The Pop Spot, a pop art and cocktail-driven restaurant and bar, has quietly slipped into East Memphis and cranked the volume up on Brookhaven Circle. The roughly 80-seat spot pairs bright, Instagram-ready decor with a mashup menu of American comfort dishes and Latin American flavors drawing from Venezuela, Argentina, and the Caribbean.
According to the Memphis Business Journal, The Pop Spot began serving customers this week at 715 West Brookhaven Circle, taking over the space previously occupied by Bangkok Alley. The outlet identifies partners Sylvia Leon and Franco Bordonaro as the operators behind the concept, describing the venue as a pop-art-inflected bar and grill.
Public filings show the team started laying the groundwork late last year. The operators applied to the City of Memphis Alcohol Commission for permission to sell beer, listing LB Restaurant LLC d/b/a The Pop Spot as the applicant, according to a notice in the Memphis Daily News. That permit request is a routine step for a full-service bar getting ready to open its doors.
Location and layout
Plans reviewed by local reporters put the space at about 3,927 square feet with an occupant load of roughly 80 people, per reporting in The Daily Memphian. The Pop Spot fills the former Bangkok Alley footprint and plugs a noticeable gap in the Brookhaven Circle strip, giving the block a fresh, neon-accented anchor.
Menu and drinks
The Pop Spot’s menu is billed as a fusion of American, Venezuelan, Argentinian, and Caribbean dishes, with baked empanadas, tostones, arepitas, tacos, and a signature burger all sharing space with a lineup of colorful cocktails. Local previews in What Now Memphis highlight a playful, share-friendly approach meant to match the visual punch of the dining room.
Owners and concept
Co-owner Sylvia Leon said she and Bordonaro wanted the dining room to feel like stepping into an art piece instead of a traditional bar, picturing “a whole wall of pop art,” with bright signature cocktails to keep pace, according to an interview with What Now Memphis. Leon’s prior hospitality work and Bordonaro’s experience behind the bar helped shape the hybrid bar-and-grill concept that leans equally on visuals, food, and drinks.
A new addition to East Memphis
The Pop Spot joins a run of recent restaurant openings across Memphis, adding a kaleidoscopic option to the East Memphis dining mix. Local outlet StyleBlueprint previously flagged The Pop Spot among several concepts slated to debut in late 2025 and early 2026, positioning Brookhaven Circle as one of the city’s livelier stretches for new food and drink.
