Author: paulryburn

Sorry for going 2 days without a post… I’ve been out livin’ the life.

The pop-up fitness park at Tom Lee Park opens Thursday. This was the brainchild of the Memphis Grizzlies who are sponsoring the fitness park. There will be an unveiling Wednesday 4-7 PM with food trucks and equipment demonstrations.

There will be an Oktoberfest celebration at Flying Saucer on Friday, October 10 at 6 PM. $20 will get you 12 5-ounce glasses of beer samples. I will get more information about this event this week. I hope this means my favorite pair of librarian glasses will be dressed up as a German beer wench again. That was pretty awesome last year. Or was it 2 years ago?

International HairFest happens today at Handy Park at 1.

Sweetwater Brewing Co. is having a beer dinner at Downtown Local on Tuesday. Four courses paired with Atlanta-based Sweetwater beer. Click through to see the menu and to make reservations.

The Woodruff-Fontaine House is having a “Sunday doll” tour today. Starting at noon their haunting collection of dolls will be on display.

I need the day bar schedule of all the Downtown bars Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday since I will be off so I can plan out what I will be doing those days. Although, on one of those days I want to hit DeJaVu right when it opens for lunch. I want that Arkansas Outlaw!!!

The Memphis Flyer has coverage of the food journalists’ conference that was here last week.

Historian Jimmy Ogle leads a Mississippi River bridge walk today at 2. It’s free to walk. Meet at Crump Park next to the Metal Museum.

All right. Starting off at Bloom’s bar at 11 then over to Blind Bear to watch fantasy footballers scream at the TV. Saucer some point after 5. This is a Sunday without a Monday behind it for me so I’m taking the night off from poker. Late night probably.

 

Bonus half day off! The rain tapered off in Memphis, but it never did in DeSoto County. The torrential rain overflowed our office building’s duck pond into the parking lot, and they had to let us go or we would’ve been stranded. NOTE TO ANYONE TRAVELING IN/TO HORN LAKE: Avoid Interstate Blvd. for the next several hours.

The Church Health Center at 1115 Union has announced a fall cooking class series. Every Thursday from October 2 through November 6, a Memphis chef will lead a class from 6 to 7:30 PM in the center’s demonstration kitchen. Classes are $45 each and include wine. Two notable Downtown chefs will be leading classes: Chef Gary Williams of DeJaVu will teach Creole Cookery on October 23, and Chef Felicia Suzanne Willett will show you how to cook Southern Favorites on October 30.

The National Civil Rights Museum will host “In the Wake of Ferguson: A Community Conversation” tonight at 5:30. The conversation will include representatives from local law enforcement, the DA’s office, community leaders, and local media.

There will be a free Sounds of Beale concert tonight in Handy Park, Third and Beale, by Say It Ain’t So tonight at 7.

Gladys Knight plays the Orpheum tonight at 8 with special guest Jammin Jay Lamont.

Lansky Brothers is searching for a male model 5’10” or above who wears a medium or large sized shirt. If interested, go by their store at Second and Beale.

The Blind Bear will be hosting charity poker and bunco tournaments from 6 to 9 PM next Thursday, September 18, to benefit Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Memphis. Donate at the door to play. For poker, a $20 donation gets you 2000 in chips, or a $30 donation gets you 4000. There will be one rebuy of $10 for 1000 in chips or $20 for 2000. Rebuys may be based on blinds rather than limited to one, depending on attendance. Top two finishers get prizes, including gift cards to Downtown restaurants. Bunco is a $20 donation to play, with prizes to the winners. Food and drink specials will be available.

Craft breweries have popped up in Memphis the past two years. What’s next? The folks behind Big River Distilling are hoping we will soon see micro-distilleries around the city. The MBJ has coverage and mentions that a micro-distillery called Old Dominick will be opened by D. Canale in the Front Street Chicken District near Gus’s next year. (Credit to @kerry901 for coining the term “Front Street Chicken District”)

Demo Day, where entrepreneurs pitch to investors, is no longer the final step for companies participating in Start Co.’s accelerator programs. Start Co. has now set up a post-accelerator program to keep them going in the next phase of their business and for future pitches to investors for funding.

That’s the news for today. After a 45-minute drive from Horn Lake to Downtown, I’m home safe and it’s time for some bonus day drinking. Headed to the Blind Bear shortly.

One of my favorite email publications, and one of my favorite sources of stories to link to in this blog, is High Ground News. While other news sources report murders and school lockdowns and parking lot assaults, High Ground reports on the many positive things happening in Memphis that make this city a better place to live. I received my weekly issue today and there were three stories that may be of interest to Downtowners.

