Restaurant sees 70% revenue drop after National Guard books adjacent hotel, co-owner says
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC/Gray News) – An owner of a downtown Memphis restaurant says they have seen a significant drop in customers since the National Guard booked a nearby hotel.
Monique Williams, co-owner of Biscuits and Jams, said revenue has dropped nearly 70% since National Guard members began staying at the attached Hotel Indigo.
CREDIT: Gray News
According to Williams, her business model depends on Hotel Indigo, which is now reportedly fully booked with National Guard troops through September.
“I don’t know how we are going to make it. To be honest with you. Not here,” Williams said.
Biscuits and Jams opened the downtown location to serve as the hotel’s food supplier for the hotel. Williams said the bulk of her business came from hotel guests, including diamond elite members and catering needs.
Williams provided financial records showing the impact.
In December 2024, the restaurant brought in just over $100,000. During December 2025, about a month after the National Guard began staying at Hotel Indigo, revenue dropped to just over $36,000.
“We have literally had days since the change where we’ve made $100 a day. $100,” Williams said.
At 12:30 p.m. Friday, the business had made about $500.
The National Guard troops have their food provided, eliminating the restaurant’s primary customer base.
“The guys have been great, they have really been great. They [National Guard troops] were going to be taking over the hotel by mid-November, and at that point, we would no longer have those customers come in, and those who would be traveling,” Williams said. “That was the base of our business; the hotel is completely locked down with the National Guard.”
Williams said she considers the economy and other variables, like low tourism, but wished federal and state leaders had thought about how the deployment would impact local businesses.
“When that decision was made, we should have taken a look at how it would affect our city in this economy. It’s not fair, it’s not fair to a business that I worked hard to start. It’s not fair to the people that come to work every day to get an honest living,” Williams said.
Williams said she appreciates the troops’ trying to help with small catering orders, but it is not enough to sustain her business.
“I don’t know if we are going to make it to next month, let alone October. If we stay the way we stay right now, how do we do that?” Williams said.
Williams said she also understands why the National Guard has been deployed.
“They are supposed to be here to help us, with crime, we know that. But did the government take into account what that does to a business?” she said. “[They are here to] get us back to a normal, where we feel safe and all of that. I mean, how does that help us when it’s affecting our livelihoods? I have people who depend on me and hold on my shoulders.”
Gov. Bill Lee’s office, Mayor Paul Young’s office and the Downtown Memphis Commission did not immediately comment.
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