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The 2011 Snuggie Pub Crawl will happen Friday, November 11 and tickets are now on sale. Participants must be at least 21 and wearing a Snuggie, the blanket with sleeves. Here’s the schedule:

6 PM: Check in at Kooky Canuck
7 PM: BB King’s
8 PM: Club 152
9 PM: Silky O’Sullivan’s
10 PM: Rum Boogie Cafe
11 PM: Alfred’s (awards cermony)
After party: Rum Boogie Cafe with Gabby Johnson

They will be doing Beale Street Bingo. Cards will be available at registration and numbers posted at each stop. First 5 Bingo cards turned in at the awards ceremony win. There are hundreds of dollars in prizes.

Buy tickets here. Tickets are $15 and proceeds will benefit LeBonheur Children’s Hospital. For more information and up-to-date news on the crawl, visit its Facebook event page.

There are several charity pub crawls that happen throughout the year, but in my opinion, this one is the best organized. Every year I meet new people and have a lot of fun. I’ll be rocking the Arkansas Razorbacks Snuggie and hope to see you there.

Last weekend Bar None closed, and John Bragg announced that “some Downtowners you will all recognize” had purchased the space. By Friday I had learned the identity of the owners, but kept it a secret for a few days until they were ready to get the word out.

I can now spill the beans, because co-owner Jeannette West just sent me info to post. She and her husband Jamie West, both currently bartenders at the Silly Goose, are opening the place along with Blue Fin bartender Colin Bergstrom. Jeannette’s father Rick Comans is an owner not involved in operations. The new bar will be a speakeasy called The Blind Bear.

They will have drafts, bottled beer, wine, liquor, specialty drinks/ martinis that they have developed over years and new ones created for the speakeasy. “Think of us giving you a ChamPBR instead of a PBRtini,” Jeannette joked, referring to my signature drink at the Goose.

Michael Bean, currently at the Goose, will be kitchen manager. “Food will be lots of veggies like Grandmas Mac n Cheese, sandwiches like BBQ bologna, fried peanut butter & banana, BLT, grilled cheese, salads, desserts like banana pudding, sweet potato pie (also recipes from our Grandmas),” Jeannette wrote.

There will be poker night, trivia night with Charles who currently does the Goose’s trivia and used to do the Cordova Saucer, and other theme nights in the works. They plan on having many speakeasy elements in their bar, “But those are wait til you see them surprises.”

The Blind Bear will be open 7 days a week, evenings only, except for Sunday brunch. Sounds like another awesome place to hang out is opening up only a few blocks from my front door – glad I just renewed my lease! They’re shooting for early December as the opening date. Congratulations Jeannette, Jamie and Colin!

Just wanted to remind everyone that one of the most fun parties of the year happens Thursday at The Warehouse at 36 G.E. Patterson. Feed the Soul is MIFA’s annual fundraiser. Now, you can pretty much count on any party at the Warehouse being a good time, but this one is especially stacked, including

• Entertainment from WALRUS and V101’s Stan Bell “The Bellringer”
• Tastings from Bacardi, Buster’s Wines & Liquors, and Ghost River Brewery
• Cigars from Havana Mix Cigar Emporium
• A fantastic raffle, featuring prizes from Anthropologie, Gould’s, Hyatt Place, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Booksellers at Laurelwood, and more
• Appetizers from students at L’Ecole Culinaire
• Beverages and soul food included in the price of your ticket
• Oxygen bars, a photo booth, and paparazzi-style photos on the green carpet

I went to this party for the first time last year, and it was a blast. “All my friends who thought about going to Feed the Soul, and then didn’t, really missed out,” I wrote at the time. General admission is $40 and you can buy tickets here. Absolutely worth the money and you’re supporting one of Memphis’ best charities.

(Disclosure: They comped me a pair of tickets again, which reminds me, I’ve got to find someone to go with me. However, I can honestly say that if I hadn’t been comped, I would have bought a ticket, after the amazing experience I had last year.)

The South Main Association has announced its October meeting, to be held next Tuesday, October 11. The meeting will be from 6-9 PM at Rizzo’s Diner, Chef Michael Patrick’s new restaurant. It’s located on G.E. Patterson in the old Harry’s Detour space.

At the meeting, President Hank Cowles will discuss the SMA’s accomplishments in 2011. The upcoming Board of Directors election for 2012 will also be discussed.

Light eats and wine will be provided. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

Bardog Tavern is giving away a hearse on Halloween for the second year in a row. It’s a raffle and there are discounts if you buy multiple tickets. The hearse will be legally parked outside Bardog all month, as it was last year. Last year some humorless old poot in the Shrine Building complained about “property values” because of the hearse. If that resident is still there, I offer the following advice: Go fuck yourself. This is not Germantown and people do not have a corncob up their ass down here. Everyone else, come buy raffle tickets and win this hearse! If I win it I will drive it.

(Edited to add: Damn that’s a full-size Fleetwood Brougham hearse, not one of the little ones after Caddy downsized almost all of their fleet in the mid-80s. Nice.)

The people who run the Green Beetle posted to Facebook that Prohibition is over at their bar. They now have liquor. So, if you wanted to go in and check it out but wanted to drink something other than beer, now you can stop on by.

I’m very excited about Wednesday morning, when I will attend the Social Media Expedition’s monthly breakfast. For the past couple of weeks, people have been talking about the soon-to-be-rolled-out Facebook Timelines. These will replace the current profiles, and will offer a much more vivid and thorough look at a person’s/business’s history since they joined Facebook. From what I understand, people/businesses can add photos and video taken prior to the date they joined Facebook, taking them all the way back to birth/incorporation if they choose.

