New shopping area opens in Madison. See what shops and restaurants it has
Madison's latest business development has been completed and a restaurant and retail have opened around it.
Local developer Bridgforth Rutledge had been eyeing the property at the corners of Madison Parkway and U.S. 51 for years. When it finally came available, he jumped at the chance to buy it.
Rutledge revamped and expanded the old Walgreens building into a multi-tenant building and all six spaces in the building have been leased.
"This has been a very successful project, and I think everyone is excited for this space to be occupied again," Rutledge said.
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He also added additional parking and access on 12 acres of additional property to the west and north. He purchased a portion of the Take 5 Oil Change property a few hundred yards north on U.S. 51 and constructed a new thoroughfare that leads from Highway 51 to the old Walgreens shopping center development. This will provide alternative access and future development opportunities along the new access road.
Rutledge purchased the building in January, but the building had been vacant for more than 15 years. Walgreens had built a new building across the street. According to Rutledge, Walgreens continued to pay rent on the old property. So, there was not a great deal of incentive for the previous owner to sell it.
"I have been speaking with him about the property for years, and we were finally able to reach an agreement," Rutledge said.
For food options in the building, there is a Little Caesar's Pizza and there will be a Tropical Smoothie Cafe. A sporting goods store, Bandwagon's, which is based in Birmingham has also opened. Southern Flair salon is expected to open in the near future. The Lost Sock, a fluff-and-fold delivery service, is open as is Mattress Firm.
Rutledge also gave updates on one of his other developments:
Back Yard Burger
Rutledge, who previously owned the Back Yard Burger locations is Madison and Flowood, is still the owner of the buildings. Both locations closed early in 2023, but he says other franchises could replaced them soon.
"I sold the Back Yard Burgers business to a private equity firm in 2018, and I kept the real estate for a number of locations, including the locations in Madison and Flowood," Rutledge said. "In my opinion, the new owner of the business made a number of poor business decisions that eventually resulted in the closure of significant number of their stores both inside and outside of Mississippi. Ultimately, I reached an agreement with them to get them out of the Flowood and Madison locations so I could lease or sell them to different users."
Ross Reily can be reached by email at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter @GreenOkra1.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: New shopping venue opens in Madison with shops, restaurants
