By Howard Pankratz
The Denver Post

A restaurant co-created by Justin Timberlake and backed locally by OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder is set to open in Lower Downtown.

The Southern Hospitality Franchisee Holding Corp. said Wednesday it plans to open a Southern Hospitality BBQ location in the historic St. Elmo Hotel at 1433 17th St. in mid-October. The Memphis, Tenn.- style barbecue restaurant was co-created by Timberlake and Eylan Sugarman. Renovations on the hotel will begin this month.

Colorado-born Tedder, who is part-owner of Southern Hospitality Franchisee Holding, said the St. Elmo Hotel is a “perfect location for Southern Hospitality BBQ.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing Southern Hospitality make its way west — and I’m happy there will finally be a location in Denver, my own backyard,” Tedder said.

Southern Hospitality, which specializes in comfort food and barbecue, operates in two New York locations.

The original restaurant, which opened in 2007 in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and its 2011 Hell’s Kitchen addition are models for the 30-eatery franchise agenda.

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