Month: October 2025

Check out the menu for Mitchell’s Breakfast Burritos, operating out of the Rumba Room weekdays 6 AM to 2 PM. There’s also a Mitchell’s location in West Memphis.

Michelle McKissack, a Memphis–Shelby County school board member, competed on The Price Is Right Monday.

Another Grizzly falls to the injury bug: Ty Jerome is out at least four weeks with a calf sprain.

College football games this weekend of interest to this blog’s readers:

Saturday

• 18 South Florida at Memphis, 11:00 AM, ESPN2
• 8 Ole Miss at 13 Oklahoma, 11:00 AM, ABC
• Auburn at Arkansas, 11:45 AM, SEC Network
• 4 Alabama at South Carolina, 2:30 PM, ABC
• 15 Missouri at 10 Vanderbilt, 2:30 PM, ESPN
• 22 Texas at Mississippi State, 3:15 PM, SEC Network
• Georgia Southern at Arkansas State, 6:00 PM, ESPN+
• 3 Texas A&M at 20 LSU, 6:30 PM, ABC
• 17 Tennessee at Kentucky, 6:45 PM, SEC Network

Does anyone else see a problem here?

Memphis and Ole Miss fans are both gonna show up at the bars at 11 expecting their game to be on the best TV.  I can see heated arguments breaking out.

The solution is to go Max’s Sports Bar, where there are many “best” TVs.

Catch Nightmare on Elm Street on Slider Inn Downtown’s patio tonight at 7.

Speaking of Slider Inn, today is the International Day of the Nacho. Celebrate with Nachos for the People.

Today is also National Mezcal Day.

Anne Wilson plays the Orpheum Friday night with support from Jordan Rowe.

Doug Stone’s farewell tour comes to the Halloran Centre Friday night with special guest Megan Barker.

Memphis Symphony Orchestra: SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE comes to the Cannon Center Saturday.

Juvenile Court at 616 Adams is hosting a trunk or treat Saturday 11-3.

Firefox is giving out a free VPN to randomly selected users.

Back tomorrow with more news.

Tip me so I can afford one of those yummy breakfast burritos (most likely the 3 Alarm. I like spicy!): 
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
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Early this morning I was in Bardog getting caffeinated and checking my sources for this blog. An old friend whom I had not seen since the Blind Bear days came in. We chatted and caught up. “I had some really good pizza at the Peabody this weekend,” he told me.

“Wait, WHAT?” I replied. I associate the South’s grand hotel with fine dining and afternoon high tea. Not pizza!

He pulled up Capriccio Grill’s menu on his phone. Sure enough, there was a 12″ wood-fired pizza on there, topped with short rib, gorgonzola, balsamic-onion, arugula, and forest mushroom. So there’s your Downtown dining hidden gem of the day.

Another day, another far-above-average meal at the Union Mission. Last night LaBelle Haven Church brought Salisbury steak with onions, mashed potatoes, green beans, and their signature banana pudding. As Pastor Jeff likes to say, “You know what would go well with that bowl of ‘naner puddin’? Another bowl just like it.”

By the way, THANK YOU to the readers of this blog who tipped me last week, giving me the $6 nightly cover charge at the Mission. As you can see, I spent the money wisely!

Memphis Tigers football fell completely out of the AP poll thanks to its bad loss to UAB. Memphis failed to get even a single vote!

It’s homecoming week for the Tigers as they prepare to host the South Florida Bulls Saturday at 11 AM.

There’s been some confusion as to whether you have to be present to win the hearse parked outside Bardog, to be raffled off at 11:59 PM on October 31 (give or take – you know how bar time works). The answer is NO but you better have your phone’s ringer turned up all the way. If you win but you don’t pick up when they call, they re-draw and you lose.

Kids can trick-or-treat at participating South Main businesses 5-7 PM on the 31st. The final Trolley Night of 2025 will be a haunted one.

Comedian Katt Williams will bring the Golden Age Tour to FedExForum March 6.

It’s Make it a Dozen Monday at Butterific Cafe. Get 12 cookies for $20.25.

WhatNow Memphis has the info on Gussied Up, a new dive bar to open soon in The Edge adjacent to Hard Times Deli. “Our cult favorite burger pop up, Secret Smash Society, will serve from a hidden drive thru window inside the bar,” the owners wrote. Owners, I have a question for you – you gonna have PBR?