The Edge is a great little neighborhood just east of the Downtown core, with great businesses like Trolley Stop Market, Kudzu’s, High Cotton Brewing Co, Evelyn & Olive, and Arepa and Salsa. At its easternmost end sits the legendary Sun Studio where Elvis and other music greats recorded. On Saturday, October 18, there will be a MEMfix event from 10 AM to 8 PM in the Edge. There will be live music, vendors, pop-up shops, and food trucks, all of which will be responsive to the neighborhood’s unique personality.

There’s an app for everything these days… including an app to fight blight. It is being beta-tested in three Memphis neighborhoods, one of which is Uptown.

Another article in High Ground News this week asks, how local is your beer?<?a> Around the country, more and more craft brewers are using locally- and regionally-grown ingredients in their beers.

If you want to subscribe to this excellent e-publication, go to the High Ground News home page and scroll down. On the right sidebar you will see a link where you can subscribe your email address. High Ground News will then arrive in your inbox every Wednesday.

I have more information about the Oktoberfest celebration at High Cotton Brewing Co. that I mentioned the other day. It will be Saturday, October 4 from noon until 7 and tickets are $40. There will be food, open taps, circus performers, live music, and games for the kids. (They’re inviting KIDS to a beer festival?) There’s also a $75 VIP ticket that gets you a larger selection of open taps, an all-you-can-eat buffet including a locally-raised whole pig roast, an Oktoberfest T-shirt, and a commemorative glass stein. The day will also be the release day of High Cotton Oktoberfest beer. You can purchase tickets here. The $40 appears to be an early bird price. The event benefits Grow Memphis.

A week from Saturday, there will be a 5K Downtown benefiting Porter-Leath’s preschool program which serves more than 4000 children under age 5 each year. The 5K, named for the late Bishop G.E. Patterson, will depart from the COGIC Temple of Deliverance at 369 G.E. Patterson Avenue on September 20 at 8 AM, with registration beginning at 7 AM. More information and registration can be found here.

Saturday, November 1 is the Day of the Dead and Elmwood Cemetery is throwing a party: Spirits with the Spirits. There will be spirits by Roaring Tiger Vodka and Ghost River Beer, and food by the Boiling Point, Just for Lunch, and Fork it Over Catering. Dress is black & white casual with costumes and characters encouraged. $60 per body, $100 per couple.

In case you’re wondering what food journalists talk about at a conference, here’s the agenda for the conference starting today at the Peabody. I bet the Nuh-Uh Girl would have attended this if she still lived in Memphis.

The Grizzlies have announced a sale in the Grizzlies Den Store Saturday from 10 to 2.

The featured glass for Glass Night tonight at the Little Rock Flying Saucer is PBR. Sure wish we could get some of that PBR in the Memphis Saucer!

Amazon has a new program called Amazon Smile where they will donate to a charity of your choice, at no cost to you, every time you shop. I picked St. Jude from the list of charities.

Fellow poker players may be interested in this announcement: The ten finalists have been announced as candidates to be the 2014 player inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. Inductees must be at least 40 years old, so this is the first year Daniel Negreanu is eligible. I don’t see how they can select anyone else. Although, I would like to see Huckleberry Seed go in at some point just because I think Huckleberry Seed is such a cool name for a poker player.

Too much news to fit into a lunchtime post, so I will very likely do a second one tonight. Check back.

Yesterday evening, in my Monday Update blog post, I mentioned that I might stop by Slider Inn Saturday after the Cooper-Young Festival. I commented that it would only be my second visit to Slider Inn in 2014.

However, at the time of that post, I had visited Slider Inn zero times in 2014.

I also mentioned that on Monday evening, I planned to stop by Bardog, Flying Saucer (actually never made it to Saucer) with maybe one stop in between.

There was some hidden information there.

You see, our buddy John Haley, the executive chef at Bardog, celebrates a big birthday today. He thought yesterday was just a typical Monday evening, unwinding with a couple of friends for sex trivia at Bardog’s sibling restaurant Slider Inn.

He got more than he bargained for. There was a surprise birthday party waiting for him with 20 or 25 of his friends.

That wasn’t the only surprise he got. A bunch of us chipped in to get John a Big Green Egg. Big Green Eggs are very high-end grills, considered among the best out there. It didn’t ship quite in time so John actually got a picture of a Big Green Egg last night. It should arrive today.

John’s birthday cake was a chef’s cake created by the super-talented MK of Cake Madam. Look at the attention to detail! Every single piece of the cake was edible, even the Bardog order ticket.

Here’s a pic of the birthday boy blowing out the candles.

