– Thanks to the Nuh-Uh Girl for sending me this Memphis Business Journal article on Spindini, the new restaurant set to open soon in the former Glass House space on South Main. It will be centered around a wood-burning oven and Judd Grisanti will be cooking right out in the open where people can watch. Pizzas will be $12-13 and entrees $13-29. There will be a $5 martini every day and over 80 wines. They will be one of the few restaurants downtown with ample parking, and they will keep a small glass art space in the front, a bit of continuity from the Glass House days. Article says they should open around the 15th.
– Also on the MBJ’s site today, there are plans for BB King’s to open a third floor. I’ve heard about this for a while, as one of BB’s managers lives in my building. It will be a space where you can go to have a conversation without having to talk over the music. The manager told me that they want to target locals for the 3rd floor (which seems to be a popular strategy these days, the Majestic Grille, EP’s Delta Kitchen and Sauces having already done it).
– The Memphis chapter of The Recording Academy is hosting an “Up Close and Personal” session with Big Jon Platt on Thursday, January 18. Platt is the Executive Vice President/Head of Urban, Creative, West Coast for EMI Publishing, and is one of the big dogs in the industry having worked with names like Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Beyonce and Usher. He works with emerging artists and established stars. Seating is limited to 50 and you must RSVP to reserve a seat. Free for Recording Academy members, $20 to the general public. Call 901-525-1340 or e-mail memphis@grammy.com to reserve a seat.
– There will be a parade downtown on Monday for MLK Day. It will start at 10:15 AM and will start at Main and Auction, go south on Main to North Parkway, west on North Parkway to Front, south on Front to Beale, and east on Beale to Handy Park. For more info see Eyewitness News’ site.
– Oh good Lord… David Gest is getting his own reality show. It will be shown on British TV, but will be filmed here in Memphis, following him around on his day-to-day routine. Why would ANYONE want to watch David Gest? So if you’re out in downtown Memphis, now you have to be prepared to be annoyed not only by Gest himself, but a camera crew as well. I still haven’t forgetten his “Be My Gest” campaign where he fed the homeless on Christmas Day 2004. I predicted it would be a disaster, and it was. From what I heard, if someone had brought a video camera they could have filmed footage for some new DVDs in the “Bum Fights” series.
– My WeatherBug is chirping… heavy rain is expected this weekend, and there’s a flash flood watch until Sunday night.
– Got an e-mail from a Romanian reader who lives in Memphis… she was hoping the Romanians who lived downtown this summer were still here. Unfortunately, they’re not. If you’re a Romanian living in Memphis, she’d like to meet you, just to have someone from back home to talk to – shoot me an e-mail and I’ll forward it to her.
– One of my regular blog readers pointed out that I may have trouble getting a date to the Monty Python SPAMALOT show for which I have free tickets, because the show is on February 13, the day before Valentine’s Day. “On the other hand,” she writes, “some guys dump their girlfriends just before the big holiday, so they won’t be obligated to buy gifts or flowers or dinner or whatever.” So maybe I’ll have a chance to find someone after all.
– Plans for the 3-day weekend: Hang out with Semi-Charmed Kat tonight, do some consulting work tomorrow and then network with the media conference people at TJ Mulligans, brunch at Sleep Out’s on Sunday (where I will likely kick Skippy’s ass in NTN Trivia again), Pint Nite at the Saucer on Monday. All right, got a million other things to get done on the computer before I go out, so I’m outta here.