Great news for Downtown: This afternoon, ServiceMaster announced that they are moving their headquarters Downtown. They have an employee meeting at the Peabody, and then are expected to announce their move to the Peabody Place Mall to the public this afternoon with the city and county mayors in attendance. Welcome to Downtown, ServiceMaster! If I can answer any questions about nearby amenities for you to enjoy at lunch or after work, shoot me an email at paul@paulryburn.com.
Hmmm… I wonder if this is why the Silly Goose, nearby, announced that lunches and a barista are coming soon.
Get ready to do the Time Warp. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is on the big screen at the Orpheum next Friday, June 10. There’s always a costume contest before the show and they sell props for audience participation. I’ve been to this and it’s a lot of fun, so come get down with the transvestites from Transylvania.
Speaking of the Orpheum, Beverly Hills Cop plays on the big screen tonight.
George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic play the New Daisy this evening at 9:00.
The MBJ has news on Ghost River’s updated look and its plans to open a taproom soon. Located at South Main and Crump, Ghost River was Memphis’ first brewery to open during the modern craft brewery era.
There’s a special Yadi Gnome theme ticket for the Redbirds game Saturday, June 11. Buy this ticket and get a garden gnome that looks like St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.
The Flying Saucer is once again supporting Pints for Prostates in a month-long event. The organization raises awareness for men’s cancer, and last year the Saucer was its top fundraiser with over $30,000 donated among all the locations. The month will culminate in a drawing for a trip for two to the Czech Republic and Germany (Prague, Bamberg, Eck, and Munich) for Oktoberfest.
There’s live music at Loflin Yard this weekend! Tonight Electric Boogaloo with Logan & The 10-ft. TVs performs 6 to 9 PM. The group features Art Edmaiston on saxophone. Blues legend Earl “The Pearl” Banks performs Saturday 6 to 9, with members of the Hi Rhythm Section. Sunday is the weekly pickin’ party from 4 to 7, with bluegrass collective Tennessee Ripple. Hmmm I’ve never been to a pickin’ party before… may have to walk down there Sunday.
Also at Loflin Yard, there’s a fun and free Pure Barre class from 11 to noon tomorrow morning, Saturday, June 4. Sign up here. After the class, you can relax and purchase food from Loflin’s kitchen. Be sure to bring a mat, because the class will be done on grass.
There’s a planning manager position open at Youth Villages.
Those of you interested in Memphis being part of a potential Big 12 expansion may want to read this article from Cincinnati. The roadblock to expansion is the big dog of the conference, the University of Texas. The folks at Texas don’t seem to think that any of the potential TV markets, Memphis being one of them, will bring in enough of a revenue windfall to justify cutting the pie into twelve slices rather than the current ten.
I’m excited about this evening. Two of my readers from out-of-town have contacted me and asked if they could take me to dinner at the Majestic. They have been considering moving to Memphis for a while now and they want to pick my brain. I love doing stuff like that! I’m so happy that I can play a part in promoting the city and neighborhood that I call home. It reminds me of the Saturday when I was at D-RANKS with B-RAD at the Blind Bear and three people told me they moved to Downtown Memphis because of what I wrote. To this day it still weirds me out a bit (but in a fulfilling way) to think that condos have sold, people have found their groups of friends, markets and bars have picked up customers, pets have been adopted because of something I created.
On a side note, my phone autocorrects “Brad” to “B-RAD” now.
The Copa America, the biggest soccer tournament for the USA Team outside of a World Cup, kicks off tonight. The Brass Door will be showing USA vs. Colombia tonight at 8:30.
Memphis Italian Festival is happening this weekend out at Park and Mt. Moriah in East Memphis. It’s similar to BBQ Fest but with Italian food – teams compete, and there are food vendors that sell to the public and live bands. It’s also similar to BBQ Fest in that it rains every year and turns the place into a giant mud pit.
That’s all for now. I have plenty of time to hit happy hour before dinner. Undecided where to go it, so it’ll be a game time decision between Silly Goose, Blind Bear and Max’s.