Paul Ryburn's Journal

I am so very happy and excited for my friends who live in the South Main District!

Here in the core, we don’t have a big-box grocery retailer either. But between Walgreens, City Market, DGX, and convenience stores, we can mostly get by.

South Main, by comparison, has been a relative food desert, at least in the sense of buying groceries. Residents have to trolley to the core or get in the car and travel to Miss Cordelia’s, West Memphis Walmart, or the Crosstown or Midtown Kroger. True, they do have one of the most kick-ass farmers markets in the U.S., but only 5 hours a week, 7 months a year. The lack of grocery options has dragged down South Main’s walkability a bit.

Great news for South Main came yesterday, however. They’re going to have a new grocery store, called South Point Grocery, and it will be run by people who know what they’re doing. The ownership group currently operates the Cash Saver grocery chain as well as High Point Grocery.

The address on the map is 138 Webster. If you’re having trouble visualizing that on a map, Webster is the second street south of G.E. Patterson, after St. Paul. The block of Webster the grocery is on will be the block between S. Main and S. Second. The store will be small for a grocery at 8000 SF, but it will be high-end with a deli, fresh produce, and a butcher. There will be plenty of parking and a covered patio.

Peanut Shoppe fans: You’ll want to take a walk up there on your lunch break Friday, because the Planters Nutmobile will be parked outside from noon to 3. You’ll be able to go absolutely nuts with photo opportunities, and grab some snacks while you’re there.

Image courtesy plantersnutmobile.com

Tug’s Casual Grill will host the first in a series of live music in its courtyard this Thursday from 6 to 9 PM. Max Kaplan & The Magics will perform. From Tug’s email flyer:

With a captivating frontman, soulful guitar leads, and a tight rhythm section, Memphis-based Max Kaplan has an exciting and original sound harkening back to the sonic landscape of funky Motown and Stax era soul, to the guitar driven blues of the 1960’s.

https://www.maxkaplanmusic.com

Cheers to Downtown nonprofit Meritan, which has been partnering with MIFA to get COVID-19 vaccines in the arms of MIFA’s homebound Meals on Wheels clients.

Memphis River Parks Partnership will present a Virtual Design Update on Tom Lee Park this afternoon at 4:30. Studio Gang’s and SCAPE’s designers will update you on the latest plans for the park and changes to Riverside Drive. There will be a Q&A as well. RSVP here

Blind Bear folks and other friends… don’t forget to vote for Mary today so we can help get her profiled in Yoga Journal. You have until 9 PM Central Daylight Time Thursday to vote, and you can vote for her once a day.

The CA’s Jennifer Chandler has a look at what’s different inside South of Beale’s (SOB’s) new location on South Main.

A new health directive is expected to drop this week. Restrictions on dancing and live music in bars and clubs are expected to be relaxed. Buffets will return, although rules will have to be followed. Dr. Randolph indicated that more restrictions could be changed from “mandatory” to “highly recommended” in the May health directive, depending on the virus numbers. Y’all go get your shots so we can do away with the remaining restrictions! Don’t forget, it’s No Appointment Wednesday at the Pipkin Building 7 to 7 today.

You’ll want to grab a jacket as you head to work this morning. It’s considerably cooler outside than it has been. MWN predicts a high of only 62 this afternoon with gusty northeast winds.

That’s it for today. I’m going to spend another afternoon at home with my writing, so I can get out when the 80-degree weather returns. Back tomorrow with more news.

The folks who run Longshot, the bar in the basement of the Arrive Hotel with 5 shuffleboard tables, made an announcement yesterday: They’ll be back Wednesday, April 28. More to follow. I hear they’ve been working on a new and even more awesome menu. Cannot wait to be in there again.

The Daily Memphian’s headline article this morning discusses how restaurants are dealing with a shortage of employees. Several owners and managers make a valid point – everyone blames the government, but restaurants also compete with a booming logistics industry for employees. That industry creates a ton of part-time positions that pay quite well, and in that industry, you don’t have to deal with customers who won’t wear a mask because “it’s all a hoax.”

