Category: Uncategorized

Do you miss Cocozza, the Italian-American ghost restaurant that operated out of the Majestic Grille’s space during the pandemic? This Thursday, August 19, they’re bringing back some Cocozza favorites for one night only. 901-522-8555 for reservations; the restaurant will fill up as people come to get their red-sauce favorites.

The Downtown Neighborhood Association has announced that the Orpheum will host this month’s membership meeting on Tuesday, August 24. County Commissioner Eddie Jones and City Councilwoman Patrice Robinson will speak. Social hour 5-6 in the lobby, meeting 6-7 in the main auditorium. Complimentary wine and snacks for members.

A Mississippi contractor has been cited for violations in the renovation of the old Butcher Shop building at 99-105 S. Front, the Daily Memphian reports. A worker fell to his death on the construction site on February 23. TOSHA found that a winch designed for automotive uses was being used to lift wooden beams on the site. The workers wore harnesses but they were not tethered to anything.

Wow. I can see the Butcher Shop construction from my living room window. I had no idea a man died. I probably watched him walk up and down the building’s fire escape many times.

From the Memphis Flyer: Fewer panhandling arrests were made during the pandemic. Panhandling is not illegal in Memphis, but aggressive panhandling (following or intimidating the person being asked for money) is.

FedExForum announced that a live broadcast of WWE Monday Night Raw will come to the arena Monday, December 6.

Memphis Made Brewing Co. has announced two late summer seasonal beers. Aye-Aye Captain is a tropical ale brewed with lime and mango. Covhefe makes its return, a Hefeweizen with a hint of coconut.

The Memphis Flyer’s Bruce V has a look at the services the Hospitality HUB offers to the homeless. Wonderful organization. If you want to do something to make the lives of homeless people better, a donation to the HUB is so much more likely to help than giving money to a panhandler on the street.

The Memphis Redbirds return to town today for a homestand against the Nashville Sounds. Tonight is Nacho Average Tuesday, where everyone gets a free order of Ballpark Nachos included in their ticket. This Friday there will be a specialty ticket that includes a Redbirds jersey pullover.

Memphis Dining Week begins today. Diners can enjoy prix fixe menus at lunch and dinner at 13 participating restaurants. $1 of each meal will be donated to Refuge Memphis. To-go options are available. The Downtown restaurants that are participating include

• Arcade
• Bar Ware
• CIMAS (in the Hyatt Centric Hotel)
• Grecian Gourmet Taverna
• Rizzo’s by Michael Patrick
• Sage
• Cocktail pairings at the restaurants provided by Downtown’s Old Dominick Distillery

From Fast Company: There are now lab-grown mouse-meat cookies for cats

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow with more.

Bardog Tavern has announced temporary hours for the next two weeks, August 15-August 28.

• Monday-Friday: noon to 3 AM
• Saturday-Sunday: 6 PM to 3 AM

Like many other restaurants, they have been hit by staffing issues as we ride out these troubled times. Sending positive vibes to all the folks there.

The planners of the next Ales for Alzheimer’s have settled on a date for the next event. It will be at the Arcade Friday, October 29. More details to come, but you can go ahead and get the Untappd app on your phone to get ready. Expect to try some rare beers not normally seen in Memphis.

The 6th annual Beale Street Cigar Festival will happen Labor Day weekend, September 3-5. The event is presented by cigar bar Robusto by Havana Mix and is hosted by Big Sue and Devin Steele. Featured entertainment includes H-Town, Norman Brown, PC Band, and DJ Spinderella. Meet representatives of some of the biggest brands in the cigar industry.

The Greater Memphis Chamber’s blog has a profile of Octavius Nickson, whose company Nickson General Contractors is in charge of the renovation of Downtown’s Cossitt Library.

Here’s a link to independent data analyst James Aycock’s COVID Week-in-Review. Standout statistic for this week: If your child is in a class of 25 at school in Shelby County, the chance that one of the kids in the class has COVID is 31%.

Chapman Furniture, the last furniture-only retailer on Main Street, is closing, reports The Daily Memphian. (Subscriber-only link; if you’re a subscriber, be sure to click through, there’s a fun story about Raiford doing some furniture shopping.)