Big River Crossing is temporarily closed due to a malfunctioning gate on the Memphis side.

Cordelia’s Market hot lunch specials (11-2) this week

• Today: Shepherd’s pie
• Tue: Cabbage soup and penne
• Wed: No lunch, but they’ll have a holiday tasting 5-9
• Thur: Crawfish Monica
• Fri: Fish and chips

Today is National Mozzarella Stick Day. Huey’s would be my recommendation to celebrate.

Peter Frampton plays the Orpheum Saturday night.

Back tomorrow with more news and a look at weekend college football games.

I gratefully accept tips: 
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I rarely am at the Union Mission for Saturday dinner, but yesterday I came in early to avoid approaching severe weather… and I was rewarded with a fabulous dinner from Faith Baptist Tipton. A HUGE chunk of meatloaf, cheesy buttery mashed potatoes, green beans, a dinner roll, and peach cobbler.

I also solved my problem of staying warm in the upcoming cooler weather, pulling a nice, thick hoodie out of the Mission’s clothes closet. That’ll keep me comfortable on mornings in the 40s. It’s not cold enough to give up the shorts yet.

Wednesday is the regular-season home opener for the Memphis Grizzlies. They tip off against the New Orleans Pelicans at 7. The giveaway will be a 25th anniversary T-shirt.

Unfortunately the team will be without backup point guard Scotty Pippen Jr., out 12 weeks recovering from a toe procedure.

It’ll be a day of craft beer, live music, outdoor games, and 901 Wrestling as Memphis Filling Station hosts Mocktoberfest Saturday.

A Chevy Avalanche crashed into a building at Front and Gayoso this morning.

Today is Dress Like a Dork Day.

It’s also International Gin and Tonic Day.

First Horizon seeks a senior graphic designer.

Cordelia’s Market’s fall festival is today 12-4. Trunk or treat, live music, local vendors, food and drink, costume parade, photos.

Back tomorrow with more news.

I gratefully accept tips: 
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
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Today is National Leggings Day.

The Blue Monkey is selling 12-ounce cans of local beer for only $3.50 all day Sundays and Mondays.

The Saucer will have true crime trivia Tuesday, October 28 at 7 PM.

YogaSix Downtown closes its doors for good Wednesday. They’ll say goodbye with community classes the last three days.

Lenny’s Day is Wednesday. Get any 7½-inch sub for $2.99 with drink purchase. Win free subs for a year. Hourly giveaways. Wednesday is also Rusev Day and NightHawk’s birthday.

AutoZone is hiring a manager for their digital asset program.

Allworld is hiring a project manager trainee.

My undergrad alma mater Rhodes College recently added a data analytics major.

Back tomorrow with more news.

I gratefully accept tips: 
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
Apple Pay: paul.ryburn@gmail.com

RIP Ace Frehley, original lead guitarist of KISS. Rock on, Spaceman.

Severe weather is expected to roll through Memphis in the early evening hours Saturday. Damaging wind gusts are said to be a threat in the storm. Behind the storm, cooler temps are expected – highs around 70, lows around 50.  Yikes, I only have a light windbreaker jacket. And, of course, shorts.

Today is Edge Day. I recommend you celebrate at Slim & Husky’s, Hard Times Deli, or one of the other great restaurants in The Edge. Bonus points if you drive a Ford Edge SUV out there.

The Grizzlies have their final preseason game at the Miami Heat tonight at 7 Central. TV: FanDuel Sports

The Union Mission received and handed out a large donation of Colgate Hum electric toothbrushes yesterday. They came in containers that made them look like giant Old Spice deodorant sticks.

StyleBlueprint has a 15-stop BBQ tour of Memphis.

The DMC has compiled a list of Halloween happenings in Downtown Memphis.

FOX 13 has a look at basketball fans – and the National Guard – on Beale Street last night for the Memphis Tigers’ Ballin’ on Beale.

Uber drivers will soon be able to make extra money training AI.

Are pop songs getting sadder?

That concludes your Frupdate. Back tomorrow with more news.

I gratefully accept tips: 
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
Apple Pay: paul.ryburn@gmail.com

The Neon Mooners’ outdoor ’90s country show, scheduled for this Saturday at Slider Inn Downtown, has been rescheduled for October 25 due to predicted severe weather.