Also in the DM: 2021 NIT champions the Memphis Tigers will play in the 2021-2022 pre-season NIT in November. Opening rounds will be at local sites (including possibly FedExForum) with the final two rounds in Brooklyn around Thanksgiving. Xavier, Virginia Tech, and Iowa State will join the Tigers in the tournament, giving Memphis some chances to impress the NCAA tournament selection committee early in the season.

The South Main Association has their monthly South Main Social at Beck & Call, the new rooftop bar atop the Hyatt Centric, tonight at 6. Jason Wexler, president of the Memphis Grizzlies, will speak. I imagine a rep of the new hotel will speak too. Someone should ask what Carlisle corporate management is doing to work with the city to get cruising downtown, and the related shootings that sometimes break out as a result, under control.

In case you’re curious how outsiders see our city: Jacksonville, Florida magazine The Jaxson has a tour of the Memphis Riverfront.

The Masonic Lodge Building at Fourth and Court was sold last week to a local developer. The developer wants to save the building, and possible uses include law firm offices or a hotel. One issue that will have to be figured out is that the building pre-dates the automobile era, and therefore there is no parking.

Blind Bear people (and anyone else willing to do your favorite blogger a favor) – please take a moment to vote for Mary so she can be featured in Yoga Journal. You can vote once per day and there are about 3 calendar days (counting today) left to vote.

It’s National Peach Cobbler Day. Good day to travel out to The Edge for some of Chef Tam’s peach cobbler nachos, perhaps?

If you haven’t gotten vacc’d yet, tomorrow is Wide Open Wednesday at the Pipkin Building. Just show up between 7 AM and 7 PM. No appointment needed! The sooner we all get vacc’d, the sooner these stupid restrictions will go bye-bye.

The Grizz got a win over Chicago last night. However, San Antonio got a W as well, so Memphis’ hold on 8th place in the Western Conference remains at only 1 game. Next up: Memphis hosts Dallas tomorrow at 8:30. NATIONAL TV ALERT: The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

If FedExForum doesn’t host any more opening-round March Madness tournaments for years to come, you can thank the misogynistic, homophobic assholes in Nashville. Our piece of shit state legislature recently passed legislation barring transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports. The NCAA has reserved the right to hold its events in locations that are free from discrimination. I don’t blame them. Laws like this one make me embarrassed to be a Southerner.

Ya know, I don’t get into religious/spiritual beliefs much on here, but just this once, I’m gonna let it fly. I believe we are all part of God, and that we were given the same creation powers that God (him/her/it)self has. Therefore, if a person born as a man feels he’d be more comfortable living his life in a woman’s body (or vice-versa), that it would be a truer expression of who she really is, I view that as a Godly decision.

I mean, we humans in the 21st century have the ability to change another human’s gender. Where do you think that ability came from? Hint: Three letters, rhymes with “Rod” and “Todd.”

Happy Tuesday, YOGA! Free yoga tonight on the river 5:30-6:30. Bring a mat, towel, and water. If you don’t want to leave the house because you’re afraid of getting the virus, there’s an Instagram option.

Watch 25+ SXSW shorts for free

WTF is going on in Michigan??? COVID Act Now has them at 73.9 cases per 100K and a positivity rate of 15.7% currently. That’s about as bad as Memphis had it in late December/early January. The governor has asked people to avoid indoor restaurants and for schools to go virtual and cancel youth sports for two weeks. The restrictions are voluntary though. By comparison, Shelby County is at 12.4 cases per 100K and a positive test rate of 4.3%.

I don’t listen to the Shelby County COVID task force press conferences anymore, but I follow @local24brad who tweets updates in real-time.

Interesting fact I learned from Morning Brew today: You can turn any Youtube video into a GIF by placing “gif” in front of “youtube” in the URL. Here’s a GIF of Mandy Rose falling down the ramp on her entrance to Wrestlemania.

