Traffic alert: Exchange Avenue will be closed between Second and B.B. King Wednesday-Saturday. The reason why is they need the space for approximately 20 food trucks to feed 3000 members of Alpha Kappa Alpha who’ll be in town meeting at the Renasant Convention Center.
Several people asked me yesterday, “What does a sorority do in a week-long conference?” I found their registration packet online, so you can see for yourself.
Attention owners and managers of bars that open later than 11 AM on Sundays: The Memphis Tigers have an 11 AM home game against the #14 Houston Cougars this Sunday, March 6. Might want to consider opening early so those with tickets can pre-game and those without tickets can watch on TV. The game will be broadcast on CBS, so you won’t need any kind of fancy cable or sports package to put it on your TVs.
If you do decide to open early, figure out staffing now and announce the early opening at least 24 hours in advance. Too often I see bars open early but the only notification is on the bartender’s personal Facebook account 17 minutes prior to opening.
This news item brought to you by the letters M, V, and P: Ja Morant scored a career-high 52 points last night as the Grizzlies beat the San Antonio Spurs, 118-105. More good news: Golden State lost its most recent game, leaving Memphis a mere one game back from catching the Warriors for second place in the Western Conference.
The 2 seed in the West could not be as sweet as it seems, however. Imagine this scenario – the Los Angeles Lakers win a play-in game to grab the 7 seed in the conference. The Grizzlies’ reward for all their hard work this season would be an opening playoff series against LeBron James. I don’t care what kind of a mess the Lakers are this year. LeBron has a whole ‘nother gear he shifts into at playoff time. I’d much rather see the Nuggets, Clippers, T-wolves, or Pelicans.
Fat Tuesday update from FiveThirtyEight: Climate change means gumbo season is getting shorter in New Orleans
LEROY (Reachin’ Out/WXYR) performs a DJ set at Wiseacre Downtown this Saturday 6-10 PM. He’s the DJ behind the album Stone Crush: Memphis Modern Soul 1977-1987 and he performs regularly at Eight & Sand. Going to the Grizzlies game vs. Orlando that night? Show your ticket stub for 10% off beer. If you’re not going to the game, you can watch it on Wiseacre’s big screens.
WREG answers the question: Aside from vodka, what else does the U.S. import from Russia? Good news: Not too terribly much that you would buy at a grocery store.
Beale Street Music Fest announced new additions to the 2022 lineup yesterday: Megan Thee Stallion, Shaggy, Third World, Duke Deuce, and Tora Tora.
Calvary Waffle Shop has released its 2022 menu for the Lenten season. Seafood gumbo and turnip greens with pork belly on Wednesdays, corned beef & cabbage on Thursday, and fish pudding on Fridays, plus a variety of favorites every day. The cafe opens for the season this Thursday.
There is no Wikipedia entry for “fish pudding.” Maybe one of the Calvary parishioners needs to create one. When I search for the term, Wikipedia asks if I meant “fist pumping.” Remember, folks, in New Jersey, they pump their fists, not their gas.
BBQ Fest now has its VIPit tickets on sale. This ticket gets you VIP admission to Tiger Lane all four days of the festival. You get to visit up to 4 competition teams to sample their product and get insider tips about grilling, a private seminar on what it takes to become a BBQ Fest Grand Champion, and open access to a hospitality suite with complimentary food, beer, wine, and beverages. Ticket is $495 which is pretty much in line with what it costs for a BBQ team member to be on a team. If you want parking included, $595.
Not a Downtown news item but worthy of a field trip: The Four Way, the legendary soul food restaurant at Walker and Mississippi, will introduce a Soul Bowl as part of Memphis Black Restaurant Week. A Soul Bowl consists of whatever sides you want inside a bowl made of hot cornbread. I found a photo of their menu on Facebook that lets you see a list of sides. If I make it down there, I’m putting turnip greens, blackeyed peas, and mac & cheese in mine. Note that Walker and Mississippi is inside Downtown shuttle Groove on Demand’s service area, so you can get there without spending for a Lyft or Uber.
Slider Inn Downtown will host a watch party for the Grizzlies-Celtics game this Thursday, March 3 at 6:30.
Cordelia’s Market and the Harbor Town Association will present a Community Health Walk on the first day of spring, Sunday, March 20, from noon to 2 PM. This will be a walk of approximately 3 miles through Greenbelt Park from the south parking lot to the north parking lot and back. All participants will receive a Cordelia’s Market coupon. Leashed dogs and kids in strollers are welcome.
MATA has launched a new app allowing riders to track their buses in real-time.
President Biden delivers the State of the Union address tonight at 8.
Bitcoin gained 13% in value yesterday. I would guess that is because crypto is one of the few supplies of currency that can’t be cut off to the Russians.
Vladimir Putin, who holds a black belt in judo, has been stripped of his title of honorary president and ambassador by the International Judo Federation.
Today is National Pig Day. The purpose of the day is “to accord to the pig its rightful, though generally unrecognized, place as one of man’s most intellectual and domesticated animals.”
WREG asked the question: Should you dump your Russian vodka? Worth noting: Smirnoff and Stoli are no longer produced in Russia, and in fact, Smirnoff is produced in the U.S. for a British company. Smirnoff has also made a statement condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
Need a job in the service industry? Westy’s posted yesterday that it is hiring.
That’s it for today’s post. I’ll get out and celebrate Fat Tuesday tonight (even though I have zero plans to begin observing Lent tomorrow). Back tomorrow with more news.