I hear one of my favorite places is now adding sales tax and line-item tax to purchases. So a $5 drink at this establishment, whose price used to be all-inclusive of sales and line-item tax, now costs $6.24.
Maybe there are legit business reasons for doing this, reasons I don’t understand having never worked in the service industry. But as a consumer, it comes off to me as a thinly veiled 25% PRICE INCREASE and I don’t like it.
Now, if they reduced that $5 drink’s price to, say, $4.25 and itemized the sales and line-item tax, I could see that. It would be an attempt to educate the consumer on how much the state taxes food and beverage purchases. But when you separate out the sales and line-item tax while leaving the price the same? Explain to me how that’s anything other than a money grab.
Just a warning to Downtowners, pay close attention to your restaurant receipts the next week or two. As I wrote yesterday, I support autogratting so our servers make a decent wage. But I don’t support this at all.
Edited to add: I hear that several Downtown bar owners have agreed to all implement this change simultaneously, so each of them will have the excuse, “I’m just doing what everybody else is doing.”
The Memphis Tigers kept their hope of an at-large NCAA tournament bid with a win on the road at South Florida last night, 73-64. Now the stage is set for Sunday’s home game vs. Houston. That game will likely determine whether Memphis is an 8-9 seed (with a win) or an 11 seed (with a loss).
The Memphis Flyer has video of the new South Point Grocery on Webster Ave. Plenty of parking, covered patio, great beer selection. Plenty of local products. Deli case. Sandwich kitchen.
Russia is occupying a nuclear facility in southeast Ukraine. There was a fire in a training facility but it was put out. If a shell hits a nuclear reactor, it could be a disaster for all of Europe.
The Grizzlies took a road loss to the Boston Celtics last night, 120-107. However, there is good news: The Golden State Warriors are on a 3-game losing streak, leaving Memphis only 0.5 games behind them for second place in the Western Conference.
DJ Tree and DJ Taz play the Blind Bear Saturday night 10-2.
Insomnia Cookies has the perfect choice for those who find it hard to choose between a cookie and a brownie. It’s a warm chocolate chip brownie, drizzled in chocolate cookie butter and topped with cookie dough bites.
Give901 and South Main Book Juggler are teaming up to donate books to a school in Frayser. You can stop by the Juggler and donate a book, and a leaf with your name will be added to the school’s reading tree.
Today is National Tartar Sauce Day. Perhaps a good day to grab a catfish basket at the Flying Fish.
There’s a Memphis True Crime Tour departing from the Broom Closet tonight at 7:30.
Grape. plays Earnestine & Hazel’s tonight at 9.
Silly Goose is doing a 2 for the price of 1 wood-fired pizza special again today 4 to 8 PM. Dine-in only.
That’s it for today’s post. Back tomorrow with more.