That’s it for this post. Probably going to take a few days off from going out after an unexpectedly entertaining weekend. Back tomorrow with more news.

Uh-oh: Shelby County has experienced 4 days in a row of being above 150 new COVID cases a day. The positivity rate was 6.3% yesterday, above the 5% threshold that indicates we have the virus under control. That makes it unlikely that county health officer Dr. Randolph will relax the remaining restrictions in a new health directive this week.

The DM’s Jennifer Biggs has info on Backlot, the new breakfast and sandwich shop going into the location portrayed as the Bluff City Law office at 266 S. Front. She included a photo of the menu with the article. Backlot will open Wednesday if the refinished floor is dry by that day.

It’s National Grilled Cheese Day today. The Deluxe Grilled Cheese at Bardog, with ham and bacon added, would be my recommendation if you want to celebrate.

StyleBlueprint has an article about 3 women running legendary Memphis restaurants, and two of them are Downtown restaurants. Interviewed are Patrice Bates Thompson (The Four Way), Anna Vergos Blair (The Rendezvous), and Kelcie Zepatos (The Arcade).

The Grizzlies’ hold on 8th in the West got more tenuous last night as they lost to the New York Knicks on the road. Memphis now leads San Antonio by only one game. The Grizzlies host the Chicago Bulls tonight at 8.

Another Sunday night, another report on Nextdoor of gunshots fired Downtown. This time it was at Front and Jefferson about 11:45 PM. I guess I slept through that round of gunfire. If you hear gunshots, report it to 901-545-COPS. I didn’t hear those gunshots but I heard plenty of squealing tires and revving engines last night.

That’s it for this post. It’s supposed to be 80 today but much cooler the rest of the week, so I think I’ll postpone my professional writing activities until tomorrow and go out after work. Back tomorrow with more news.

Interesting flyer on Nextdoor this morning… it says not to feed bread to ducks. It can cause their feathers to grow too fast, which leads to problems flying. Lettuce, peas, and sweetcorn are suggested as alternatives.

There’s also an “Indy 500 in Downtown” post on Nextdoor. I agree – revving engines woke me up in the middle of the night, and I am a pretty sound sleeper. It kills me that cops can’t manage to get this under control, yet they seem to have plenty of time to sit on the north loop of I-40 and hand out tickets for going 73 in a 65.

Blind Bear regulars… don’t forget to vote for Mary today! We need to read about her in Yoga Journal a few months from now. You can vote for free once a day.

The DM reports (subscriber-only link) that the Memphis basketball program has a good chance of landing either Chandler or Johnathon Lawson or perhaps both. Chandler entered the transfer portal after being underused as a sophomore at Oregon, and Johnathon is the #1 prospect in the 2021 graduating class. They are the brothers of K.J. and Dedric who played here, and the sons of Keelon Lawson who had a job in the U of M basketball program when Tubby was coach. Penny coached Chandler and Johnathon when they were in high school.

A coveted rental unit in the Broadnax Building on the southwest corner of Main and Monroe is available. It’s a 2-level, 2-bedroom, 2-bath unit. It’s got a Manhattanesque monthly rate of $3400, but you’d have stellar views and a shorter walk to Bardog than I have.

Outside the Lorraine, a photography exhibit, is now open at the National Civil Rights Museum.

FEMA’s mass vaccine site is moving closer to its goal of 3000 a day. The sooner we all get vaccinated, the sooner we can kiss the remaining stupid restrictions goodbye.

It’s National Barbershop Quartet Day. Hey, does Rhodes College still have The Wool Socks, the double barbershop quartet? That concept was founded by classmates of mine.

I’m still in awe of the fact that I went to college with a Supreme Court justice, even if I barely knew her and disagree with a lot of the decisions she hands down.