Memphis 901 FC battled Birmingham to a draw yesterday. Next match is on the 25th at FC Tulsa.

A passenger of a car was found dead from gunshot wounds at Union and B.B. King just before midnight Saturday.

Happy Sunday, YOGA! Free, all-levels yoga classes return to Fourth Bluff Park this evening from 5:30 to 6:30. Bridget Sisney of Universoul Wellness will be the instructor. But wait, there’s more! Following the class, the nearby Moxy Hotel will hold an event called Namastay where you can bring your yoga gear to Bar Moxy and receive a $5 Make You Holla Special – that’s a discount on Old Dominick Hard Lemonade, Old Dominick Crushed Orange, or Old Dominick Memphis Mule.

The GOODLife DJs will perform a set 1-4 this afternoon at Cordelia’s Market’s Back-to-School Celebration.

The Bugaloos will bring their Magical History Tour to Slider Inn Downtown tonight at 6.

There’s a martini and food tasting event called Taste the Tinis today at Jack Robinson Gallery, 400 S. Front, today 3 to 7.

There’s a lunch and learn about financial planning for your future this Saturday at the Majestic Grille.

Where to brunch today? It won’t be Bardog, since they’re not opening until 6… now that I think about it, I’ve received several tips this past week that The Vault has good deals on PBR pitchers. Maybe I’ll go down and check that out. Back tomorrow with more news.

In the news: New Orleans to require proof of vaccination or negative COVID test to enter restaurants, bars, indoor events. A city practically in Shelby County’s backyard has adopted this requirement – Mayor Harris, SCHD Director Taylor, please consider doing the same! Let the good times roll, but only for people who behave responsibly! Makes so much more sense than a blanket mask mandate.

The Daily Memphian reports that a renovation grant has been sought for a building out in The Edge. 694-704 Madison most recently held Trolley Stop Market. The building will be part of the Orleans Station development with retail and nearly 400 apartments. The Trolley Stop Market building will house a multi-tenant development with a health focus.

It’s been announced that the next Ales to End Alzheimer’s local event will be held on one of the Fridays in October. Organizers are working to finalize details.

It’s opening day for the Premier League and Brass Door will have the Arsenal vs. Brentford match on at 2 PM.

From Lifehacker: Why you really shouldn’t install the WatchOS beta. In summary: WatchOS, unlike MacOS and iOS, doesn’t let you downgrade to a previous version. So if WatchOS 8 beta is buggy and unstable, you’re stuck with it.

Comma Comedians host another edition of Drafts and Laughs at the Memphis Made taproom tomorrow night 7:30 to 9. Free show.

There’s an Elvis tribute with Joe Finkle, John Snoke, Johnny Hatton, and RJ Jukes tonight and tomorrow at Jerry Lee Lewis’ Cafe, 310 Beale, 7 PM.

There’s an event called The Painted Knife tonight at 9 at Earnestine & Hazel’s. Based on the names of the performers (e.g. “Honey Moon”) I’m guessing this must be a drag show.

Carolina Watershed hosts a Party at the Shed tonight with dudecalledrob, DrewBeats with Urban Jones, Gill_Yum, and Odd Wilson. $5 cover.

The Tiger Tailgate team will serve some complimentary burgers and dogs tomorrow noon-4 at Grind City Brewing. Come enjoy some great beverages and get excited for football.

Tonight’s a good night to book a reservation at the Majestic Grille – it’s National Filet Mignon Day. Nobody does it better!

If you go to Downtown Walgreens today, take cash, because their connection to the card networks is down. On the plus side, they have Mardi Gras King Cake ice cream back in stock, and it’s on sale for $5.49.

Grace Askew performs tonight at South Main Sounds, 550 S. Main, 6 to 8 PM.

That’s it for now. I plan to hang close to home today to avoid an unwanted Friday the 13th encounter with a crazy person. Back tomorrow with more news.

