Will Beale Street’s metal detectors cost the street business?

I mentioned earlier in the week that I had a birthday party/pub crawl to go to Friday night.  About 9:30 we arrived at our third stop of the evening – Beale Street.  Security guards guarded the entrances as usual.  In the past, it took less than a minute to get through the gates.  However, Friday night, this is what we encountered:

beale_entrance

Two long lines snaked back from the entrances all the way to Second Street and down the sidewalks.  Security guards were wanding people with their new metal detectors to check for guns, and they were doing a pretty thorough job.  I’m 100% in support of their decision to do so; we don’t need guns on Beale Street.  However, I have to wonder if they’re implementing this the right way.  After 5 minutes the line had hardly moved.  I and several other members of our party decided to skip Beale Street and go on to the next destination.

I wonder how many people will get frustrated by the lines and will go elsewhere.  You can walk a short distance from Beale and get to a blues club that’s as good as anything on the street (Ground Zero), a nightclub that’s as good as anything on the street (Red Rooster, and soon Republic Nightclub too), and to bars that are good as anything on the street.  Me personally, 3 minutes is about all it takes to hit my frustration limit.  Beyond that I simply refuse to stand in line, knowing I can have just as much fun elsewhere.

I hope they figure out a way to speed things up yet still keep patrons safe.  If the line was that long at 9:30, I wonder what it looked like at peak time, 11 to 1 or thereabouts?

A few tips if you’re going to Beale:

  • The entrances on Third Street will probably have much shorter lines than those at Second and Fourth, which are the ends of the street.  Wish we had thought of this Friday night.
  • If you’re going to Beale for some authentic Memphis barbecue ribs, the best place to get them is Blues City Cafe, and Blues City’s entrance lies outside the barricaded entrance to Beale Street.  So you won’t have to deal with the long lines.
  • Itta Bena, the only fine-dining restaurant on Beale, also has an entrance outside the barricades.  Look for the valet-parking stand on Second.  There’s a separate entrance to the third floor of BB’s, which is Itta Bena.

Off to Sunday Fun Day… Dos Equis Lager is the Fire Sale at the Saucer.  Yay!  The Dempseys play Huey’s at 8:30 PM.