Saturday night was the Stumbling Elvis pub crawl. About 9:45 we wandered south on Second from the Peabody Hotel to Beale Street. Because one of our bars, Silky’s, was within the entertainment district, we had to go through the security line. Each person who comes on Beale after 9:00 has to show ID and be wanded for weapons.
We groaned as we saw lines of about 30-40 people deep at both entrances at Second and Beale. It would take us at least 15 minutes to get onto the street. However, one of the pub crawl’s leaders knew a secret. We continued south on Second past Beale, and cut through the alley behind BB King’s. We came out of the alley at the Third Street entrance to the entertainment district. There was NO LINE AT ALL and security was able to ID and wand us in very little time. Entering the district from the south side of Third is the way to go on busy Friday and Saturday nights.
One important note: Unless you’re with a large group, don’t take the alley as a shortcut like we did. Go another half-block south to Lt. George Lee Ave. and use it to cut over to Third instead. Much safer.