Month: September 2014

The Redbirds beat Omaha last night to tie up their best-of-five playoff series at 1-1. That means there will definitely be a Game 4, which will happen Saturday at 7:05 with Grizzlies center Kosta Koufos throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Game 3 is tonight at 7:05 with Josh Pastner throwing out the first pitch.

Save the date: High Cotton Brewing will host an Oktoberfest celebration on Saturday, October 4, at its taproom at 598 Monroe. The event will last from noon to 7 PM and will benefit Grow Memphis. It is sponsored by Memphis Flyer and Holliday Flowers.

Speaking of beer, the Memphis Business Journal reports that the Midtown Aldo’s Pizza Pies will carry an exclusive Aldo’s beer by Memphis Made Brewing Co. when the new pizzeria opens in Mid-October. Memphis Made’s brewery is down the street on South Cooper from the new Aldo’s location. I wonder if Downtown Aldo’s will get the exclusive beer too?

Old Crow Medicine Show has been announced for a Saturday, November 15 show at the Orpheum. Tickets go on sale next Friday.

From Lifehacker: 3 ways to get free Lyft rides in your city

Worth a cab ride to Midtown: The Wiles-Smith drugstore is closing soon. This store at 1635 Union has an old-fashioned soda fountain like the one your grandmother went to. The soda fountain will be shut down in a few months. If you’ve never been to one of these, you should go while you have the chance.

The developer of 100 N. Main is facing a lawsuit in the revamp of that building, the tallest one in Memphis. Based on things I have heard I am not overly surprised to read this.

My friend Angela Copeland’s weekly column in the Daily News resonates with me because it’s what I did when job-hunting six years ago: Take the job that feels like the right fit, not necessarily the first one that is offered. I turned down a few before finding the one that felt right. Trust your intuition.

SO ready for the weekend and it is only hours away. I am ready for beer and Fireball and will be out about 5:30.

Memphis Farmers Market announced today that it will do a special Winter Market for six weeks. From November 8 through December 13, the market will sell late fall and winter produce under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson from 9 AM to 1 PM.

There’s a Groupon for a Tap ‘N’ Run event to be held in Downtown Memphis on Saturday, October 4. The Groupon is for VIP entry for $45, an $80 value. At a Tap ‘N’ Run, you run along a 4K course with three stops along the way for a 5-ounce beer. You get a 12-ounce beer at the end, and your VIP entry gets you an extra 12-ounce beer. Here are links to more info about the event and a .

Grind City Craft has photos of last Thursday’s Southern Prohibition launch party at the Blind Bear.

The Redbirds have announced more details of Game 3 of the PCL American Conference Championship series that they will host tomorrow. Gates will open at 6 PM with pre-game ceremonies beginning about 6:40. There will be a ceremonial first pitch by Memphis Tigers basketball coach Josh Pastner, followed by introduction of the teams, and then the National Anthem performed by the Memphis Boy & Girl Choir. From the time the gates open until the end of the 7th inning, there will be $2 Coors Light draft.

Beer time, back tomorrow.

A few minutes before 8 last night, I began hearing from people who had been out walking around that Union Avenue was closed between Second and Third, and the street was swarming with police cars. A few minutes later there were reports that a woman jumped off the Peabody Hotel on the side facing Union. She landed on a horse carriage parked on the street, on planks connecting the horse to the carriage. She was still breathing when ambulances arrived but she later died at the hospital. The horse was not injured.

This morning City Hall and the Federal Building were evacuated for a reported bomb threat in the Federal Building. Wow. Not a good past 24 hours for Downtown Memphis news.

There will be a Russell George Memorial Benefit at Earnestine & Hazel’s on Saturday, September 13 from 7 to 11 PM. It’s a night to honor the owner of E&H who was a great friend to many, and who passed away last year. A minimum $10 donation is requested and proceeds will benefit the Church Health Center. There will be live music by the Earnestine & Hazel’s Band.

Felicia Suzanne’s will have Tacos and Tunes tonight. There will be $2 tacos from 6 to 8, $5 margaritas, and Joe Guyton will perform.

There will be a free “Sounds of Beale” concert tonight at Handy Park at Third and Beale. Almost Famous will perform.

In case you didn’t pick up a Memphis Flyer yesterday, there is an awesome cover story about Lansky’s return to Beale. The Lansky family is so richly intertwined with the city of Memphis the past 60 years. The shop is most famously known as Elvis’ clothier but there is so much more to the story. If you enjoy Memphis history this is a good read.

The Beale Street cover charge has been dropped. Why does every issue in this city have to be a racial issue?

