Monday update

I tried the Blind Bear’s new breakfast hours yesterday morning. Since they re-licensed as a full-service restaurant last week, they are now opening at 7 AM, seven days a week, for breakfast. A couple of notes I wanted to pass on:

First of all, they have baloney breakfast sliders! As best as I can recall, that is a menu item unique to the Blind Bear among Downtown restaurants. My apologies for not getting a photo!

Secondly, I learned that although you can get your grub on at 7, you can’t get your drank on that early. “We can’t serve you alcohol until 10 on Sundays,” bartender/server Mark told me. “State law. It’s 8 AM the other six days of the week.” I pulled out my phone to see what time it was. 9:59. Glad I didn’t come down here earlier, I thought. A minute went by, and Mark took my food order then popped a PBR open.

I want to comment on one other thing the Bear has done that I think is really smart. Rather than remove all seating from the bar, they put yellow CAUTION tape around the entire bar area. It communicates “don’t sit here, don’t stand here,” reinforcing the signs hung throughout the restaurant that you must be seated at a table to be served alcohol in compliance with Health Directive No. 11.

One other note about the Bear: They have ended all their contracts through corporate food delivery services like GrubHub, UberEats, and DoorDash. However, you can still get the Bear’s food delivered exclusively through The Lifter. That’s the golf cart shuttle and food delivery service run by a great Downtown entrepreneur. Put this number in your phone and give The Lifter a call the next time you need a ride somewhere or need food delivered: 901-563-6650.

Apparently Blind Bear’s menus still appear on some of the corporate food delivery services’ websites. Jeannette has contacted every one of them and told them she has ended their partnership with them. They just don’t care!

For those of you who don’t read my blog over the weekend, there was a reason I went out to the Blind Bear for breakfast yesterday: I was celebrating! Friday afternoon I published my first article on curated content website Medium, entitled Overcome Panic and Feel at Ease at Networking Events. Saturday morning I woke up to an email from Medium indicating that they needed my tax information. That meant enough people had read my article that I was earning royalties, making me a published professional author! I have several more articles in the pipeline, and I will post links upon their publication. Feel free to share the networking article with anyone you think should see it.

The Memphis Tigers’ football season is looking a little less bright. Star receiver Kenny Gainwell is reported to have opted out of the season. Can’t blame a young man with NFL aspirations for avoiding exposure to a coronavirus that could end his pro career before it begins, but damn… that may be enough to keep the Tigers out of the Top 25.

Jennifer Biggs of the Daily Memphian reports that the Rendezvous will experiment with alley seating (subscriber only link) beginning Tuesday.

A number of restaurants will have $9.01 deals tomorrow, on $9.01 Day. Downtown options include

  • Automatic Slim’s, 901 Martini
  • Catherine & Mary’s, pasta
  • Cupcake Cutie, buy one get one half off
  • Gray Canary, oysters
  • SOB South Main, duck fried rice!!!!!
  • Also, City Tasting Tours will give $9.01 off tours and Feast & Graze charcuterie delivery service will have $9.01 off boxes.

The Orpheum will offer $9.01 mini-golf on stage September 3-7.

Looking at the Shelby County Health Department COVID-19 data page this morning, the 7-day average of new cases has plateaued in the low-to-mid 160s. That is below the 180 number needed to reopen limited-service restaurants and hopefully remove some of the restrictions on full-service restaurants. The rolling 7-day positivity rate, after bouncing around like a ping-pong ball for the past week, has hit 11%, a new low for August. 10% is the target for loosening restaurant restrictions.

Forecast: 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms today and tomorrow. 60% Wednesday. Well, that sucks. At least all the highs this week should be below 90.

Time to head in to work. Back tomorrow with more news.