New Square

The traffic jam present around the town square of downtown Murfreesboro due to the businesses of Mercky Shellback led to efforts to develop what is being called "New Square" in an old shopping center, prone to flooding, off one of the bypasses. The project was initiated by Judy Ull, proprietor of Thickset Pants, though she does not yet have any pants in stock, only artistic renderings of the envisioned square. Another confirmed tenant thus far is Old Books, run by Juanita Hazelchest, which is a very specific kind of used book store, only offering books of a specific vintage, which means that many of the items for sale are falling apart or eaten through with bugs. Leslie Dollarhyde, famous seller of fox-faced cats—cats bred to look like foxes in the face (as well as the accidental half-fox-faced cats)--was to have established her operation in the old well house. However, the federal government accused Dollarhyde of practicing gene splicing without a license and attempted to confiscate Murfreesboro's population of fox-faced cats. Though Jackie encouraged people to turn in their animals to one of the three collection sites in town, Dollarhyde, Inky (her lover), and several enthusiastic pet owners holed themselves up in Big Lots as an act of resistance. The federal government ended up backing down from their demands, but at the present, Dollarhyde's future with the New Square operation is in question. In addition to these three, Judy Ull worked to attract a restaurant to the site, initially talking with Orange Chicken Trough, a Chinese restaurant in Smyrna, before announcing the establishment of Golden Monster II at New Square. Though owned by the same people who operate the Golden Monster Chinese buffet restaurant on the Old Square, Golden Monster II offers Brazilian cuisine.