence, the Oxford-based chef behind City Grocery, Boure, Snackbar, and Big Bad Breakfast, said he is a big breakfast person.

"At 60, I don't find myself diving off into the danishes and donuts and pancakes and waffles and coffee cake of my childhood, but I still absolutely adore the meal, period," Currence said. "It is a wonderful way to start the day — a meal that really speaks to you and fuels you and gets you going."

Currence is set to open the newest location of Big Bad Breakfast at 2149 Young Ave. in Cooper Young on Sept. 29.

While this will be the 30th location of Big Bad Breakfast, Currence resists words such as "corporate-owned" and "chain."

"What we try to do is to think about how we can be the antithesis of a chain, while adhering to practices and systems that give us the ability to operate all of these scratch kitchens as consistently as we possibly can," Currence said.

There are locations of Big Bad Breakfast in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The first Memphis location, at 6450 Poplar Ave. in East Memphis, opened in 2021.

Currence said when they open a new location, they are mindful to speak to that setting — both in the look of the space and the menu.

"We want everywhere to feel a little bit special and feel like we reflect the interests of the of the folks who are coming through the door," Currence said. "The one exception to that was I refused to serve hot chicken in Nashville."

Currence's nod to Memphis is the Soul on a Roll, an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich with mayo and onion. It is based on a favorite from when Currence was a kid and it's an acknowledgment of the city's music history.

Currence said he was already familiar with the Cooper Young area. When he was younger, he and a group of restaurant friends would meet up and explore the area and its restaurants and bars. Later, a business partner, Nashville-based Fresh Hospitality, purchased the Young Avenue building.

There was some suggestion that Big Bad Breakfast would open in that spot, but the tenant at the time, Mulan Asian Bistro, had no plans to vacate the space. In September 2025, a fire broke out at Mulan, and the restaurant closed.

When Currence took over the space, he found the building to be structurally unsound. Roof joists were collapsing, so a stud wall was put in. A back room was integrated into the kitchen space. The new area will be visible from the street, giving passers-by a view of the biscuits and jellies being made.

The new location will also feature a gathering area at front and a mural by Lamar Sorrento.

Currence said he's mindful about expanding Big Bad Breakfast beyond the eight states it's already in. Much of that is about quality control.

But, the East Memphis location could push Currence past his concerns. He said that that location has a surprising amount of diversity. When he stops in, diners often say to him how much the meal reminds of them of their grandmother's cooking.

"Those are the things that drew me to the industry. Why I became a chef in the first place is evoking that kind of response from people," Currence said. "I get it in spades on Poplar Avenue. If I can duplicate that and double down on that kind of response, then, yes, I'm sure as heck going to do that."