Month: March 2020

Strickland issues shelter-in-place order; effective Tuesday, March 24 at 6 PM

WREG has the details.

EDIT: Added a few key notes

  • You CAN go for walks or go out in nature
  • You CAN go to restaurants for take-out or delivery. That is good. I was worried restaurants would be deemed non-essential businesses that would have to close.
  • Farmers markets are considered essential businesses. I wonder that that means for the Memphis Farmers Market, set to open a week from Saturday?
  • Going over to friends’ houses is considered not essential (I’m going to slip a visit in under the wire tonight, but it’s a gathering of far less than 10, even counting trolls)
  • Visiting loved ones in a hospital, essential care, or nursing facility is not allowed. I miss my mom but I am glad she did not live to see this. She would be scared to death and so would I.

Y’all take care of yourselves. Back tomorrow with more news. If any of you who have my number visit the Downtown Walgreens and see toilet paper on the shelves, please text me immediately.

Monday update

Governor Bill Lee has declared to-go and delivery alcohol and wine sales legal for the time being in Tennessee. This is good news that will allow some businesses to stay afloat that wouldn’t have been able to on just to-go food sales. Note, however:

  • Food must be purchased in the same to-go or delivery order as the alcohol purchase
  • The alcohol container must be sealed
  • Single-servings of alcoholic beverages or beer may be sold
  • Single or multiple bottles of beer or wine, that are normally sold by the restaurant, may be sold
  • Bottles of spirits or liquors may not be sold

With that announcement in place, Silly Goose is re-opening today for to-go cocktails, beer, wine, and food including pizza pies. Their hours will be 3 to 11 PM daily. 901-435-6915

Online book and audiobook service Scribd, which lets you read as much as you can for a monthly fee, is offering 30 days free to help people fight boredom during the coronavirus quarantine. You don’t even have to provide a credit card to start reading; just create an account.

From Tawanda Pirtle, co-owner of Jack Pirtle’s chicken:

JACK PIRTLE’S CHICKEN..BUY ONE 2 PC DARK MEAL GET ONE FREE with purchase of 2 Drinks …AS OF TODAY..UNTIL FUTHER NOTICE.. YOU CAN TELL THE CASHIER WHEN ORDERING THAT YOU HAVE A FACEBOOK ‘BUY ONE GET ONE FREE’ coupon… and ALL STORES WILL HONOR IT..(NO PAPER COUPON NEEDED) Thank you.. and you can upgrade to WHITE or MIXED DINNER for a small charge) THANK YOU… please share a smile with someone.. AND, TRUCK DRIVERS ARE WELCOME ON OUR LOTS..PLEASE DONT BLOCK DRIVE THRU… please SHARE with everyone!!!

From the Rendezvous:

From the Orpheum:

The YMCA will take over distribution of meals to Shelby County students this week. The Shelby County Schools were unable to carry out that task after an employee in its Nutrition Center tested positive for COVID-19. Meals are available 11 AM-1 PM to all children under 18. The child must be present to receive the meal. Distribution sites in or near Downtown:

  • Fogelman YMCA, 245 Madison
  • St. Patrick’s, 277 S. Fourth
  • Hope City Church – Oasis Enrichment, 232 Bickford
  • Crenshaw Branch, Memphis Public Libraries, 531 Vance
  • Memphis Community Center, 233 Henry

Cordelia’s Market is changing its hours. They are as follows:

  • Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday – open 7 AM-8 AM only for seniors, expectant mothers, those with underlying conditions; 8 AM-8 PM open for everyone
  • Tuesday and Friday – open 9 AM- 8 PM for everyone
  • Saturday and Sunday – open 8 AM-8 PM for everyone
  • Cafe hours 9 AM-4 PM – pick-up, curbside pick-up and take-out only

The Broom Closet is now offering live tarot readings via Skype.

From the Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus and your job – what your boss can, and can’t, make you do

After offering take-out and curbside service over the weekend, the Majestic Grille owners have decided to close the restaurant for a bit, for the safety of the remaining employees as well as customers.

The Majestic Grille’s owner/chef Patrick Reilly and the Rendezvous’ John Vergos are among those interviewed by the Daily Memphian on what restaurant owners are doing to help their employees while restaurants are closed. Both owners are in the same boat: They can lay their employees off so they are free to file for unemployment, but if those people are no longer employees, they can’t keep their health insurance.

Rachel’s Salon and Day Spa has made the decision to close to protect its employees and customers. Well damn… absolutely the right decision, but that’s where I get my hair cut… and my last haircut was September 25. Guess I’m gonna have some long hair for the time being.

