ERIN EDGEMON, Business Editor
Posted: Sunday, September 20, 2009 6:43 am

The Emporium, a three-section entertainment complex, is expected to open by middle October at 302 W. Main St. at the intersection with Walnut Street in the former location of Main Street Marketplace. “Instead of driving to downtown Nashville for your entertainment fix, you need to stay in Murfreesboro,” said Joshua Cardin, who owns the venue with Ralph and Patricia Doney. “We are trying to revamp the downtown area.” Cardin said the large venue will be split into three sections with entertainment to appeal to every generation. “It is going to be a complete entertainment complex for anyone from 18 to 80 years old,” he said. In the front of the venue will be a restaurant/sports bar called The Classic Dog of Murfreesboro, which will feature Chicago-style hotdogs, Italian beef and sandwiches. The bar will have LCD televisions showing at least six different sporting events and have a billiard room. It will be decorated in MTSU, University of Tennessee and University of Florida colors and memorabilia. Splash, a dance club playing Top 40 music and videos on LCD screens, will be located on the right side of the venue. The club will have a capacity of about 700 people. The back of the venue will be The Grove Shack, which will feature music from the ‘60s, through the ‘90s. This section of the venue also will have themed nights showcasing comedy and live bands, Cardin said. Eventually, the venue will have a patio for smokers. ••• Outreach Thrift is reopening at its original location at 810 N.W. Broad St., Suite 212 Sept. 26, said general manager, Tim Nelson. Hours of operation opening day will be 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Regular store hours have yet to be set. The store located in the Jackson Heights Plaza was hit by a tornado March 28. The store remained closed until May 4 when it reopened in a temporary location in the same shopping center in a space behind Toot’s. “We’re glad, as soon as we get open, to be back,” Nelson said, adding that the temporary location was about half the size of Outreach Thrift’s original location. The mission works with 39 agencies to give free clothing and household goods to people in need. ••• Highlights of Business News from murfreesboropost.com: • The 2009 Stones River Mall Bridal Expo is today from 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. at the former Goody’s location at the mall. Brides will have an opportunity to meet with many of the area's finest wedding vendors and receive expert advice from wedding industry professionals. • Best Buy donated $10,000 to the Boys & Girls Club at its reopening. "We feel extremely blessed for the relationship that the Boys & Girls Club has had with Best Buy since the store opened in Murfreesboro,” said Dan Jernigan, chief professional officer at Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County. “They have been very generous not only to us, but to other charities and causes in the area, and we hope to continue this partnership for a long time to come." Best Buy Children's Foundation supports local communities with the Community Grants Program that is led by employee committees in each of its eight territories across the United States. • The 2009 Governor’s Conference on Tourism was held at the Embassy Suites Hotel & Conference Center last week. It ended Friday with an address from Gov. Phil Bredesen. Erin Edgemon can be reached at 869-0812 and at eedgemon@murfreesboropost.com.