So last night I decided to check out the new Thursday ’80s night at Raiford’s. Since the place opens early (9 PM), I decided to get there early to see if any young-professional types were there getting an hour or two of dancing in before bedtime. Ummm… no, they weren’t there. It was me and one other couple for about the first hour and a half. Pretty empty. It’s a shame too, because it seems like it could be a really fun night. The guy who normally works the door (Terry I think?) who wears the suit and points at the tip glass was DJing. I really liked his song selection. He was playing ’80s, but also some disco, and different disco than the standard playlist that Raiford runs through on the weekends. And there were mixed drinks (I stuck with the old standby – quart bottle of Bud Light – though). I think this night has a lot of potential… it just needs to develop a crowd.
Maybe it did develop a crowd later in the evening… but by 11:30 I was tired of being in a near-empty club and decided to do a venue change to the new Downtown Blue Monkey. They did a great job with the place. It’s big and roomy and open and reminds me a lot more of the Midtown Monkey than the small, cozy old Downtown Monkey that burned down in ’05. A lot of the old staff is back, which is a promising sign. Huge, long bar along the left side, long enough to seat probably 20 or 25. It took forever to open but I’m very impressed with the place.
It remains to be seen how much the Downtown Monkey will figure into my barhopping plans. I’m going to go in there several times over the next week and see what kind of crowd develops – will it still be a neighborhood bar like the old Downtown Monkey, or will it develop more of a singles crowd like the Midtown Monkey? Time will tell. I plan on giving it a try this Sunday for brunch, and I know some of the rest of the brunch crew plans on doing the same.
Downtown Memphis in the news: Jennifer Biggs from the CA has a dining review of the new club Ground Zero next door to the Westin.
Also in the news: An article about Erykah Badu, who will perform at the Orpheum next Wednesday.
Plans for the long Memorial day weekend:
- Tonight: Don’t know.
- Saturday: Showing a new Memphian around Downtown, which is one of my favorite things to do; and watching Sunset Symphony and the fireworks from the rooftop of The Lofts, where my buddy Lee has a condo. This looks to be a fun night.
- Sunday: Brunch at the Monkey. $2 34 oz. beers at Big Foot. Attn Magan: BUY ME A BEER!!!
- Monday: Pint Nite at the Saucer will probably start early for me. Hmmm that 14-consecutive-beer record of mine just might fall.
Time to head back to work. I’m doing file imports this week, which is about as exciting as watching paint dry. 5:00 cannot get here fast enough.