More and more I am coming to agree with this USA Today editorial: America needs an immediate 5-week national lockdown to defeat COVID-19. Don’t get me wrong, that will really suck, but the experts say 5 weeks is the shortest we can get the threat under control – and that’s only if every one of us does it together. If it is done piecemeal across the country, it will be 8 to 12 weeks or even longer before things get back to normal.

Put it another way to get some of you emotionally invested in the idea: A 5-week national lockdown would pretty much guarantee the 2020 NFL season won’t be affected. Now do you understand why this is so important? It’s one thing for the elderly to be endangered, it’s one thing for those with compromised immune systems to be endangered, but if we don’t fight this bug together your 2020 fantasy football league might be endangered.

Yesterday Rand Paul became the first United States senator to test positive for COVID-19. He had been tested several days before, and ignored the warning to self-quarantine until the results came in. He attended meetings following the test, causing another senator, Mitt Romney, to self-quarantine. Sen. Paul was seen in the Senate gym yesterday morning, including the swimming pool.

That’s it for now. Off to work. When I get home I am going to sign up for the 30 free days of that Scribd service and find some books to read.

Blind Bear has added menu items

From their Facebook page:

Marinara Chicken Pasta $13
Grilled Chicken
Onions
Mushrooms
Marinara Sauce
Italian Garlic Toast

Jager Bbq Bologna Sandwich $12
Thick Cut Beef Bologna
Texas Toast
Jager Bbq Sauce
Pepper Jack Cheese
Side of your choice

Catfish Plate $14
Fried Catfish
Choice of Side
Toast

If you want to order these on Uber eats call 901-417-8435

Bardog is delivering

From Bloom who works there:

Y’all don’t forget, Bardog Tavern is delivering downtown! Seriously they’re there all day today and are ready to feed you. And they’ll bring you some bottled beer with your order!

Menu

Sunday update #1: That ’70s Show marathon on rabbit ears today at noon

You may have noticed I blogged yesterday about a couple of Downtown bars  now selling to-go beers. This is because the Memphis Alcohol Commission unanimously voted to allow delivery and take-out of beer for now, to allow restaurants to reduce existing inventory. Sales will be allowed until the Memphis-wide state of emergency is called off by the mayor. Draft beer that is sold must be in a sealed container.

The Blind Bear will be open 11 AM-9 PM for to-go food and beer. They have these 64 oz. collectible growlers for $25.

Lifehacker has a way for you to watch Broadway shows for free while you’re holed up at home for a while. You have to sign up for a free service called BroadwayHD, then cancel before your free 7-day trial runs out, but as Lifehacker points out, when you’re stuck at home you can watch a lot of musicals in 7 days. Not quite the same as going to the Orpheum, but it’ll do in a pinch!

Volunteer Memphis has a number of different volunteer opportunities you can pursue even while COVID-19 is raging. There are tasks like donating blood and organizing food bank shipments, as well as virtual volunteering including mentoring online, answering a crisis text line, or helping to scan books into a collection readable by those with print disabilities.

Let’s hear it for the good guys: Some landlords around town are reaching out to their restaurant tenants and telling them, you can tear up your April rent check. Some of them are even promising that if things don’t get better by May, you’re off the hook for rent that month too. This is the kind of generosity that is going to save small business from failure and help the coronavirus recession from blowing up into a full depression. We all have to work together to beat this pandemic.

Let’s hear it for more good guys: Owner Josh Huckaby and his folks at the Green Beetle worked hard to provide a meal for the employees of a local Kroger who had been working their butts off to keep the shelves stocked and everything sanitized. Unfortunately the Beetle announced yesterday was their last day of take-out and they’ll see you all once the quarantine is lifted. Definitely go out and support them when they get back open!

Let’s hear it for even more good guys:

Here’s a comprehensive list of services, help paying bills, and other resources for those affected by coronavirus in the 38103. Over 1700 resources total. (h/t Scott Finney AKA @finnious on Twitter)

News about Jerry Lawler’s place on Beale:

They subsequently tweeted three specials going on this weekend:

  • $10 for a generous portion of pulled pork, BBQ ribs, fries, beans, and coleslaw
  • $6 for The King’s classic smoked sausage and cheese platter
  • $6 for five fried wings with your choice of sauce

Max’s Sports Bar will re-open today for all your to-go and delivery needs, and henceforth they will be open 11 AM-9 PM daily. They’ll have to-go beers, subs, BBQ nachos, hot dogs, and maybe some limited menu items to keep things interesting.

Kroger is hiring. 120 positions currently open in the Memphis metro. I’m told that Aldi, Amazon, and Costco are hiring too.

