Yesterday morning, the number of coronavirus cases jumped from 4 to 10. Unlike the early cases, the six new ones could not be traced to out-of-town travel, meaning community spread within the city was now a possibility. This came just a couple of hours after I speculated in yesterday’s blog post that 10 cases total or even one case of community spread would cause Mayor Strickland to shut the city down.
Around 1:30 a friend of mine who is involved in businesses on Beale checked in at Rum Boogie, meeting with the other merchants about the future of the street. At that point I knew the writing was on the wall. Within an hour it was reported that Mayor Strickland would have a press conference at 5. Indeed, Strickland declared a state of emergency, announcing that until further notice, restaurants cannot serve dine-in meals, and bars and gyms have to close. Midnight last night was the cut-off.
In another inevitable turn of events, Memphis in May announced it was postponing its two multi-day events, Music Fest and BBQ Fest. I hastily sent out an email to the BBQ team from my phone, perhaps not phrasing it as well as I could have because the boss told me I could have the rest of the day off at 11 and I was already 3 hours into stimulating the local economy. I have heard through the grapevine that they’re considering September 30-October 3 for BBQ Fest. The normal temperatures for that time frame (80/60, about the same as the third week of May) would be ideal, although given that we’re in Memphis it’ll probably either 99 or 45 that week.
To my friends who own/manage Downtown businesses, and to my friends who find themselves unemployed due to the COVID-19 outbreak: If there’s any way I can help you, using my blog and my social media presence, please let me know. Whether it’s posting pics of yummy food you’re offering for take-out, helping people find temporary jobs, posting amended business hours, whatever I can do, I want to.
This is absolutely ridiculous:
Earlier in the week, Mayor Strickland announced that the city would ease parking meter regulations, particularly for delivery vehicles and those parking to pick up to-go restaurant orders. And yet here was this guy writing tickets on the block of Peabody Place between Main and Second. These are the spots where people would park to pick up to-go food from at least five nearby restaurants: Bluefin, Majestic Grille, Lenny’s, Silly Goose, and Flying Saucer. It is absolutely WRONG for the city to be writing tickets on this block, and inconsistent with the message city leaders are putting out. I called the mayor’s office to complain but they said it was an MPD function.
The DMC has published a list of restaurants offering take-out, pick-up, and delivery. They bagged 50 meters yesterday, establishing pick-up zones and will bag more today. It is incomprehensible to me why the meters on that block of Peabody Place were not bagged.
River Time Market & Deli is open 8 AM-6 PM weekdays for take-out orders. 901-482-0460 or place your order with Uber Eats.
Old Dominick Distillery is adapting to the changing times, working with Shelby County to produce hand sanitizer.
The Green Beetle is offering heat-and-eat meals:
Carl Winfield who owns Winfield’s at Madison and Main tells me that the liquor store next door, which he is taking over, will be open next week.
The Memphis Made taproom will be open 4-7 PM seven days a week to sell to-go beer, gift cards, and merchandise.
High Ground News has a list of resources to deal with the COVID-19 crisis, including help for the elderly, displaced service industry workers, and those in need of food.
Service industry folks: Sign up on this site to receive tips while you are unemployed. You can get tipped if you have Venmo or CashApp.
In the news: Several senators received briefings last month on the potential for the coronavirus to disrupt the economy and result in massive losses of jobs, and they sold stocks off before the information they received became public. That’s called insider trading and it’s a felony. Both Democrats and Republicans did it and they should all resign their seats immediately.
Edible Memphis has a list of local take-out and delivery restaurants.
The Ducks Unlimited Waterfowling Heritage Center at Bass Pro at the Pyramid is reducing museum hours to 11 AM-5 PM.
The Orpheum will announce its 2020-2021 Broadway season on its Facebook page via Facebook Live Monday, March 23 at 6 PM.
Hospitality HUB opened a new pop-up center on Tuesday to house homeless women who were displaced by women’s shelters that closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Donate here to help with the costs of operating the shelter.
Max’s Sports Bar is selling packaged beer as well as to-go food. Choices include
- Domestic six-packs $10
- Imported six-packs $13
- Gallon growlers of PBR $20
- Gallon growlers of Yuengling $25
- Gallon growlers of any other tap beer $30
Choices for “any other tap beer”:
- Southern Prohibition Suzy B blonde ale
- Southern Prohibition Devil’s Harvest breakfast IPA
- Wiseacre Ananda IPA
- Wiseacre Gotta Get Up to Get Down coffee stout
- Memphis Made Fireside
- Memphis Made Junt
- Yazoo Hefeweizen
- High Cotton Scottish Ale
- Bell’s Brown Ale
Prices do not include tax. Purchases cannot be consumed on site.
If your vehicle’s tags expire in March or April, the governor has granted a grace period. You have until June 15 to renew.
That’s it for now. I’ll probably write another piece, more opinion-based, this afternoon.