I work for a company that has a rich history, and am excited about using Timelines to share that history with our Facebook fans, particularly since our 75th anniversary is coming up next year. Local social media expert Jessica Grammer will walk the breakfast attendees through the Timeline and the possibilities it offers to businesses. It should be an informative presentation, to say the least.

If you’re interested in attending the breakfast, details can be found here. Space is limited. The breakfast is Wednesday morning from 7:30 to 9:00 AM. Cost is $20. It is a casual event and you’re not required to stay the entire time.

Yesterday I had to be up bright and early, because the Razorbacks played at 11 AM. I showered, threw my clothes on, and headed out the door. As I walked down Main Street Mall, I noticed that Krispy Krunchy Chicken had its sign up:

There’s a sign in the window saying it will be open Monday, October 10. Krispy Krunchy Chicken is at 51 S. Main, between Monroe and Union next to Family Dollar. Krispy Krunchy is a chain with more than 600 locations. You can learn more about them and view their menu on their website.

I had decided to watch the first half of the game at the Saucer, and the second half at Max’s Sports Bar. I grabbed my usual spot at the Saucer and watched the first quarter, which was not good for the Hogs. Texas A&M went up 14-0 and for a while I wondered if Larry Porter was coaching the Hogs.

While I was there, a man came in and handed the Saucer girls several menus. I recognized him as the guy who runs Second Street Shopper down the street. Curious, I went over and looked at one of the menus. It’s for a new restaurant called Zac’s Cafe. I snapped a pic of the menu (click to see it in a larger size):

Zac’s Cafe is located at 175 Peabody Place, in the space inside the Hampton Inn that used to be occupied by Crepe Maker. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and have 24 flavors of soft-serve ice cream. They also have beer on tap and in bottles, including New Belgium, Ghost River, and Samuel Adams. Their hours are 6 AM-2 PM, 5 PM-11 PM Sunday-Thursday; 6 AM-2 PM, 5PM-til late Friday-Saturday.

The game continued, and the Hogs started to wake up but were behind 35-17 at the half. By halftime there were probably 40 people in the place, and more than half of them had on Arkansas attire! Not sure when the Saucer became a Razorback bar but I like it. I canceled my venue change to Max’s for the second half because I was clearly in good company.

The Hogs rallied back in the fourth quarter, making a two-point conversion to tie the game at 35. Our defense finally showed up, and we held the Aggies to a field goal on the next drive down the field. The Hogs then scored a touchdown for a huge come-from-behind win, 42-38. The crowd at the Saucer had grown even more, and called the Hogs no less than three times. What an exciting game!

Afterward I hung out on the patio of the Silly Goose with friends for a couple of hours, then went to the Majestic where I had one of my favorites, the chicken tortellini for dinner.

After that I went home to take a quick nap, planning to get back out to watch the Bama-Florida game, then stop by the Monkey for their first karaoke-free weekend. Didn’t happen. I woke up at 1:40 AM and, although the bars were still open, decided to call it a night. I’ve been needing to recharge my batteries for a while now, and the 12+ hours of sleep felt mighty good.

Congratulations to the Memphis Tigers on finding a way to squander a 17-0 lead and lose 38-31 to one of the worst teams in the Sun Belt conference, Middle Tennessee State. I saw some people say on Twitter that this is a moral victory for the Tigers, because we managed to cover the -24 spread. Statements like that just illustrate how pathetic the Memphis football team has become. The good news is, they may finally get rid of Larry Porter after this loss, but if they want to address the real problem, they need to

FIRE R.C.!!!

Great news for Downtown: The Greyhound bus station on Union is for sale. Across from AutoZone Park where the Redbirds play, that is absolutely prime real estate and I hope something grand is done with the space. The bus station has been a magnet attracting bums and vagrants to Downtown Memphis for years. The sooner it gets out of here, the better.

October is Memphis Means Music Month and there will be events all month long. Click here for a calendar of events.

The Brass Door was reviewed in the Commercial Appeal yesterday. I’ve never had their Irish breakfast, but it sounds massive, and it’s served all day! Bangers and rashers!

Closing weekend at Bar None continues this evening, with $3 beer, $4 cocktails, and $5 wine. I heard reports from several people who went there last night that it is a very good time. I also learned the identities of the new owners, although for now I’m going to keep it off the blog. Suffice to say that they are people who know how to run a good bar.

Don’t forget that this is the first weekend free of noise pollution at the Downtown Blue Monkey. No more karaoke nights! Well, I guess everyone in my extended group of friends won’t be getting texts today trying to convince them to come to karaoke. That’ll be different. I find it rather appropriate that karaoke will come to an end on the first day of Memphis Means Music – REAL music – Month.

Arkansas vs. Texas A&M on ESPN, people-watching outside Widespread Panic, and possibly the Irish festival in the Pinch are on my agenda for a long Saturday. It’s time to CALL THOSE HOGS!!!

Chef John Bragg has announced that he has sold Bar None, the chef’s pub on Main Street. The sale will allow him to concentrate on his East Memphis Circa location, as well as a possible location in Nashville.

He sold it to two Downtowners, he posted on Facebook, people “we will all know” and who will “transform the space into something else cool.” I have suspicions who the two Downtowners might be, but don’t want to speculate until I gather more information.

There will be one last blowout this weekend with happy hour prices all night Friday and Saturday – $3 beers, $4 cocktails and $5 wine.