Southside's Main Street Traded One French Anchor for a Calendar of Small Nights

Adelle's Creperie served its last meal on June 28, 2026. That was the tenth anniversary of the day it opened at 400 E. Main Street. In the same stretch of 2026, a French boulangerie opened two blocks away, a bookstore and a tea house set up in the same building as the creperie, and a chef-driven restaurant opened in the Johnson Street building that had sat dark for more than a year. None of the new places took over the creperie's role as a single dinner destination. Most of them are organized around something that repeats: a Thursday dessert night, a second-Saturday open mic, a monthly jazz trio, a late-night menu.

The Southside's turnover this year also had a pattern. Both empty rooms were handed off on purpose, by owners who said they wanted to choose who came next.

The Building That Takes Up the Whole Block

The Clearstory Building at 400 East Main Street fills the entire block on Main between Adams and Washington streets. For ten years its best-known tenant was Adelle's, which called itself "a piece of Paris on Main Street serving crepes, brunch and authentic French cuisine for dinner."

The restaurant started as a family project. Adelle Pritchard was 12 when she helped her parents open it. When she finished college and moved to Washington, D.C., the family decided to close the restaurant and focus on their other businesses, Chattanooga Presents and Pritchard Properties. Co-owner Carla Pritchard's statement also said the family was "excited to soon announce a new tenant and food concept for the space, which is expected to open in September."

As of early October, we haven't found a public announcement naming that tenant, and nothing confirms the space has opened. The owners also told Local 3 that The Granfalloon, the building's event space, would close. The Granfalloon had hosted "Road to Nightfall," the contest for a headlining slot at Nightfall 2026. We haven't found a confirmed last day for it. Its website currently shows only a private-site notice. Treat both as announced changes that are still in progress.

What Filled In Around the Empty Storefront

The rest of the Clearstory Building got busier this year, even as its anchor tenant left.

• Pennington's Books took the corner spot by Washington Street. Owner Spencer Pennington runs it as a bookstore, coffee shop and art gallery. The grand opening was Saturday, April 11, and partner Ellie Wical leads the gallery side. The shelves carry new and used books, the store buys books and sells memberships, and Spencer will try to stock a title if you ask for it. Its mascot is an opossum, which shows up on the shirts, bags and plush toys.
• Understory Tea House opened in January in the back of the building, also facing Washington Street. It's a tea house and herbal apothecary with low Japanese-style benches, and its small bites come from Southern Squeeze. Its address is Suite 170. Understory was open months before Adelle's closed, so it is not the creperie's replacement.
• Brent Sanders Studio and Gallery is a working studio where Michael Brent Sanders, a fifth-generation Chattanoogan, paints brightly colored folk-style scenes of Chattanooga and other places. He keeps the door locked while he paints, so ring the bell.

Across Washington Street, Outpost Bar & Restaurant is coming up on three years and pours a long list of local beers.

The Clearstory tenants mostly run on recurring programs. Pennington's holds a free Second Saturdays writers' open mic. The next two are October 10 and November 14, both from 6 to 7 p.m. in Suite 150. Understory runs a Late Night Jazz Trio on the same second Saturday. October's is from 8 to 10:30 p.m., with $10 admission at the door. So on October 10, one building has an open mic in the early evening and jazz later that night.

The French Food Moved Two Blocks, and Changed Shape

The creperie's closing didn't end French food on Main Street. Oui Oui Boulangerie, run by co-owners Johann and Siliza Tremor at 338 Main St., started selling bread and pastries in February and held its grand opening on July 14, which is Bastille Day. River City Company hosted a storefront celebration, and LAUNCH Chattanooga ran the ribbon cutting.

The Tremors live in the neighborhood, as Johann told The Pulse:

"The Southside felt right because it's our neighborhood. Living on Main St. for three years, we love the vibe and walkability of the Southside."

The menu includes baguettes, butter croissants, pain au chocolat, pain suisse, seasonal fruit tarts and the jambon-beurre sandwich. A new lunch menu that launched with the grand opening added quiche, and almond croissants are now baked every day. On Thursday nights the bakery runs Patisserie nights, which started August 6 and come with a dessert menu and a water menu for pairing. Local 3 has also reported monthly dinners and monthly French film showings there. Check the bakery's own channels before planning around a particular Thursday.

Adelle's was one restaurant serving brunch and dinner. Its French cooking now lives on Main Street as a bakery with a weekly dessert night and a monthly film.

55 Johnson Street Got a Hand-Picked Successor

The second handoff happened around the corner. 55 Johnson Street is the architectural landmark that housed The Flying Squirrel and later Ernest Chinese. Here's how the building changed hands:

The building sat empty for a little over a year between Ernest's last service and Bona Fide's opening. Max Poppel and Dan Rose, who founded both earlier restaurants, said they took their time choosing the next tenant:

"It was important to us to find the right tenant for this incredible space, and it is such a rush to see it come back to life."

Bona Fide has five partners: head chef Joey Milenkovic, pastry chef Estela Felipe, Jared Padovani, who owns The Boneyard, Rachel Holland and beverage director Garth Poe. The build-out took longer than planned. Instead of waiting, the team ran a series called BONA FIDE ON TOUR: In Good Company, serving its first meals inside partner spaces, including RT Lodge, The Boneyard, Monospace, Niedlov's, Calliope and Mean Jeen's. Many Chattanooga diners tasted the food months before the doors opened.

The menu changes with the seasons and includes housemade pastas and a long list of drinks, with plenty of non-alcoholic options. The team built a late-night menu for people coming off late shifts or late flights. At opening, The Pulse reported hours of 4:30 p.m. to midnight, Friday through Sunday. Hours often change after a restaurant's first few months, so check before you go. The Pulse's reviewer found paid parking beside State of Confusion, across the street, and walked past Niedlov's on the way in.

A Southside Calendar Through Thanksgiving

The recurring nights on Main Street line up with the season at First Horizon Pavilion, 1801 Reggie White Blvd. The Chattanooga Market opened its 26th season there in April.

The Thanksgiving Market runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. After that, the market takes a short break and moves indoors to the Convention Center for its Holiday Market weekends. Understory has more on its October calendar, including a sound bath on October 18 and a fall herbal workshop series. Its posted listings run only through October 31.

Finley Stadium tried something new this year. TVFCU Southside Nights on September 12 combined a UT–Georgia Tech watch party, a live set from The Essentials, food trucks and family activities. Organizers said they hoped it could become an annual series. Main Street's biggest night of the year, MAINx24, is set for December 5, 2026. The Pritchards' new food concept at the Clearstory Building could be named any week now, so watch for news on that between now and then.

Main Street changes block by block. A bakery opening or a landmark building getting a new tenant tells you what a street is turning into, and that matters when you're thinking about a home nearby. If you'd like a read on the Southside from people who follow it closely, Lawrence Team Homes is glad to help. Talk to the Lawrence Team.