Mellow Mushroom eatery sprouts near Hamilton Place

Sunday, October 16, 2011

photo Construction continues on the new Mellow Mushroom off Timberlane Trail near Hamilton Place mall.

• Name: Mellow Mushroom at Waterside

• Location: 2318 Lifestyle Way, just off Shallowford Road near Hamilton Place mall

• Owners: Jason and Samantha Jones, who also own the franchise for the downtown Mellow Mushroom.

• Status: The heating and air conditioning work and much of the building's framing has been completed, with drywall hanging slated to come next. Much of the roof is up, and will be finished in the next week, according to Jason Jones.

• Price: Between $2 and $3 million

• Square feet: 6,000

• New employees: 80

• Seating: 270

• Features: Each Mellow Mushroom restaurant has a unique theme. Jones has selected a mashup of Alice in Wonderland and the novel Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, he said. "We're going to have hidden messages that reference those two works of art within the store," Jones said. "Some of them will be more obvious, and some of them will catch customers' attention as they think about it over time."

• Key facts: Jones, an artist himself, will install a piece of his own art in the restaurant, he said.

• The restaurant: Mellow Mushroom will have "an ecclectic atmosphere and food," as well as 64 draft beers and 75 to 100 bottled varieties of beer, Jones said.

• Builder: Dillard Construction

• Contact: www.MellowMushroom.com/Chattanooga