The Docket has quietly taken its place on Hernando's DeSoto County Courthouse square, turning courtroom kitsch into a full dining theme and serving everything from smoked burgers to Russian caviar. The owners are leaning into the legal joke, but the goal is serious enough: give downtown diners something they have not seen in a while.
Who Opened It And When
Co-owners Charles King and his wife, Leslie Jillette, officially opened the doors on March 12 at 39 West Commerce Street, according to The Daily Memphian. The outlet reports that The Docket sits directly on the DeSoto County Courthouse square and leans hard into legal motifs in both its decor and menu, turning the whole place into a kind of winking nod to courthouse life.
A Menu Built On Smoke And A Twist Of Luxe
The restaurant is built around a weekend smokehouse model that has already had a run in this building, with a daytime cafe concept yielding to smoked meats after hours. That setup echoes the Baker's Corner crew and its "Corner Smokehouse" weekends, when the space became a barbecue spot on Fridays and Saturdays, per the Memphis Flyer. The Docket keeps that comfort-food backbone in place, then turns things up a notch by layering in some higher-end ingredients.
Legal-Themed Dining And Unexpected Caviar
The menu reportedly pairs smoked burgers and other barbecue staples with curveballs like Russian caviar, a combination that helps define The Docket's tongue-in-cheek personality, according to The Daily Memphian. That contrast, lowbrow smokehouse plates with a high-dollar garnish, is exactly the sort of small-town culinary theater the owners say they want to stage on the Hernando square.
An Address With A Recent Track Record
In recent years, 39 West Commerce has cycled through coffee shops, a gluten-free bakery, and weekend barbecue pop-ups, so The Docket is the latest in a series of small downtown experiments at this address. Local listings and visitor guides show The Baker's Corner and Coffee Central among the recent occupants at 39 West Commerce, marking the spot as a bit of a hub for courthouse-square dining. Visit DeSoto County and other local reporting have followed those shifts over the years.
For now, menus and hours appear to be limited to walk-ins and local ordering platforms while the owners settle into the downtown rhythm, and the building's previous operators have listed weekend hours and smokehouse nights on their ordering pages. If you are planning a visit, it is worth checking local listings or the restaurant's delivery profiles for the latest hours and menu details. DoorDash and other platforms show listings for businesses operating at 39 West Commerce.