LOL I bet there are some women freaking out about this coronavirus thing. If they can’t go to the hair salon for 8-10 weeks, their roots are gonna be showing and their extensions are gonna be looking all scraggly.

The Daily Memphian coronavirus blog had a couple of items that affect Downtown. First of all, a St. Jude employee tested positive for COVID-19, and this person worked in patient care. Considering people can incubate the virus for 5 days before showing symptoms, that could be bad.

Secondly, Mayor Strickland has extended his emergency order to close more types of businesses Saturday at midnight, including

  • Cigar bars that allow in-store consumption. Oh man… there’s a pretty sizable cigar scene Downtown. Some really good people. Sad day for them.
  • Hookah bars offering products for on-site consumption. So, if Flava House Lounge wasn’t already closed, it is now.
  • Theaters, cinemas, and indoor and outdoor performance venues, although I think all of the ones Downtown had voluntarily closed already (Malco Powerhouse, Orpheum)
  • Bowling alleys, although I think the one Downtown (inside Bass Pro) had already closed voluntarily
  • Indoor climbing facilities, indoor skating rings, trampoline parks, vaping lounges
  • Country clubs (only for dine-in and on-site consumption)

From the CA: An empty Beale Street follows Memphis’ new coronavirus rules

There’s a That ’70s Show marathon on Laff TV (rabbit ears 24.2) noon to 7:30 PM. I found that show on TV last night and had forgotten how good it was. The fact that this news item not only made it into this post, but the post’s title as well, shows how desperate for entertainment we are.

I used to watch That ’70s Show with my mom. You know those scenes where they’d be in the basement and the lights were turned down and the camera would pan around the circular table with the teenagers seated? I asked my mom, “There’s an object that’s being passed around, but always outside of camera range. Do you know what it is?”

She didn’t know.

I said, “Well, why do you think it’s so smoky in those scenes?”

She had no idea.

After my four episodes of That ’70s Show went off the air last night, Home Improvement came on. That show is maybe 5% as funny as That ’70s Show.

I did some research this weekend on the Great Depression and found these numbers:

  • September 3, 1929: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 381.17, its highest close ever to that point.
  • July 8, 1932: The Dow closed at 41.22. That means the Dow lost nearly NINETY PERCENT of its value in less than three years. Fortunes were truly lost.
  • The Dow did not see a close above the 381.17 mark for TWENTY-FIVE YEARS, in 1954.

Think the Dow could fall 90% from its high again because of the coronavirus pandemic? When I initially posed that question to myself, I thought, nah, 50% has got to be the most. But look at the numbers:

  • The Dow had an all-time high of 29,588.57 around Valentine’s Day.
  • The Dow closed at 19, 173.98 Friday. That means the Dow has already shed 35% of its value in 5 weeks’ time.

Does anyone think the economic impact of COVID-19 has been fully priced into the stock market? I sure as hell don’t. I think if we’re shuttered in our homes until June, we’ll see a four-digit Dow, which would mean a two-thirds loss of value.

This is scary AF y’all.

Probably back with more news throughout the day, because let’s face it, what else do I have to do?

Flying Saucer news

The Flying Saucer is now offering to-go beer. They have growler fills, $10 for a 32 oz. and $20 for a 64 oz. of any beer on the tap wall, and they are also selling bottles and cans to go.

UFO members can turn in as many chits as they want for cans and bottles they purchase to go, and get credit for growler fills as well – since the beers won’t be consumed on site, the maximum 3 a day limit does not apply.

Blind Bear news including to-go beer

Updated info from Jeannette 12:04 PM:

Togo soda & tea $2
Red Bull $4
Dinner & Brunch menus offered
Togo Draft (bring own sealable container) have some Togo cups with lids
Togo Bottle & Can Beer
Also

Get Lifted

is delivering for tips

Beer prices depend on quantity
All Togo or delivery only

Original post, from their Facebook feed:

Blind Bear is doing Togo and Uber eats (I think they aren’t charging the customer just take a cut of ours)
*11am-5:30pm daily (Jeannette said they will stay open later if there are incoming orders later into the evening)

*Uber eats has Dinner menu only
*Togo’s you can do Brunch or Dinner menu

Until we make enough to cover at least the last payroll or run out of food.

*If need delivery let us know we can most likely get that done especially downtown

***update- Get Lifted is driving so for nice tips he will bring your food/body/store run, whatever you need.

Menus at:
Www.BlindBearMemphis.com

(Click menu pages below to view in a larger size)

Crawfish mac & cheese #taste901togo