Sneak peek: Here's what you can expect when Mike Miller's Let It Fly opens in Germantown
Corinne S Kennedy
Memphis-area sports lovers will soon have a new place to eat, drink and catch all the action on game day when Let It Fly sports bar opens in Germantown next month.
While the joint is sure to attract basketball fans hoping to bump into owner Mike Miller, the former NBA player and Memphis men's basketball assistant coach, and golfers looking to test their skills on the golf simulator bays, the team at Let It Fly has said the space will be a place for lovers of all sports to catch their favorite team in action as they enjoy classic bar food, barbecue and cold drinks.
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At a preview event Tuesday, Let It Fly team members said the watering hole in the StoneCreek Centre on Poplar Avenue is expected to open in the third week of August. The bar's dining space, dominated by a blond-wood paneled rectangular bar in the center of the room, will have a variety of seating options and an array of televisions showing everything and anything happening in the wide world of sports.
Those more interested in the menu than the matchups won't have anything to worry about.
In addition to the traditional bar fare like loaded potato skins, patrons can indulge in barbecue from Melissa Cookston, the culinary mind behind Steak by Melissa in Southaven and Memphis BBQ Company in Horn Lake and winner of multiple international barbecue awards.
Cookston said she was approached by the Let It Fly team at the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest this spring and after discussions decided to strike up a partnership.
She won't be responsible for the entire menu at the sports bar but will be responsible for providing Memphis' signature food along with some different sauces. Cookston said she had not done a partnership like this before with a restaurant she didn't own or operate.
"It's going to be something different," she said. "But I'm excited about it."
On Tuesday, she treated guests at the preview party to brisket, ribs, pulled pork and a whole hog, alongside coleslaw and grape salad as liquor company representatives wove through the happily chatting crowds and into the golf simulator bays at the back of the venue with plastic shot glasses of whiskey.
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That mix of food, drink, gaming and camaraderie seems to be the vibe the Let It Fly team wants to achieve, director of operations David Rodriquez said.
"Let It Fly Sports Bar will have a casual feel while offering special features that highlight the Memphis market. Comfortable seating, unique fixtures and features, as well as TV's everywhere for all tastes in sporting events," he said in an email.
Though not the focus of the eatery, the golf simulators will certainly be a draw. Erik Matuszewski of the National Golf Foundation said that in 2018, 23 million Americans played at alternative golf venues like Topgolf or simulator bays inside bars and casinos. That was a 10% increase from the year before, according to the NGF.
The two bays are complete with clubs, a floor-to-ceiling screen where golfers can see how their shot would have played out on a course and seating for your friends to watch and praise or ridicule you, depending on how good your golf game is. Golfers hit real balls off real tees into the screens, which not only project the trajectory of the shot but tell the golfer how far the ball would have traveled and how fast it would be moving.
The simulators, which will cater to professionals and amateurs alike, will serve as an added bonus to the venue's main attractions, quality food and drink.
"We expect to provide our guests great food, drinks, and service in a fun and casual environment," Rodriquez said.
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