'Fresh Mex' restaurant concept Local Lime coming to Germantown's Saddle Creek

By Susan Ellis – Reporter, Memphis Business Journal

August 8, 2023

Local Lime, the Little Rock-based “Fresh Mex” restaurant, will open in Saddle Creek later this year.

Local Lime comes from restaurant group Yellow Rocket Concepts, which operates 14 restaurants in Arkansas. The Memphis Local Lime will be the first Yellow Rocket concept outside of Arkansas.

Yellow Rocket was launched in 2008. Co-founder Amber Brewer said that at the time in Little Rock, there were high-end restaurants and lower-priced restaurants, but nothing in between. The group sought to fill that gap.

They opened the first Local Lime in 2012.

“What bred the concept is an absolute love of Mexican cuisine, Oaxacan cuisine, and also the California Coast. We wanted to merge those together,” Brewer said. “We talked to a lot of people and asked, ‘What do you guys want?’ We felt the burger/pizza thing was pretty well taken care of,” she said of the Germantown culinary scene. “We felt like there was a real void in that casual, Cali-Mex-style food. We thought it’d be fun to offer Germantown something that they didn’t have.”

Brewer said that the cuisine is naturally vegan- and vegetarian-heavy. The menu features taco plates, fajitas, enchiladas, nachos, salads, and bowls.

“You have to start with a salsa trio. We make six different sauces, and we make them every day, sometimes twice a day, all from scratch,” she said. “It’s a good idea to get our ceviche, which is super exceptional and made with really fresh sushi-grade tuna. For entrees, we have a salmon Veracruz, which is marinated overnight. In terms of our tacos, my favorite is the New Mexican Market tacos. That is a vegetarian taco — a medley of vegetables with a delicious crema sauce. They’re hearty and delicious.

“I have to mention the Tres Leches cake, which is very unique,” she added. “We take half of the condensed milk and fill the rest of the pan with three different rums. It’s not baked in rum; it is soaked in rum. So, you have to be 21 or older to have it.”

Atmosphere was important to the group as well. They wanted a place that was casual and family-friendly but with a range of quality offerings — the sort of spot where one could get a $25 top-shelf margarita or a $7 “incredible” margarita.

The group chose the name Local Lime to reflect their focus on sourcing produce and meats from farmers in the tri-state area.

They later opened a larger Local Lime in a shopping center in Rogers, Arkansas, which expanded their vision.

“We started looking for other opportunities with that kind of square footage. We have a lot of friends who live in the Germantown/Collierville area, so we traveled there and thought Saddle Creek would be a great spot,” she said.

Brewer said the group originally had no plans to expand outside Arkansas. They wanted to build their brand on local talent and cultivate a strong culinary scene. However, after frequent visits to Tennessee and interest from developers, the Saddle Creek location — similar to their Rogers restaurant — stood out.

Yellow Rocket also operates a brewery, a burger concept, and a pizza concept.