The Blind Bear moved its pool table!
They took a wall out in the very back of the bar, by the speakeasy photo wall, to make room for the table. It’s a bit of a tight fit, but it’s a good business decision because it will allow them to fit several more tables in the lower part of the restaurant. Bar and restaurant consultant Jon Taffer says each seat is worth $10,000 in revenue a year.
Only thing is, I tend to sit in the far end seat at the bar, now the one closest to the pool table. Am I gonna risk getting hit in the face with a cue ball? Maybe I should start wearing a catcher’s helmet up there. (I wouldn’t be the first person to wear a drinking helmet in a Downtown Memphis bar. Those who were regulars at Sleep Out Louie’s know what I’m talking about)
Later in the evening, the pool table became a dumping ground for Christmas ornaments.
One more piece of Blind Bear news: There’s supposed to be a large corporate party there 5:30-9:00 Friday, so if the Bear is your early evening spot, you might want to line something else up for tomorrow. For me personally, happy hour at Dani’s bar at Bardog sounds like a splendid alternate plan.
If you’re a foodie and you’re not following Edible Memphis on Facebook, you’re missing out. They recently reported on some new items at Edge Alley:
- Garbanzo bean fritter hushpuppies
- Knife & Fork pot roast
- Panzanella salad
- Pan-roasted grouper salad
The Peanut Shoppe at 121 S. Main (a couple of doors down from the Blind Bear) is now open 7 days a week to fulfill your holiday nut, candy, and Middle Eastern pastry needs.
Yesterday was the last day people could park at the garage at Front and Monroe. It’s about to come down to make way for the Brooks Museum.
Let’s have a look at the weather for the St. Jude Marathon on Saturday: Low near 50, 30% chance of early AM showers, high in the upper 50s. For early December, Memphis could do much worse. The low Saturday night will be in the upper 30s, though, so the Stumbling Santas might want to wear an extra layer under their suits.
Two Grizzlies were ejected in last night’s loss to Minnesota. I’m sure no one will be surprised to hear Dillon Brooks was one of the ejections. Ja was the other.
The Tigers did better on the court last night, rolling to an 87-68 win over North Alabama.
RIP Chuck Stobart, former Memphis Tigers football coach.
Eric Gales plays the Cannon Center tonight at 8.
I heard the GM of Bardog say they’re going to close Monday-Tuesday, January 2-3, for cleaning. Oh man… I totally get their desire to keep the place in tip-top shape, but I sure do hate to hear about Monday the 2nd. With the 1st on a Sunday, that Monday will be a work holiday for a lot of Downtowners, and you know what we like to do on those… we day drink.
Plus there are four bowl games – Reliaquest, Cotton, Citrus, and Rose – that day. Seems to me it’d make a lot of sense to open Monday the 2nd, both from a revenue perspective and a “making people happy” perspective.
Tonight at the Woodruff-Fontaine House: The Mesmerist, a performance from the golden age of magic.
The Crowne Plaza seeks a maintenance engineer.
That’s all I have for now. Back tomorrow probably.