Blues City Cafe
Blues City Cafe is a privately held Southern barbecue restaurant on Memphis's Beale Street serving ribs, steaks, seafood gumbo, and tamales alongside an adjacent live music venue. Revenue streams include dine-in, takeout, delivery, catering, and retail sauce and rub sales.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1991
- HeadquartersMemphis, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Blues City Cafe does
Blues City Cafe operates a single full-service Southern barbecue restaurant at 138 Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, serving hickory-smoked ribs, hand-cut steaks, fresh seafood gumbo, and soul food under a casual dine-in format with over 200 seats. The business originated as Doe's Eat Place in 1991 and was rebranded Blues City Cafe in 1993, building a 30-plus-year operating history anchored by its location on Beale Street. Adjacent to the main restaurant at 142 Beale Street is the Band Box, a live music sub-brand that hosts nightly blues performances, combining dining and entertainment into a single destination experience. Signature menu items include slow-cooked pork ribs basted with maple BBQ sauce using a proprietary seasoning blend, house-made tamales, and a roux-based seafood gumbo loaded with shrimp, crawfish, and catfish.
The company monetizes through multiple revenue streams: dine-in restaurant service (pay-as-you-go unit pricing with menu items ranging from roughly $7 sides to $88 large-format steaks), takeout ordered via Toast Tab, delivery via Uber Eats, catering for events of all sizes (in-house and off-site), and an online retail shop shipping proprietary BBQ sauces and dry rubs nationwide. Catering is supported by a dedicated sales contact ([email protected]) and a Group Sales Director ([email protected]), targeting personal events, travel groups, and corporate clients. Marketing relies on the Beale Street location, earned media features on the Travel Channel's A Taste of America, Food Network's Bobby Flay Show, and Bon Appetit Magazine, plus an active social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Reservations are managed through OpenTable on weekdays.
The business is privately held with no parent company, institutional investor, or PE sponsor disclosed in available data, and no funding rounds, M&A activity, regulatory actions, or restructuring events are on record. Day-to-day operations are led by General Manager Jason Ralph, with a single named location and a sub-brand (Band Box) as the only operating entities. There are no patents or trademarks disclosed, no technology stack beyond standard restaurant POS and delivery marketplaces, and no app or developer-facing API.
Blues City Cafe firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Blues City Cafe
- Legal name
- Blues City Cafe
- Website
- https://bluescitycafe.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1991
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Blues City Cafe is a privately held Southern barbecue restaurant on Memphis's Beale Street serving ribs, steaks, seafood gumbo, and tamales alongside an adjacent live music venue. Revenue streams include dine-in, takeout, delivery, catering, and retail sauce and rub sales.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Blues City Cafe industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Casual Dining Restaurants
- NAICS
- Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Special Food Services (7223)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Ethnic & Regional Cuisine Restaurants (THAFACAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Live Music Bars & Venues (CRANACAH)
Keywords
Where Blues City Cafe is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Memphis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Blues City Cafe business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Restaurant Dining: Full-service restaurant serving Southern barbecue, steaks, seafood, and soul food. Generates revenue from food and beverage sales to dine-in customers.
- Merchandise Sales: Online shop selling BBQ sauce and dry rubs, and BBQ sauce and dry rub combos.
- Catering and Events: In-house and off-site catering services for events of all sizes. Provides food, beverage, entertainment, tents, and security for personal and business events.
- Delivery and Takeout: Takeout orders via Toast Tab platform and delivery through Uber Eats.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Uber Eats delivery orders |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Appetizers ranging from $11.99 to $16.49 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Soups and Stews |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Tamales |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Salads |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Steaks |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Family Style NY Strip |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Seafood and Chicken |
| Unit Pricing | — | BBQ Ribs |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Combination Platter |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Desserts |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Merchandise |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Blues City Cafe product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Blues City Cafe operates a full-service Southern barbecue and soul food restaurant at 138 Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, with over 200 seats serving slow-cooked hickory-smoked ribs, hand-cut aged steaks, fried catfish, seafood gumbo, and house-made tamales. The operation is anchored by an attached live music venue (Band Box at 142 Beale Street) featuring nightly blues entertainment, and is supported by catering services for events of all sizes and an online retail shop selling proprietary BBQ sauces and dry rubs.