If you clicked on the Cooper-Young Beerfest buy ticket link in my post yesterday and were told that sales have closed, it was a bad link pointing to last year’s ticket sales. Here’s the correct link.

The Redbirds dropped the playoff opener to Omaha last night in the best-of-5 series for the PCL’s American Conference championship. Game 2 is tonight in Omaha, then the series returns to AutoZone Park for Game 3 on Friday, and if needed Games 4 and 5 this weekend.

In case you missed it: A USA Today blog named Memphis the #1 most underrated sports city in America.

A friend of mine posted a really cool invention, and one that could come in handy for Downtown bar patrons: STOP TALKING cards. When someone is boring you to death with endless, unwanted conversation, you reach in your wallet, take out one of these cards, and hand it to them. I have two comments about this. 1) Do they do next-day shipping so I can have the cards at Bardog for Saturday brunch? 2) Well, you know…

More news is coming in, so I’ll most likely be back with another post after work.

Tickets for the Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest are now on sale and you can get them here. The date is October 11. Tickets sold out last year and the festival seems to grow in popularity every year, so I would not advise waiting until the last minute to buy your tickets.

Food Truck Friday will be back at Emerge Memphis (Tennessee Street at G.E. Patterson) this Friday from 11 AM to 1:30 PM. This week Mr. Frazier’s Fish Fry will be there. This food truck offers fried and grilled catfish filets, fried catfish steaks, Big Bone Buffalo, and whole whiting. They have sandwiches including shrimp po’boys, catfish po’boys and burgers. Other offerings include fish tacos, hot wings, tamales, and frog legs.

If you borrowed a flapper outfit from the Blind Bear for their Southern Prohibition launch party last Thursday, they would like it back. Jeannette posted that to Facebook last night. I replied that I didn’t have an outfit to return, but thanks for the Halloween idea. (For those who are not long-time readers, I dressed up as a Flying Saucer waitress for three years for Halloween.) Several of my friends replied “No Paul.” Jeannette replied, “YES PAUL!” We will see.

The TV show MasterChef will be looking for the next master chef in Memphis, with a casting call Saturday, October 11 at the Doubletree. (Unfortunately the same day as Cooper-Young Beerfest.) Chefs will have three minutes to plate a dish. There won’t be a kitchen onsite to use so chefs will have to prepare everything in advance.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show will be on the big screen at the Orpheum at 8:00 Friday (doors open at 7). If you are a fan of this movie and have never seen it at the Orpheum, I highly recommend it. Prop bags will be sold for $5. They really go all out for Rocky Horror and I would hate to be a member of the cleanup crew Saturday morning.

There was a MATA bus that broke down on two-lane Riverside Drive this morning and there was a traffic backup that lasted for a long time. From Georgia to Beale there are no side streets that can be used as detours.

From CityLab: Overall, U.S. streetcars (trolleys) just aren’t meeting the standards of good transit. Memphis’ trolley system is mentioned as part of the study.

For the record: I am not responsible for posting to any fake Twitter accounts. I bring this up because I saw one this weekend that people are bound to think I’m behind. I’m not.

While at happy hour at Blind Bear last night, I noticed that Southern Prohibition has a beer called Sinister Minister. I wonder if the SoPro people are fans of pro wrestling and Father James Mitchell in particular. Not long ago I watched TNA Wrestling footage from about 10 years ago of Father Mitchell and his disciples feuding with Raven and his followers C.M. Punk and Julio Dinero.

Charles the Trivia Guy, who does trivia Tuesdays at Double J and Wednesdays at Blind Bear, is in training to be Charles the Poker Guy to direct the 6:30 Sunday poker game at the Bear. Charles has a loyal following and it will be interesting to see if any of the trivia players become poker players.

That’s it for now. I’ll be at the Silly Goose after work for happy hour.

Good news about a long-unfinished building. The Memphis Business Journal reports that The Horizon is under contract and will likely be developed into condos. The Horizon, which is at 717 Riverside, was built several years ago and was never completed.

Country star Trace Adkins is bringing his Christmas Show 2014 Tour to the Orpheum on Tuesday, December 16. The tour will feature songs from his Christmas album The King’s Gift. The show is said to combine fireside storytelling with performances of classic carols. Tickets will go on sale Friday, September 12.

If you like craft beer, check out the September I Love Memphis podcast. Taylor James of Cash Saver and Andy Ashby of Memphis Made Brewing Co. are this month’s guests.

Local leaders want to make Downtown’s parking garages safer.

Whew. Tired out from Labor Day weekend. Nevertheless, I’ll be out at the usual spots tonight. That’s all for now.