House arrest day 19 (Tue)

South Main Grocery at 383 S. Main (in Spindini) is offering to-go Easter family meals. Your choices:

  • 6 lb. roast of prime rib (serves 8-10) $79.99: includes 3 lbs. garlic mashed potatoes, 3 lbs. Italian green beans, 12 Sister Schubert rolls
  • 9 lb. smoked pit ham (12-15 servings) $59.99: includes 4lbs. garlic mashed potatoes, 4 lbs. Italian green beans, 16 Sister Schubert rolls

Call 901-578-2767 to reserve your Easter meal from South Main Grocery.

Would it be rude if I replied I plan on going to Bardog and ordering a PBR?

From Green Beetle on Facebook:

HEY EVERYBODY!! We’ve got some tasty news. For those of you going through bushwacker withdrawals, we are now taking preorders for a gallon sized wacker and a bag of chips for only $30!! That’s 8 wackers at less than half the normal price previously available only for catering clients.

DM us with your name and number to get your order in, curbside pickup will be Friday between 4-7. We are currently accepting cash app, Venmo, credit, or cash. We can’t wait to help you enjoy your weekend with the tastiest frozen beverage around. #biggestwackerever #supportthebeetle #oldesttaverninmemphis #wemissyou #southmain #survivingquarantine

(In case you’re wondering why the bag of chips: To-go mixed drinks must be sold with a food order)

Pyramid Wine & Spirits has announced new hours: Monday-Thursday 10 AM-8 PM, Friday-Saturday 10 AM-9 PM, Sunday 11 AM-6 PM. They are limiting their store to 5 people maximum inside at a time. They have curbside pick-up as well. Call 901-578-2773 to place an order.

News from the island:

For those of you who remember Tracy Smothers from when he wrestled in Memphis:

The Overton Square crawfish festival goes drive-thru this year. Friday and Saturday of this week:

MakeUseOf has some tips to lock down Zoom. Whether you use it for work meetings or virtual happy hours, might want to give these tips a read.

Mayor Strickland said that over 100 complaints were filed on businesses violating the Safer at Home order, but after inspections and reinspections almost all businesses complied. Only one was ordered to shut down, and we all wondered what business it was. Now we know. It’s a car wash on Southern not far from the U of M.

Google Maps now shows nearby take-out and delivery.

If you ride a bike, be sure you lock it up good. There was a band of teenagers in the Downtown core last night trying to steal bikes. It’s possible they were going after the Explore Bike Share smart bikes; both locations where they were reported (Court Square, Adams/B.B. King) are Explore docking locations.

Let’s hear it for the good guys: Many landlords are working with their commercial tenants who lack the revenue to pay April rent.

The DM has a story on the troubles restaurant owners are facing applying for the SBA’s Payroll Paycheck Protection Program. Patrick Reilly of the Majestic Grille found red tape holding up his loan due to stupid bureaucratic red tape. Patrick reached out to the folks at Renasant Bank, who said, “You make a good grilled cheese (this is true BTW), we’ll help you,” and the loan got approved, and his employees will get paid while the restaurant is closed. Anyone out there looking to open a new account or switch banks, keep Renasant in mind.

I made a trip to City Market, the first time since Memphis was put under house arrest. For those of you who love spicy food, I found something that is worth a try.

Artisan-style Buffalo chicken chili. No kidding, it has that Buffalo sauce taste, unlike any chicken chili. It was $3.99 for a 15 ounce can and is worth a try if you like spicy food. A big dollop of sour cream on top would hit the spot if you have it on hand.

Also, I noticed City Market has PBR $8.69 for a six-pack of 16-ounce cans. I don’t normally keep PBR at home but now that I’m getting invited to virtual happy hours on Zoom, I guess I need to have some on standby.

From the Memphis Flyer: How COVID-19 is affecting local farmers

Mahaffey Tent is donating used linens to anyone looking to make face masks. To inquire email sales@mahaffeytent.com or call 901-871-0606.

Homeowners:

Number of cases of COVID-19 in Shelby County went up fro 789 to 845 today. If we see a few more days of this less than 10% growth in new cases, that seems to be to be a sign the curve is indeed flattening earlier than expected.

One of my favorite sayings about Downtown is that it’s like watching a soap opera, except you are a character in the soap opera. Well, now I have a new analogy – we’re all characters in a TV show where the main storyline is we are all in it together waiting for an event to be over. Kind of like M*A*S*H where they all cracked jokes and entertained themselves, but first and foremost they were waiting for the Korean War to be over so they could get their lives back. Perhaps in 2040 a new sitcom will premiere about the COVID-19 pandemic.

We all have our own ways of dealing with the quarantine:

That’s it for now. Time to go grocery shopping. Back tomorrow with more news.