Want to have ducks as co-workers? Chez Philippe, the French restaurant in the Peabody Hotel, is hiring a fine dining manager. Just think… you could work there for a few years, then put the ducks down as references when you’re ready to move on to the next gig.

Catherine & Mary’s seeks a general manager and a bartender.

From Action News 5: Downtown leaders are begging people to come out (headline paraphrased according to my observations), highlight upcoming events

The CA has 5 Memphis burgers you must try… and 2 of them are on G.E. Patterson Avenue. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to read that one of them is the Soul Burger at Earnestine & Hazel’s. The unpretentious but delicious burger at Renee’s Sandwich Shop is the other.

Action News 5 has a look at the upcoming Meal on Main, which will LITERALLY be on Main.

From Vanity Fair: Book preview by Virginia Giuffre describing her treatment by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Mar-a-Lago when Giuffre was 16

MLK50 has an article on how the homeless are faring now that the Safe Memphis task force is in town.

I stayed at the Union Mission last night… and in addition to the shower, meal, and sleep, I got a new pair of shoes. I wear the same size as one of the pastors there and he keeps an eye out for me. Elastic shoelaces are the best.

Back tomorrow with a Frupdate.

I gratefully accept tips: 
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
Apple Pay: paul.ryburn@gmail.com

Downtown Dining Week 2025 has been announced, and it’s not far off – November 3-9. Participating restaurants in DDW create multi-course fixed-price menus to offer for the week. These menus are often a tremendous value and serve as an intro to the restaurant for first-timers. It’s a chance for restaurants to win customers over, turning them into regulars.

Many of the restaurants haven’t posted their DDW menus yet, so I recommend you bookmark the main page and check back. When we get down to the week before, I’ll do a Paul’s Picks list of the best deals.

If there’s a restaurant you KNOW you’re going to want to eat at during DDW, go ahead and make reservations NOW. Don’t wait for them to publish their menu. Especially if you want a prime reservation time of 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, or 8:00.

But, please don’t be a poo-head or a dingus who makes reservations they aren’t sure they’re gonna keep. This deprives the restaurant of revenue and fellow diners of a delicious experience.

Choose901 has a list of where to get free meals in Memphis – churches, soup kitchens, meal boxes and such. Might want to bookmark this page on your phone so you have this info handy to provide to those in need.

I’ve been working from the mezzanine of the Memphis Chess Club lately. Never been up there? Let me show you what it looks like.

Pretty cool, huh? It’s quieter than downstairs and there’s considerably less glare on my laptop screen.

Today is National Cheese Curd Day. Celebrate at the first & last bar in Tennessee, Momma’s.

It’s also National Red Wine Day. Automatic Slim’s has half-off bottles today for Wine Down Wednesday.

FedEx is hiring part-time seasonal package handlers to work in a warehouse-like Downtown environment. $18.80/hour starting pay.

Video: Fishing for white bass in the Mississippi River at Downtown Memphis

People have been using an app called Ghost Tube to attempt to detect and communicate with the spirits that are said to haunt Earnestine & Hazel’s. I installed it today and will play around with it this weekend. I’ll let you know if I discover anything noteworthy.

Back tomorrow with more news.

I gratefully accept tips: 
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
Apple Pay: paul.ryburn@gmail.com

Everyone in Memphis needs an electric mosquito zapper tennis racket.

Let’s have a look at this week’s college football games of interest.

Today

• Arkansas State at South Alabama, 6:30 PM, ESPN2

Saturday

• 10 LSU at 17 Vanderbilt, 11:00 AM, ABC
• 4 Texas A&M at Arkansas, 2:30 PM, ESPN
• 5 Ole Miss at 9 Georgia, 2:30 PM, ABC
• 22 Memphis at UAB, 3:00 PM, ESPN2
• Mississippi State at Florida, 3:15 PM, SEC Network
• 11 Tennessee at 6 Alabama, 6:30 PM, ABC
• 20 USC at 13 Notre Dame, 6::30 PM, NBC
• Florida Atlantic at 19 South Florida, 6:30 PM, ESPNU
• 16 Missouri at Auburn, 6:45 PM, SEC Network
• 23 Utah at 15 BYU, 7:00 PM, FOX

South Florida is the team all Memphians need to cheer to lose Saturday. The Bulls stand in the way of our Memphis Tigers being the top-ranked Group of Five school and earning a berth to the CFP.