As your number-one source of news and information about The Edge District, it is my pleasure to report that a party is coming to that neighborhood. Choose901 is throwing a 901 Day party in the heart of The Edge, at the intersection of Monroe and Marshall, Wednesday, September 1 from 4 to 9 PM. Here are some of the things that will happen at this event:

• Music by Capital A and DJ Bizzle Bluebland of WYXR
• Food trucks including Sabor Caribe (an Edge District restaurant), Arnold’s BBQ (also an Edge District restaurant), Gourmade, Riko’s Kickin Chicken, and MemPops
• Memphis Made (to open its second location in The Edge later in the year) serving beer
• Ashley Butler of Ashe Bar slingin’ the drinks
• Photo booth

Read more in Choose901’s ultimate 9/01 Day guide.

Today is National Vinyl Record Day and there will be a celebration in the Central Station Lounge. Come enjoy sets from local DJs and a guest from Philadelphia. $1350 in vinyl and vinyl-related merchandise will be given away.

The final Get Loud! on Beale kicks off tonight in Handy Park, corner of Beale and B.B. King Blvd., at 6 PM. Marc Broussard headlines with Turnstyles opening. This event is family-friendly and free.

Tug’s Casual Grill will have live music by Jon Hay Trio in its courtyard tonight 6 to 9 PM.

A woman is on life support after people shot into the car she was riding in near B.B. King Blvd. and Pontotoc.

Cordelia’s Market will host a Back to School Party this Sunday 1-4 PM including

• Specials on school supplies
• Live music
• Say Cheese! and Love Quesadillas food trucks
• A crafts table
• COVID-19 vaccinations (Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson) by the MFD mobile unit

Blues legend Joe Bonamassa comes to the Cannon Center October 22. Tickets are $79-$199. Totally worth it though.

Tomorrow is Friday the 13th. Given the August I’ve had so far, I think I’ll spend the day hiding under the bed like a cat.

Carolina Watershed has karaoke tonight from 6 to 10 with $20 seltzer buckets and $6 frozen cocktails.

Hard Mountain Dew will soon be a thing, thanks to a partnership between Boston Beer (brewer of Sam Adams) and Pepsi. DOWNTOWN BAR OWNERS/MANAGERS: If you’d like to see me holding a beverage in my hand regularly that is not a PBR, this is your opportunity.

There’s an Elvis tribute at the Hard Rock tonight at 7.

Don’t forget there are food trucks in Court Square today at lunch.

That’s it for today. A few minutes ago I received a message I’ve been waiting to read for 11 days. I hope it’s true. Back tomorrow with more news.

This is going to be a fairly short one.

The woman who allegedly shot her baby daddy other baby mama and also an innocent bystander on Beale Saturday has been taken into custody. Authorities say the shooting occurred “with thousands of other people present” on Beale Street. If the shooter is found guilty, I hope the judge adds extra years to her sentence for that.

Mayor Strickland and the Downtown Memphis Commission are looking at bringing back Beale Street Bucks to address the problem. Beale Street Bucks is a weekend cover charge during certain hours of the night.

A lane on the I-55 bridge will close for routine inspection tomorrow through Wednesday, August 19.

The County Commission meeting yesterday sounds like the biggest shitshow they’ve had so far in calendar 2021. I’m glad they didn’t pass a resolution asking the health department to reinstate a county-wide mask mandate. Vaccination mandates by businesses (that apply to customers as well as employees) are our ticket out of this disaster – not overly authoritarian mask mandates by governments.

That’s it. I have something to do tomorrow morning so I’m not sure if there will be a post then.

There will be a block party tonight at the corner of North Main and Exchange. The Nick Black Band will provide live music. The Fuel food truck will be on site and the first 50 guests will get a free meal. There will also be a sidewalk bar. 5 PM is the kickoff time. This event is presented by the Renasant Convention Center, Memphis Tourism, and the Downtown Memphis Commission.

I don’t normally have a lot of praise for Ole Miss on this blog, but today I do. Here we are in the Dirty South where many people still believe COVID is a hoax and the vaccines are dangerous – yet head coach Lane Kiffin announced that his football program is 100% vaccinated. That includes players, coaches, and staff. Well done, indeed.

