Wednesday update

Unfortunately, I can’t start off today’s post with the promised new-restaurant review. After I got off work yesterday, I walked down to Ben-Yay’s at 5r S. Main. I had been told the new Cajun restaurant would open yesterday, but no, the opening got pushed back to today… they hope. Such an occurrence is common and completely understandable in the restaurant industry. Most likely they were waiting on a permit to come through, or an inspection to happen. I will try again today. In the meantime, you can “Like” Ben-Yay’s on Facebook

A few years ago, there was talk of a Wahlburgers location being opened on Beale Street – so named because the family behind the business is the Wahlbergs, including Marky Mark (who hung out with the Funky Bunch) and Donnie (New Kids on the Block). That venue never got off the ground, possibly due to infrastructure issues. However, this week the burger chain announced Wahlburgers Wild, a new restaurant going into Bass Pro at the Pyramid next to Uncle Buck’s Fish Bowl. In keeping with the Bass Pro theme, the restaurant will offer wild game menu items by Chef Paul Wahlberg.

The Commercial Appeal profiled 10 of Memphis’ favorite ice cream shops this week. Three Downtown locations got listed, including Margie’s 901 (formerly Maggie Moo’s) on the Main Street Mall, Sweet Magnolia Gelato Co. in Puck Food Hall at 409 S. Main, and the vintage soda fountain inside A. Schwab’s dry goods store on Beale Street.

When you finish this post, scroll down to read my coverage of yesterday’s Shelby County COVID-19 press conference where a major news story broke: Limited-service restaurants (what most people think of as bars) in the county now have a path to reclassify as full-service restaurants so they will be allowed to reopen during the pandemic. I have heard rumors of this for the past week or so and believe we will hear good news from one limited-service restaurant in the days to come.

From Memphis Magazine: Did you know that the Claridge Hotel at Main and Adams (now the Claridge House condos) once had a twin in St. Louis?

Got a friend visiting our Mexican friend Kao in Monclova, Mexico this week, a Little Rock-sized city in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, about 200 miles from Monterrey. Two things I have learned from his photos this week:

  1. Y’know how the Downtown Memphis Commission has grants for businesses to beautify their facades? Yeah, Monclova doesn’t have those. If there’s a “Best of Monclova” poll, a rust-brown building with “CERVEZAS” painted above the door in black letters would probably win “Most Picturesque.”
  2. A lot of the bars in Monclova are men-only. This is due to a statute from years ago designed to keep prostitutes out of the bars, a statute that was never taken off the books. This sounds far from ideal to me, but at least the bars in Monclova are open. Maybe they could write “NO HOOKERS” on a chalkboard like the staff at Bardog did last year.

I joined Quora yesterday, although it’s a platform I have yet to figure out much. Anyone can ask a question, and anyone can answer a question. It’s said to be good for mining potential writing topics. If you’re on Quora and feel like giving me a follow, here’s my profile.

The Daily Memphian talked with NBA front office staff to measure where former Memphis Tigers basketball stars James Wiseman and Precious Achiuwa might go in the draft.

Hurricane Laura has been upgraded to Category 3 and is expected to slam into the Gulf Coast near the Texas-Louisiana border early tomorrow. It will pass over Texarkana as a tropical storm and will be over Little Rock as a 35 MPH tropical depression early in the morning Friday, heading in the direction of Louisville Saturday AM. Expect plenty of rain in the Memphis metro the latter half of this week.

Registration for the YMCA virtual learning academies kicks off this morning at 10. These will be safe places where kids can attend their schools online, with Wi-Fi. breakfast, lunch, snacks, supper, and tutoring available. Downtown locations are

  • Mt. Olive Cathedral (538 MLK Ave.)
  • St. James AME Church (600 N. Fourth St.)
  • Fogelman YMCA (245 Madison Ave.)

This program is designed for children of essential workers, so they can continue to earn income while their children learn.

Hot Yoga Plus and DiversiFIT will co-host Power Flow Yoga at Loflin Yard tomorrow 6-7 PM. There are limited spots so please sign up in advance. Please arrive 15 minutes early to allow time for check-in. YOGA!

That’ll do it for this post. Back tomorrow with a food review (possibly) and more news.