Friday update

A few more St. Jude Marathon updates:

  • The Silly Goose will open at 10 tomorrow. As I previously mentioned, they will have recovery tools and massages for runners, and a DJ starting at noon.
  • Show your race bib at Slider Inn for $1 off all drafts, all weekend long.
  • Someone was asking about the course maps. Here they are. If you live Downtown and need to get out of Downtown between 7 AM and 2 PM, I would recommend allowing 2 hours. No I am not kidding.
  • I haven’t confirmed this is happening, but in past years there’s been a guy on S. Front handing out cans of beer to the runners. Can you imagine getting stopped by an officer while you’re running a race to cure childhood cancer and getting cited for an open container of Miller Lite?

Here’s a quick review of my previous updates on the marathon:

  • Brass Door will open at 7 and runners can drop bags there
  • Loflin Yard will open at 8. Mimosas, hot drinks, to-go breakfast items
  • Kooky Canuck will open at 9
  • Automatic Slim’s will open at 9 (their normal opening time)
  • Free parking for Downtown employees at a lot on Court between Fourth and Danny Thomas. Use Jefferson to get in and out

As your #1 source of news and information about The Edge District, I have one more traffic impediment to tell you about. The intersection of Monroe and Marshall will be closed all day Saturday through Sunday morning. The reason why is they will be doing upkeep over the art installation that hangs over that intersection. Couldn’t they have found another day to do that?

Yesterday I was sitting at the Silly Goose when several police cars with sirens blazing sped by. The reason why? A man attempted to rob Bank of America at the corner of Main and Peabody Place, near the Downtown Christmas tree. He didn’t get anything and fled north on Main. A friend of mine reported seeing “some weird characters” loitering around the bank about an hour before the robbery. He was going to use the ATM there but decided not to.

City-ordered mediation between Memphis in May and Memphis River Parks Partnership has concluded. I’ll let you click through to the article to read the full list of agreed-upon points, but I want to touch on a few:

  • A traffic light will be installed on Riverside halfway between Beale and Georgia, to allow pedestrian traffic to safely cross. GOOD! That will slow traffic down on that street. As I have mentioned in the past, the posted speed limit of 35 on that part of Riverside is an absolute joke. Drivers get mad at you if you’re not doing at least 47, 48 or so. I would guess the Huling Ave. staircase would be the location of the light.
  • The park’s “tailout nature area” on the south end is still planned, with play areas and play equipment. I have a feeling that may push my BBQ team’s booth northward. The shoulder teams usually occupy the southern end of the park.
  • A mutual non-disparagement agreement has been put in place between the two sides. Again, GOOD! As Majestic co-owner Patrick Reilly pointed out, the personal attacks on the people in charge of both sides were disgusting.

Developer Tom Intrator, who is working on multiple projects in The Pinch, the core, and South Main, wants to bring national brands Downtown. That immediately drew some harsh comments on Facebook, saying, who is this New York developer to come in here and think he knows what Memphians want? I don’t totally agree. I don’t want Downtown looking like the Saddle Creek shopping center in Germantown, but I think a mix of local and national brands is best.

However, what I would advise Mr. Intrator to do is bring in national brands that fill in gaps in the Downtown experience, rather than competing with existing businesses. For that reason I am not thrilled that national yoga studio chain YogaSix is one of the first brands he plans on bringing here. Downtown already has two locally-owned yoga studios, Your Inner Yogi in the core and Downtown Yoga in South Main, that are much loved by their students. I would hate to see Intrator’s development put one or both out of business.

The Memphis Farmers Market is having another holiday market! The Homegrown Holiday Market will happen under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson on Saturday, December 14 from 9 AM to 1 PM. For those of you who have Dirty Santa parties – and some of my readers have one that evening – this would be a good place to pick up interesting gifts.

A Memphis Flyer writer recently paid a visit to Longshot, the new shuffleboard bar in the Arrive Hotel. Excellent food, reasonable prices, and they have PBR.

FM 100’s Deck the Hall Ball with Rob Thomas is tonight at the Orpheum.

Jimmy Stephens Jr. will play a Christmas show tonight at South Main Sounds, 550 S. Main, at 7:00. Join him, won’t you? Tony Manard, Rice Drewry, Bailey Bigger, Alice Hasen, Amber Dunn, and Paul Waits will be there and there will be CDs for sale.

That’s it for now. Off to work, then I’ll get out where I’ll hopefully see some runner friends from out of town. Back tomorrow with more news.