From Travel & Leisure: The 10 drinks you should never order at a bar

MPD now has a suspect in that shooting Saturday night on Beale Street. The suspect is wanted on attempted first-degree and attempted second-degree murder charges.

James Taylor and Jackson Browne play a rescheduled date at FedExForum this Saturday.

The Memphis Chicken & Beer Festival returns to the Liberty Bowl this Saturday. $40 includes a sampling glass and 90 different beverages to try. Food (presumably chicken) will be available to purchase.

The South Main Association holds its annual South Main Social tomorrow, Tuesday, August 10, at Old Dominick Distillery. Speakers include Dr. Charles Hogan from Memphis Spine & Sport, Shaston Hunter from Life Church, and Jared Welch from Civil Axe Throwing. 6 PM start time with live music after the program.

That’s all for today. Back tomorrow if there’s news to report.

River City Record Shop, the new vinyl shop with listening stations and live performances set to open in September, has its website up now. It’ll give you a sneak peek of what to expect in the store and you can preorder upcoming releases and get info on new ones. The record store will have a grand opening party Saturday, September 11 from 2 to 8 PM.

Morning Brew, one of my favorite daily morning e-newsletters, has launched a month-long crash course on cryptocurrency. New lessons are added three times a week. Morning Brew’s writers have an incredible knack for taking technical concepts and making them accessible to the average guy or gal. If you have any curiosity about crypto I recommend taking a look. The course is completely free.

The 2021 Summer Olympics™ are over, but good news… we are less than 6 months away from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics™. The opening date is February 4. CURLING!!! Best sport ever!

Now, this makes no sense. It’s International Cat Day but it’s also Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day. Cats are terrified of zucchini, cucumbers, and similarly shaped veggies.

Sigh… there was a shooting on Beale last night. It was reportedly the result of the victim getting in an argument with the victim baby daddy other baby mama. A second victim, a man, was an innocent bystander. I don’t know if the tourists I met Friday afternoon at the Silly Goose are reading this, but if you are, this is why we told you “locals don’t go to Beale Street at night.”

Local 24 has a look at the mobile vaccination center at the Memphis Farmers Market yesterday. The center will return to the Market on the 28th to administer second doses.

Elvis Week 2021, marking the 44th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, begins Wednesday. Here’s the schedule.

That’s it for today. Back tomorrow with more news.

A third bar plans to require full vaccination or a negative COVID test within the past 48 hours for admission: RP Tracks. They’ll start that requirement September 1, giving their employees time to get vaccinated. Two Midtown LGBTQ bars, Dru’s Place and The Pumping Station, plan to start enforcing the requirement August 12.

I would love to see more bars (including my favorite Downtown bars) adopt the same requirement for patrons, but I understand why they probably won’t. Let me explain…

 

On the one hand, the crowd that’s out at 1 AM tends to be very centered around themselves and their group of friends. Things that are important to them might include

1. Who’s having a pool party this weekend?
2. What outfit am I going to wear to the club tonight?
3. Did you hear about the servers at (insert bar name) who had a threesome in the ladies’ room?

Whereas, getting the latest info about COVID and taking steps to stay protected, well, that’s nice and all, and maybe one day they’ll get around to it, but it isn’t a priority like the things in the list above. But…

Let’s pause for a minute for some song lyrics.

Do you want to meet me at the bar? “Ya.”
Do you want to meet me at the lounge? “Ya.’
Do you want to meet me at the club? “Ya.”
Do you want to meet me Downtown? “Okay.”
-“Best Friends” by Sofi Tukker

If these people lose the ability to meet at the bar, or the club, or the lounge, guess what – they’ll do what they have to do to regain that ability – including getting the shot. So the bars could convince a lot of people to get vaccinated who might not ever get around to it otherwise.

So bars could perform a valuable public service!

On the other hand, from March 20, 2020 to May 14, 2021, bars operated between 0% and 50% capacity. And now we want to ask them to voluntarily turn 60%-70% of their customer base away at the door? That’s asking a lot.