Yesterday was also my first Lyft experience. I had planned to have a couple of beers at Bardog and then have Melissa call me a cab to Slider Inn. Melissa told me, “Ian is going to Slider Inn too. Do you want to split a ride with him?” That sounded good to me. Ian has the Lyft app, and after we finished our beers he placed the order for a ride. I made a stop to the restroom then we walked outside. “The car is close to here,” he said, showing me a map. “It’s a burgundy SUV.” Not five seconds after he said that, a burgundy SUV showed up. The driver was very friendly and polite and 10 minutes later, we were at Slider Inn. The cost was $8. A cab ride from Bardog to Slider Inn would be in the $13-15 range I would guesstimate. About 10 Ian requested a ride back Downtown and it arrived in under five minutes.

The only thing is, to use Lyft with a debit card, it has to be tied to a bank account. I haven’t used a bank debit card in a couple of years after so many friends of mine got their debit cards skimmed. I now use a prepaid debit card where I can move money over from my PayPal account, and keep the minimum I need on there for emergencies and online purchases. However, Lyft is so much better that traditional taxi cabs that I may have to call my bank and say, “I changed my mind, send me a debit card.”

There will be a special food truck rodeo in Court Square at lunchtime tomorrow in honor of the American Food Journalists conference that is in town. Stickem, Mark’s Grill, Central BBQ, and Rock ‘n’ Dough Pizza will be at the park. There will be live music by Big Barton from 11:45 to 1.

I’ll probably be back with an after-work post with more news, so check back.

The Memphis Music Showcase benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital returns to Minglewood Hall on Friday, October 10. The event, in its second year, will feature live music by the River City Tanlines, Chinese Connection Dub Embassy, Knowledge Nick, Sin City Scoundrels, and The Whiskey Republic. Tickets are $10 at the door, which opens at 7 PM, and all proceeds go to St. Jude.

If you missed The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Orpheum last Friday, photographer Frank Chin has pictures of the costumes people wore and what the theater looked like after all the props had been put to use.

Memphis in May has announced its annual BBQ judging seminar for Saturday, November 8, from 9 AM to 3 PM. If you attend this seminar, you can qualify to be a judge at BBQ Fest in 2015. Although, you don’t have to be a judge if you go. Some of the best BBQ teams send a cook or a team captain to judging seminars to get an inside look at what the judges are looking for.

Want to work for the Grizzlies? There is a marketing analyst position open.

If you’re going to the annual Cooper-Young Festival this Saturday, be sure to stop by the Cooper-York Festival, which will be held in Memphis Made Brewing Co.’s parking lot (the one with the I Love Memphis mural), on Cooper just south of Central). In addition to Memphis Made beer and merchandise, Central BBQ and Aldo’s Pizza Pies will be on hand as well. The Grizzlies will have a pop-up basketball court and gear at the event, as well as an art show entitled No Easy Buckets: A Celebration of Art and Basketball.

For those unfamiliar with the Cooper-Young Festival, I will say more about it later this week. I haven’t made it to the festival the past two years, but this year I am leaning toward going. I will probably head out there between 10 and 11 AM Saturday and come back sometime in the late afternoon. I will probably walk up to Slider Inn for a visit then cab it back from there. As much as I like Aldo’s restaurants, Saturday will be only my second trip to Slider Inn in 2014. I need to get out of Downtown more.

The Stickem food truck will be back at Emerge Memphis, Tennessee at G.E. Patterson, this Friday from 11 AM to 1:30 PM. Weather for Friday looks fantastic, so if you work in the area, come on out and support!

Home from work, time for beer. Happy hour with Melissa at Bardog is first up. I’ll probably get to Pint Nite at the Saucer later in the evening, with one other stop in between. Back tomorrow with more.

I’ve had a couple of readers email me to ask if anyplace Downtown will be showing the Memphis vs. UCLA football game tonight, which is at 9 on the Pac-12 Network. It doesn’t look like it. Holly from the I Love Memphis Blog has been collecting a list of places showing the game and it’s pretty short. As of 10:30 this morning her list was

• Brookhaven Pub
• Fox & Hound
• Dan McGuinness
• Newby’s

So if you really want to see the game, it looks like you’ll be traveling to (ugh) East Memphis tonight.

Follow Holly on Twitter at @ilovememphis to see if there are any more updates. And if you haven’t checked out her blog, you should. It’s excellent.

I’ve mentioned a couple of times on this blog that recently I’ve become addicted to the TV show Bar Rescue. On this show, bar expert Jon Taffer, a bar science expert who has turned around more than 800 bars, helps failing bar owners fix their businesses. I watched an episode last night in which Taf helped turn around a hip-hop nightclub. It was really refreshing to hear Taf openly discuss problems that need to be addressed with no mention of race. Maybe we need to get Taf to rescue Beale Street. View the full episode here. In the 25 or so episodes I have viewed, this is perhaps Taffer’s biggest turnaround.

