One quick piece of Downtown news before I head out for the evening… The Memphis Business Journal reports that construction is ready to move forward at 115 Union. That’s the building next to Sawaddii and Rio Loco, once the home of Union Jax pub which unfortunately closed before I moved down here. It’s been vacant for quite a while. In 2008 a plan was submitted to refurbish it into 18 apartments on the upper floor, office space on the second floor, and retail on the ground floor. However, the building’s design was later changed, and it had to be re-submitted to make sure it met historic preservation standards. That step is now complete. Yay for more apartments Downtown, and hopefully a cool new restaurant or store will locate on the ground level.
All right, time to go to the bar for a celebratory beer. What am I celebrating? The neighbors next door with the tiny little dogs that barked every morning at 6 AM moved out last weekend! Finally, I am going to start getting full nights’ sleep again. My regrets to whomever finds themselves living next to those barky little shitdogs. I’ll be celebrating at Pint Nite at the Saucer, with $3 draft pints. Other options tonight include trivia at Huey’s (9 PM) and I think the Downtown Monkey still does trivia at 8; poker at the Silly Goose at 9; half price pizza and wine at Spindini; and, of course, Stanford and Virginia Tech play tonight at the Orange Bowl, so it’s a good night to mosey on down to your favorite watering hole and watch the game. The first week of January through St. Patrick’s Day weekend is the slow season for area restaurants and bars, so let’s get out there and support locally-owned businesses that take such good care of us all year.