Huge congratulations to Penny Hardaway and the Memphis Tigers, who landed the #1 player in the class of 2022, Jalen Duren. However, Duren plans to reclassify to the class of 2021, so he’ll play for the Tigers this fall. Now that college athletes can profit off their name, image, and likeness, Duren is expected to ink a deal with FedEx.

There were chocolate salty ball shots yesterday to celebrate Duren coming to Memphis…

… and some were also celebrating the trade of Grayson Allen from the Memphis Grizzlies to Milwaukee. Although a decent contributor, some Memphians still saw Allen as the entitled kid who tripped his opponents when he played for Duke. The Grizzlies will get back Sam Merrill and two second-round draft picks, as well as a $4 million trade exception.

Rizzo’s diners: If you like the artwork on the wall, it’s for sale this weekend. Artist Brad Troxel wants to hang some new stuff, so the restaurant is having an “everything must go” sale art-wise.

Today is National Mustard Day.

The World Golf Championships – FedEx St. Jude Invitational is missing one of their very best volunteers this year.

It’s Disc Golf Day at the Flying Saucer. They’re releasing their newest limited-edition disc and giving away prizes.

Char Magnifico and Vintage play their final Memphis show tonight at The Vault at 8.

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow or Monday with more news.

It’s been in the news that New York City is going to require proof of vaccination for entry into bars, restaurants, gyms, and other businesses where people tend to congregate. The unvaccinated will have to drink and work out at home and order food to go. We now have our first two Memphis bars to voluntarily adopt such a policy: Dru’s Place and The Pumping Station in Midtown.

I want to say that I support the decision of those bars ONE HUNDRED PERCENT. As a regular customer of Downtown’s bars, I would like to encourage them to adopt the same policy. Let the fruits of reopening be enjoyed by those who did their part to stamp out COVID.

Haven’t got your shot yet? The MFD will have their mobile vaccination unit at the Memphis Farmers Market tomorrow, and you can get your vaccine for free. The Market runs every Saturday 8-1 under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson.

From Brewhound: Wiseacre is now canning non-beer cocktails called The Set Up. Years ago, the brewery obtained a distiller’s license to be able to brew high-gravity beers before the laws were changed. The same license now allows them to brew these ready-to-drink canned beverages.

The Orpheum is hiring a social media manager.

River Time Market & Deli has started requiring masks when you enter and as you wait for your food. To avoid a large number of people waiting in the restaurant, they ask that you call in your order in advance if possible.

Today is International Beer Day. May I recommend the PBR?

The Shelby County Health Department will require masks in all schools beginning Monday.

J. Buck performs at Mud Island River Park tonight as part of the Soulin’ on the River series. Gates at 6, music at 7.

Aubrey Ombre hosts drag queen bingo tonight at Moxy Memphis, 40 N. Front St., 7-9 PM.

Ashley McBride plays the Orpheum tonight at 8. Morgan Wade will open.

Otis Redding III plays the Halloran Centre tomorrow.

Sorry the posts have been hit-or-miss this week. It has to do with a non-computer equipment failure and I’m not sick or having problems with a psycho or anything like that. If you see me in person, ask and I’ll explain in more detail. Back tomorrow or Sunday with more news.

Food Truck Thursdays return to Court Square tomorrow after an absence of more than a year. From 11 AM to 2 PM the following trucks will be parked and serving lunch:

• Cousins Maine Lobster
• El Mero Taco
• Smurfey’s Smokehouse
• Just Wraps
• Mr. Frazier’s Fish Fry
• Grill Masters
• Lil’ Miracles
• Stewart Treats
• Moe’s
• Mr. Casas
• Ole School Pops & Dogs
• The Fry Guy

The Flyer reports that Tandem Restaurant Partners (Carolina Watershed, Ben-Yay, Sugar Grits) plans to have Front Street Deli reopened by November.

Bardog has a new Caprese grilled cheese sandwich that looks yummy.

The Groove on Demand shuttle is expanding its hours (now in service until 9 PM weekdays and its territory (now including Soulsville).

Dealing with an equipment malfunction so posts may be hit-or-miss the next several days.