We have our first Halloween party announcement of the year. The Cadre Building at Second and Monroe is throwing its inaugural Monster’s Ball on October 31. Lord T & Eloise will provide the live music for this event, along with DJ Jordan Rogers. There will be a costume contest, a photo booth, food and drinks, a VIP lounge on the mezzanine, special appearances, and more. Tickets are $50 general admission and $100 VIP. The event benefits LeBonheur Children’s Hospital.

FANTASTIC IDEA: A new shuttle service will connect Overton Square and Cooper-Young. Premier Transportation will be running the shuttle and it will be unveiled September 18. This will keep both neighborhoods vibrant. I personally would be much more likely to make field trips to Midtown if I could hit my favorite places in Overton Square (and nearby Slider Inn) and Cooper-Young in the same night without calling multiple cabs. Glad to see it being run by experienced transportation professionals (and glad to see it not run by MATA). If the shuttle proves successful, perhaps at a point in the future we can petition Premier for a Downtown-Overton Square route.

The Flyer’s Hungry Memphis blog has a good post about Downtown brewery High Cotton’s new session IPA. It’s not often you see an IPA at 4% ABV. If they were able to maintain the characteristics of an IPA at such a low alcohol content, then that’s quite an accomplishment. The brewery is at 598 Monroe and has a taproom open late afternoon/early evening today.

Congratulations to small business accelerator Start Co., which recently received $50,000 in funding by the Small Business Administration. Nice to see the SBA recognize that Start Co. is on the cutting edge of helping to build new companies that will create the jobs of the future.

The Redbirds were shut out at home in Game 3 of the playoffs last night. Tonight is do or die for the ‘birds. First pitch is 7:05 at AutoZone Park.

Thinking about buying Grizzlies season tickets or 22-game or 12-game packs for the coming season? There’s an open house going on today until 2 where you can test-drive your seats.

On my way to Panda’s bar at Bardog for my first stop of the day. Thanks to one of my Facebook friends for helping me pick out my outfit.

The Redbirds beat Omaha last night to tie up their best-of-five playoff series at 1-1. That means there will definitely be a Game 4, which will happen Saturday at 7:05 with Grizzlies center Kosta Koufos throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Game 3 is tonight at 7:05 with Josh Pastner throwing out the first pitch.

Save the date: High Cotton Brewing will host an Oktoberfest celebration on Saturday, October 4, at its taproom at 598 Monroe. The event will last from noon to 7 PM and will benefit Grow Memphis. It is sponsored by Memphis Flyer and Holliday Flowers.

Speaking of beer, the Memphis Business Journal reports that the Midtown Aldo’s Pizza Pies will carry an exclusive Aldo’s beer by Memphis Made Brewing Co. when the new pizzeria opens in Mid-October. Memphis Made’s brewery is down the street on South Cooper from the new Aldo’s location. I wonder if Downtown Aldo’s will get the exclusive beer too?

Old Crow Medicine Show has been announced for a Saturday, November 15 show at the Orpheum. Tickets go on sale next Friday.

From Lifehacker: 3 ways to get free Lyft rides in your city

Worth a cab ride to Midtown: The Wiles-Smith drugstore is closing soon. This store at 1635 Union has an old-fashioned soda fountain like the one your grandmother went to. The soda fountain will be shut down in a few months. If you’ve never been to one of these, you should go while you have the chance.

The developer of 100 N. Main is facing a lawsuit in the revamp of that building, the tallest one in Memphis. Based on things I have heard I am not overly surprised to read this.

My friend Angela Copeland’s weekly column in the Daily News resonates with me because it’s what I did when job-hunting six years ago: Take the job that feels like the right fit, not necessarily the first one that is offered. I turned down a few before finding the one that felt right. Trust your intuition.

SO ready for the weekend and it is only hours away. I am ready for beer and Fireball and will be out about 5:30.

Memphis Farmers Market announced today that it will do a special Winter Market for six weeks. From November 8 through December 13, the market will sell late fall and winter produce under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson from 9 AM to 1 PM.

There’s a Groupon for a Tap ‘N’ Run event to be held in Downtown Memphis on Saturday, October 4. The Groupon is for VIP entry for $45, an $80 value. At a Tap ‘N’ Run, you run along a 4K course with three stops along the way for a 5-ounce beer. You get a 12-ounce beer at the end, and your VIP entry gets you an extra 12-ounce beer. Here are links to more info about the event and a .

Grind City Craft has photos of last Thursday’s Southern Prohibition launch party at the Blind Bear.

The Redbirds have announced more details of Game 3 of the PCL American Conference Championship series that they will host tomorrow. Gates will open at 6 PM with pre-game ceremonies beginning about 6:40. There will be a ceremonial first pitch by Memphis Tigers basketball coach Josh Pastner, followed by introduction of the teams, and then the National Anthem performed by the Memphis Boy & Girl Choir. From the time the gates open until the end of the 7th inning, there will be $2 Coors Light draft.

Beer time, back tomorrow.