Golden India plans to move just outside Overton Square

Tom Bailey | Memphis Commercial Appeal

The venerable Golden India restaurant may move from the space it rents in Overton Square to its own property just outside the Square.

Owners Satnam Singh and Manjit Kaur have filed an application for a planned development at 20 N. Cooper so they can convert property that now hosts a 105-year-old duplex residence into a mixed-use property that includes both a restaurant and residence.

The project apparently involves demolition of the existing house; the newly filed documents state that a new building will be built for the restaurant.

The 20 N. Cooper address is immediately north of the Ballet Memphis facility being constructed at the northeast corner of Cooper and Madison.

Golden India has operated at 2097 Madison in Overton Square for 20 years, but has outgrown the space, the application states.

The Land Use Control Board will review the application at its meeting at 10 a.m. on July 13 in City Hall.

"Our facility has outgrown the present location at 2097 Madison Avenue, and we want to remain in the Overton Square area,'' the letter of intent states.

Many of the other, formerly residential properties near Overton Square on Cooper already have been allowed to house commercial uses, the letter states.

The existing duplex at 20 N. Cooper was built in 1912 and is appraised for tax purposes at $74,100. Its 1,415 square feet includes two bedrooms and two baths.

"A modern restaurant in a new building with landscaping will enhance this site and those adjoining and abutting it,'' the letter states.

The existing structure is in need of "unfeasible repair, and is totally out of character with the modern development abutting it to the south,'' the letter states, referring to the Ballet Memphis facility.