Product overview
Blues City Cafe is a single-location full-service Southern barbecue and soul food restaurant on Memphis's historic Beale Street, in operation since 1991. The company operates a unified dining experience centered on its main restaurant (with over 200 seats), complemented by the adjacent Band Box live music venue. Core offerings include dine-in service, takeout and delivery (via Toast Tab and Uber Eats), and catering/event planning. A retail component sells proprietary BBQ sauces and dry rubs. The restaurant is known for slow-cooked ribs, fried catfish, homemade tamales, and classic Southern sides, paired with nightly live blues entertainment.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Band Box: Live music venue located at 142 Beale Street, adjacent to the main restaurant, featuring nightly blues and other musical performances.
Products and services
- Dine-In Restaurant Service
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 30 years in business on Beale Street
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Blues City Cafe
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Blues City Cafe technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature3 records
Blues City Cafe partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Blues City Cafe competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Uber Eats: Third-party delivery platform that powers Blues City Cafe's off-premise delivery channel. Important ecosystem partner; relevant as a structural dependency for delivery revenue and customer acquisition.
- Memphis Tourism (Beale Street Entertainment District): The Beale Street entertainment district association that drives foot traffic to Blues City Cafe and adjacent venues. Not a competitor, but the primary upstream demand driver for the restaurant's tourist-segment revenue.
Direct peers
- The Majestic Grille: Full-service Memphis restaurant on South Main serving Southern-influenced American cuisine with craft cocktails. Comparable full-service Southern dining experience in the Memphis visitor market.
- Rendezvous BBQ: Iconic Memphis BBQ institution in a basement location near Beale Street, serving dry-rub ribs and classic Southern sides. Direct competitor for Memphis tourist BBQ traffic and the most cited peer for Blues City Cafe's core offering.
- Cozy Corner Restaurant: Long-running Memphis BBQ restaurant known for Cornish hen and rib plates. Comparable heritage Memphis BBQ operator with dine-in focus in the local market.
- Corky's BBQ: Memphis-based BBQ chain serving slow-smoked ribs and pulled pork with retail sauce distribution. Overlaps with Blues City Cafe on both dine-in BBQ and packaged sauce/rub retail channels.
- Rum Boogie Cafe: Beale Street bar and grill with live music and Southern/pub food. Directly competes for the same tourist and live-entertainment customer segment on Beale Street.
- Central BBQ: Multi-location Memphis BBQ operator with strong local reputation, ribs and Southern sides. Comparable in BBQ specialization and Memphis-centric customer base, with a more multi-unit footprint than Blues City Cafe.
- B.B. King's Blues Club: Beale Street live-music venue combining Southern food with nightly blues performances. Closest direct comparison to Blues City Cafe's Band Box + restaurant ecosystem on the same street.
Broad incumbents
- Hard Rock Cafe Memphis: National chain operating a Beale Street location combining American food with music memorabilia and merchandise retail. Overlaps with Blues City Cafe on Beale Street tourist traffic, live-music theme, and merchandise sales.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Blues City Cafe social profiles
Digital presenceBlues City Cafe financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Blues City Cafe leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Blues City Cafe funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Blues City Cafe M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Blues City Cafe
What does Blues City Cafe do?
Blues City Cafe operates a full-service Southern barbecue and soul food restaurant at 138 Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, with over 200 seats serving slow-cooked hickory-smoked ribs, hand-cut aged steaks, fried catfish, seafood gumbo, and house-made tamales. The operation is anchored by an attached live music venue (Band Box at 142 Beale Street) featuring nightly blues entertainment, and is supported by catering services for events of all sizes and an online retail shop selling proprietary BBQ sauces and dry rubs.
Is Blues City Cafe a public or private company?
Blues City Cafe is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Blues City Cafe founded?
Blues City Cafe was founded in 1991. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Blues City Cafe based?
Blues City Cafe is headquartered in Memphis, United States, in the North America region.
How does Blues City Cafe make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Restaurant Dining is the primary driver. The others are merchandise Sales, catering and Events and delivery and Takeout.
Who are Blues City Cafe's main competitors?
Others on record are Uber Eats and Memphis Tourism (Beale Street Entertainment District). Direct peers are The Majestic Grille, Rendezvous BBQ, Cozy Corner Restaurant, Corky's BBQ, Rum Boogie Cafe, Central BBQ and B.B. King's Blues Club. Hard Rock Cafe Memphis is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Blues City Cafe have an API?
No public API is recorded for Blues City Cafe.
What industry is Blues City Cafe in?
Blues City Cafe's product category is Casual Dining Restaurants. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFACAD, Ethnic & Regional Cuisine Restaurants, with a secondary code of CRANACAH, Live Music Bars & Venues. Its NAICS code is 722511 and its SIC code is 5810.