Soul & Spirits Brewing has its 4th anniversary party Saturday 12 to 8. Exclusive limited glassware, Smoke & Toast food truck, and the release of the brewery’s first-ever bottled beer, a Belgian Dark.

Memphis’ best beer festival, Cooper-Young Beerfest, is Saturday. If you’re more interested in learning about the beer than getting your photo in the society pages, this is the beer festival for you.

Get your first look at the Memphis Tigers men’s and women’s basketball teams at Ballin’ on Beale Thursday night 6 to 8. Free admission. Performances by the pom and cheer squads.

Bring the kids to Boo at the Ballpark at AutoZone Park Saturday from noon to 4. Trick-or-treating. pumpkin decorating, costume contests, hayrides, a dance party, Kids’ Zone. Free. First 1000 kids get a jack-o-lantern trick-or-treating bag.

Author Lorraine Gibson will sign her book Elvis: The King of Fashion Saturday 4-6 at Lansky at the Peabody.

It’s National Dessert Day. The hot fudge pie at Westy’s is my recommendation to celebrate.

it’s also national lowercase day.

I’ll agree with other Earnestine & Hazel’s customers that Allison’s Soul Burgers taste like the ones Russell George used to make. She works tonight 5-midnight or later. Last night so many people ordered burgers that she ran out.

Applying for gig-economy work today. Wish me luck. If I land the gig I’ll say more about it. Back tomorrow with more news.

I gratefully accept tips: 
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This ABC 24 story about National Guard troops being spotted on Mud Island contains a couple of important quotes from State Rep. Antonio Parkinson about their deployment here.

• About 150 National Guard troops are being deployed here. They will work in 3 eight-hour shifts with no more than 50 working at any one time.
• A typical time frame for this type of deployment is 60 to 90 days.

So no, there are not “seven thousand” troops on the way here and our city is not being “occupied.”

It’s about 11 AM as I type this and I’ve already seen the Guard twice today. A group of five of them peered into Bardog’s window as their MPD guide explained why there was a hearse parked outside. (Wouldn’t it be funny if one of them won the hearse?) Then as I walked to the Chess Club I saw a different cop leading two Guardsmen down the Main Street Mall.

River Arts Fest comes to Downtown Memphis this weekend. It will feature an artists’ market with more than 100 vendors. Great place to pick up some conversation pieces for your home or do some early Christmas shopping. Live music and theatrical performances. This festival is also known for its outstanding food.

I wonder how much sales of chicken fries (Looks like fries but it’s CHICKEN!!!!!) have dropped at festivals and carnivals since Burger King put them on the menu. They’re no longer scarce.

Memphis Tigers football moved up to 22nd in the AP and 20th in the coaches’ poll this week.

Renasant Convention Center – please update your upcoming events page.

Welcome to Memphis – you too.

Friends of mine recently went to the Seafood Shack in Marion and loved the crab boil. Add that to your list of places that’s worth a drive across the river.

A fight on Beale injured 2 Sunday.

Also on Beale on Sunday, a female’s Dodge Charger was stolen after she and her friends refused the advances of a group of men.

Probably gonna stay out of the Union Mission every night this week except Thursday. I’m getting desperately short on money and those $6/night admission charges add up. Why am I making Thursday the exception? Because it’ll be the third one of the month, the night that a church brings Commissary BBQ sandwiches.

Back tomorrow with more news.

I gratefully accept tips: 
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
Apple Pay: paul.ryburn@gmail.com

The National Guard is Downtown. Yesterday about 8:30 in the morning an MPD Patrolman II led 7 Guardsmen past Court Square. The Guardsmen were friendly and thanked passersby for their welcomes to Memphis.

Yesterday while out on my morning walk, I paid my first visit to Farm Market Co-op at South Main and Pontotoc. They carry most items you’d find in the grocery store, but environmentally friendly versions. For example, they have eco-friendly laundry detergent. They have snacks like fruit jerky, and a nice selection of salsas and seasonings. Some clothing items, mostly for babies. Fresh produce. Refrigerated products. Of course they have tofu.

Farm Market Co-op is family-owned and a sign in the store says their farm is in Olive Branch. Neat little shop. Check it out if you haven’t already.

It’s Pulled Pork Day. Celebrate by pigging out at Central BBQ.

Monday is Columbus Day. Government offices and banks will be closed.

Back tomorrow.

I gratefully accept tips: 
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
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