Memphis's oldest tavern under continuous-name operation, founded by Frank Liberto in 1939 and now at 325 South Main — investigated multiple times by Memphis Ghost Investigations & Spirit Rescue, who identified a resident spirit named 'Marilyn.'
325 S. Main St., Memphis, TN 38103
Age
21+
Cost
$$
Standard bar and Italian-American tavern menu pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Ground-floor tavern with front-door street access; apartments above are not part of the public bar
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1869 · Memphis's oldest continuously named tavern (1939) · Original Green Beetle (1917) in the basement of the first Peabody Hotel · Building dates to 1869 in the South Main Historic Arts District · Deed restricts the address to operate under the Green Beetle name · Reopened 2011 by founder's grandson Josh Huckaby
The Green Beetle's history spans more than a century and two distinct eras. The original Green Beetle opened in 1917 in the basement of the first Peabody Hotel, which had been built in 1869 at Main and Monroe by Memphis businessman Hu L. Brinkley and named for the financier George Peabody (1795-1869). The basement Green Beetle operated from 1917 to 1923; the original Peabody Hotel was later demolished to make way for Lowenstein's department store.
In 1939, Italian immigrant Frank Liberto — who had grown up hearing about the original Green Beetle — opened a new tavern under the same name at the southwest corner of Main and Vance. Liberto told an interviewer years later: 'There had been a place at Peabody and Main…called the Green Beetle. I said to myself, "If I ever grow up, I'm going to run a place like that."' Liberto's tavern eventually moved to its current home at 325 S. Main Street, an 1869 commercial building in what is now the South Main Historic Arts District. The Liberto-era Green Beetle operated through 1971 before closing due to staffing challenges.
In 2011, Frank Liberto's grandson Josh Huckaby reopened the Green Beetle at 325 S. Main. The deed on the property reportedly restricts any future establishment at that address to operate under the Green Beetle name, ensuring the tavern's identity at the site persists.
Memphis Magazine's 'Ask Vance' columns by historian Vance Lauderdale and the tavern's own published history have documented the building's full lineage. The 325 S. Main Street structure itself dates to 1869 and is part of the South Main Historic Arts District.
Sources
The Green Beetle is one of the most visibly investigated paranormal sites in downtown Memphis. Memphis Ghost Investigations & Spirit Rescue conducted on-camera investigations at the tavern in coverage produced by Local 24 News (Local Memphis), in episodes that aired as part of the 'Spirit Hunters' series.
In these investigations, the team identified a female spirit they named 'Marilyn,' whom they say died of a head injury and may have once lived in one of the apartments above the tavern. According to the investigators, Marilyn is 'something of a barfly who likes being around people' and is reportedly responsible for the flying wine glasses that staff and patrons have reported. The investigators advised the tavern that Marilyn 'wanted respect: you need to set her out a wine glass and pour her a little drink and give her a little respect.'
A second spirit identified in the investigation is the original tavern owner, who is said to return because the bar 'is still special to him.' The investigators framed both presences as benign — connected to the building's long history rather than to any single trauma. Staff and patrons report a recurring set of phenomena: glasses sliding across the bar, voices, shoulder taps, and unexplained ambient activity.
These accounts are anchored in named local-news coverage with on-camera investigators, which is unusually well-documented for a tavern haunting — though the historical identity of 'Marilyn' is not corroborated by an independent obituary or other public record, so the name should be understood as the investigators' attribution.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Drink and dine at Memphis's oldest continuously named tavern. The building dates to 1869; the Green Beetle name has occupied 325 S. Main since 1939 (the original Green Beetle, founded 1917, operated in the basement of the first Peabody Hotel until 1923; Frank Liberto revived the name at this South Main location in 1939).
The Green Beetle is a recurring stop on multiple Memphis ghost-tour itineraries, including 'Mobsters, Mayhem, & Murder' tours operated by US Ghost Adventures and Backbeat Tours' Memphis Haunted Walking Tour.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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