As it turns out, the owners of Cameo, Mary’s B.O.T.E., Fawn, and No Comment have a lot to say
Fancy drinks after 11 p.m. That’s what Mary Oglesby and Paul Gilliam set out to contribute to Memphis’ nightlife when they opened their OG spot, Cameo, in the spring of 2022.
They both had worked in fine dining and found few late-night options for industry folk beyond a beer ’n’ a shot at your trusty neighborhood dive bar. So they aimed to change that with their craft cocktail bar.
“Working in fine-dining restaurants, we were making these incredible cocktails with quality homemade ingredients, and then you get off work and it’s like your only options are beer and cheap liquor,” Mary recounts.
This was the reality not only for industry folk, but for Memphians all over the city. Where do you go for a quality drink after 11 p.m.? If you wanted a well-crafted cocktail, you had to dress up and go to an establishment that existed primarily for the purpose of eating dinner. “Sometimes, I wanted to wear my regular clothes and go to a bar, and feel like I’m in a dive bar but have a fancy drink. Like, what’s so wrong with that?” asks Mary.
The idea for Cameo, with its tagline of “Fancy Drinks—Party Time,” was born.
When it comes to music and lighting, Cameo errs on the side of too dark and too loud.
You can have a fancy drink in front of you but also feel like you are in an upbeat, slightly rowdy dive bar. “It’s part of our shared ethos,” Paul says.
“Take your product seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously.”
Since opening Cameo, the former bartenders have gone on to open Mary’s B.O.T.E., Fawn, and No Comment.
Mary’s B.O.T.E. (Bar of Tropical Escapism) continues the party that Cameo started. The tiki bar offers island vibes, tropical drinks, and, of course, escapism.
“The idea is that you can walk in there and forget you are in Memphis—forget that you are in the middle of a city.
You can leave everything outside those walls and feel like it’s a little escape for you,” Mary says.
Serendipitous—that’s the word Paul uses to sum up the evolution of their next two spots. “We are not restaurant people; we are bar people,” he says. They had always told themselves they weren’t going to open a restaurant, but when a perfect storm of events happened, they knew they had to.
As the opportunity to open Fawn fell into their laps, Mary’s former roommate, Theresa Schuenke, who’s a chef, relocated from Wisconsin to execute the kitchen side of things. Mary affectionately calls Theresa’s cooking “schmommy” style. The dishes feel home-cooked, but the presentation is elevated, continuing in true Cameo spirit—fancy, but down to earth and accessible.
“There is this ‘secret garden’ mystique to it, like I work in the community garden but have my three ex-husbands’ money,” Mary jokes. “Somebody who understands the earth but also understands the finer things in life.”
And the persona of their latest brainchild, No Comment? “It’s Miami in the ’80s, a Virginia Slims cigarette ad—‘You’ve come a long way, baby,’” Mary laughs.
An electric-blue neon light zigzags across the ceiling overhead like a Miami Vice fever dream. “It’s nostalgia not for the past as it was, but for a past we’ve piecemealed together in our imaginations,” Paul admits.
It’s precisely that—another kind of escapism.
“Walking into here, it’s like going back to an era where things didn’t feel so heavy all the time,” Paul explains.
He’s talking about nostalgia for a person of a certain age. The pre-internet age, when, if you had a cell phone, it was attached to your car. “You weren’t bombarded by bad news every moment of your life,” he adds.
One wall features a huge painting of a unicorn in that iconoclastic ’80s purple color scheme. It’s majestic, unbridled, and oddly familiar—yet elusive. Some fantastical beast, a vintage emblem of a time lost.
As for the name itself—No Comment—it’s also kitschy and fun. After all, what do people do when they’re at the bar? “You go out, you meet your friends, you drink some wine. You sip, you dish, you chat, you talk s—, you know?” as Mary puts it. “And when you leave, if somebody asks you, ‘What did you talk about?’ you’re not supposed to tell them.”
Instead you should answer them with the bar’s name: No Comment. “There is something that feels powerfully b—-y about it,” Mary muses.
So, what’s next? Mary and Paul aren’t ones for vanity projects. “If we are not passionate about it, we don’t want to jump into something,” Paul says. They only take on work that’s meaningful for them and that meets a need for the city.
That said, Paul and Mary agree that antiquated tax and zoning laws are hindering the development of the local bar scene. Tennessee liquor tax is one of the highest in the country––with one foot still in Prohibition. After opening four businesses, the bartender vets have experienced firsthand these legal limitations. “Memphis will have a hard time competing with other cities with a bigger nightlife and more of a food and beverage culture,” Mary insists.
Still, Mary, Paul, and other local business owners are getting creative and finding ways to build community through their businesses.
Mary likes to remember the first Christmas Eve that Cameo was open. “The weather was terrible. I was working, but pretty much everyone was off, and so many people came and we put Rudolph on the projector and we had Christmas music playing and we were drinking mulled wine,” Mary recounts.
People walked to Cameo from their homes, and Mary remembers the night as having a neighborhood bar feeling of coziness. “It was awesome,” she says. “I felt like I was back in that neighborhood bar setting where everybody knew each other and were talking to each other from across the bar. It felt very Cheers-y.”
Cameo
1385 Union Avenue, Suite 103
Mary’s B.O.T.E.
588 Cooper Street, Suite 102
Fawn
937 Cooper Street
No Comment
2155 Central Avenue
Marissia Tiller is a writer, language instructor, industry rat, and aspiring bachatera. An Italian–American dual citizen with 16-plus years in language, culture, food, and travel, it’s through these lenses that she explores the human condition from all walks of life. @marissia_d_vlllbs
Tim Barker is a chef, restaurateur, consultant, and photographer. He’s also a coffee snob, sparkling-wine enthusiast, and avid supporter of a Weiner Wednesday. A real Renaissance man. @timabarker