House arrest day 44 (Sat): Another quarantine song: “I Ain’t Been Nowhere”

We have a new candidate for the official song of house arrest. Thanks to my buddy Clay, on the road with his brother Chris in Arizona building hospital equipment, for sharing this with me. These are Chuck Mead and the Grassy Knoll Boys, friends of Clay and his brother. This song is HILARIOUS and it absolutely nails the mood many of us are in.

From Tamp & Tap:

We closed March 20th after Mayor Strickland ordered non-essential businesses to do so. We were headed that way regardless. That week, office buildings rapidly vacated, hotel occupancy downtown sharply declined, The Forum and Orpheum locked their doors and Memphis’ traditionally lively Spring was effectively canceled.

We depend on Downtown to be churning at full occupancy and lots of foot-traffic to survive. Particularly between 7AM-1PM. The remarkable decrease in revenue leading up to 3/20 made it clear to me that I could not provide everyone a livable wage for very long. It was important for our staff to apply for UI benefits as quickly as possible.

We’re going to follow the lead of many other downtown restaurants. We will not open Monday May 4th. We will tentatively reopen Monday May 11th with online ordering, curbside pickup and limited hours. As our downtown regulars return to work we’ll start propping the door open, letting the breeze in, and resume delivering food & drinks out to tables. Thank you for your support & patience. Hopefully we’ll soon be making the same ol’ drinks for the same faces at the same time everyday. 😘☕️

The Grizzlies Den now has face coverings for sale. Rep yo team, don’t spread yo germs.

Join musician Tony Manard live on Facebook this morning at 10:30 for music from the back of his ’64 Cadillac.

I’ve got wonder if the restaurant dining rooms shouldn’t have remained closed until Wednesday, in order to get past Cinco de Mayo. That is going to turn into a major Amateur Night in the city, especially considering that a lot of people are furloughed right now and don’t have anywhere to be Wednesday morning.

Only question is, can those people afford their rent, much less a margarita? I bet the cheap tequila is going to account for a higher % of sales this year than a typical Cinco de Mayo.

Charvey is back with more Quarantunes tonight at 7:30.

Porcellino’s is now offering their chicken biscuit at Bishop restaurant in the Central Station hotel 7 days a week.

Please make sure to continue to support your Memphis musicians on their virtual concerts and through tipping on PayPal, Venmo, and Cashapp in the weeks to come. Restaurant dining rooms will re-open but they won’t have live music for a while.

Suggestion for Downtowners: Go out to your car and drive around for a few minutes today, then marvel at the wonder of being able to get a convenient parking space down here the first weekend of May.

From Catherine & Mary’s:

May 1 dinner menu + weekend brunch menu. Exciting additions to the menu this weekend! To order, call (901)254-8600 12PM-8PM or email agrant@enjoyam.com.

From the Green Beetle:

Let us help you celebrate Mother’s Day the right way with an AMAZING menu! We are cooking up some simply stunning meals to help you show momma how awesome she really is. We are taking preorders now through Friday the 8th, just shoot us a dm with what you’d like and a pickup time between 11am-4pm on Sunday the 10th. $25/per person includes a salad, 2 sides, an entree (of your choosing), and homemade dessert. Add deviled eggs to round it off and you are good to go! Accepting cash or venmo.

(Click menu to view in a larger size)

From Automatic Slim’s:

Martini Monday is back! Automatic Slim’s will reopen at 50% capacity on Monday, May 4th at 4 p.m., Tuesday at 4 p.m., Friday 4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. We look forward to seeing you and can’t wait for brunch next weekend!

We will be observing all recommendations set forth by the Health Department to insure our guests and staffs safety.

Don’t forget, we will be taking To Go orders online at www.automaticslimsmemphis.com

From Puck Food Hall:

From Westy’s:

Better Safe than Sorry! Looking forward to seeing y’all soon. Looks like Monday is the reopening date. Reservations are optional. 💖

From Dyer’s on Beale:

Monday, May 4th, Dyer’s will reopen at 11 a.m. at 50% capacity. We will open daily at 11 a.m.

We will be following the plan to reopen set forth by the Health Department to insure the safety of our guests and staff.

You can now order on line through our website at www.dyersonbeale.com

Reminder: I will have a complete list of what will be open for dine-in and what won’t on this blog Monday, May 4 sometime in the morning. Email me at paul@paulryburn.com or hit me up on Facebook and I’ll add you to the list.  Even if you’re not opening for dine-in, I’d like to include you on the list if you are offering any kind of to-go or delivery.

If you haven’t yet listened to the quarantine song at the top of this post, do it now. I promise you it is worth 3 minutes of your time.

Back later today or tomorrow with more news.