Yesterday was one of the most fun days I had since the pandemic started. It took a couple of unexpected turns, but they were worthwhile. I led off at the Farmers Market, then walked over to Max’s Sports Bar. I planned to only stay for a beer or two, but plans changed.

That was the best time I had at Max’s since 2014!!!

With Bjarni, Jessica, and later Mike behind the bar, they had an all-star bartending lineup as good as any in town. They had their Saturday crawfish boil going on in the courtyard. My original plan was to eat at the Blind Bear, which was having a crawfish boil of its own later in the afternoon. However, once people began bringing in crawfish from the back of Max’s, I couldn’t wait any longer! Besides, Glaze’s crawfish are the gold standard.

Man! Those taters were covered in spice from the crawfish boil! So good. As for the crawfish, most of them have reached a size you usually don’t see until May.

I had a little teaching to do. I explained to Perjorie that the crawfish nearer the top of the photo was probably worth the time and energy investment digging around for claw meat. The crawfish at the bottom of the pic, just suck the head, eat the tail, and move on to the next one.

I finished up my crawfish and thought, “I could head back north now…

… or, I could stay and have a cup of Purple Drank!”

I had a cup of Purple Drank.

Purple Drank is the most lethal of the frozen drinks available there. Max used the pandemic downtime to rebuild his bar and expand the frozen drink machines to five.

Drink offerings change, but yesterday’s lineup, left to right:

• Purple Drank
• Mai Tai
• Blackberry (I think?) Sangria
• Blood Orange Margarita
• Dreamsicle

You can also get a mix. Guy down the bar from me got half Dreamsicle, half Purple Drank.

Interesting phenomenon… by mid-afternoon, the machines holding purple and red drank had ice on their front, which the machines holding orange and green drank did not. See photo above. A high school science teacher gave her opinion that it could have to do with the alcohol/contents of the drinks.

Absolutely stellar vibe in there yesterday. The restrictions are not totally gone yet and people are still being careful, but it was the first day that I really got the sense that the Roaring 2020s have arrived. I WILL BE BACK. Maybe not next week, because I need to catch up with my fellow Bardog Saturday morning regulars. But maybe the Saturday after that! Or maybe another day of the week.

Jessica was going to the Silly Goose after she got off and gave me a ride up there. The Goose is a PBR drinker’s paradise right now, even though they carry the 12-ounce cans as they wait for the 16s to come back in stock.

The trouble with having one of the most awesome days since COVID was that I ran up one of my largest bar tabs since COVID! Oh well, it was money well spent.

Blind Bear – I do apologize for not making it by there yesterday. That was my original plan. Of course, I will be up there this week, just haven’t figured out which are my going-out days yet.

Today will be a stay-home day, because I spent too much money yesterday and because it’s night 2 of Wrestlemania. Back tomorrow with more news.

I have a huge favor to ask my readers, especially those who hang out at Blind Bear. Mary, one of the bartenders there who is also a yoga teacher, is in the running to be featured in an upcoming issue of Yoga Journal. It’s determined by vote, and Mary won her group in the opening round. She’s now in the quarterfinals. Could you take a moment to vote for Mary?

Vote for Mary here

Check out the Memphis Flyer website – it got an updated look yesterday.

Despite a loss to the New York Knicks, the Grizzlies maintain a 2-game hold on 8th place in the Western Conference. They’ll be back on the home court tomorrow evening for a 7:00 game against the Indiana Pacers.

RIP Prince Philip. God I hope Meghan Markle doesn’t try to make this all about her. I have a feeling she will though.

The Atoka BBQ Festival is happening this weekend. That’s a popular regional as teams get ready to compete for the big prize at Memphis in May.

Ted Horrell & The Monday Night Card play Carolina Watershed today at 2. Music by Kota plays Watershed at 7.

That’s it for this post. My Bardog buddies are out of town so I will see what kind of adventure I can find solo today. I may have this thing to go to around 2 or 3, but the morning is totally TBD. Back tomorrow with more news.

Well, yesterday was not the day I ordered! About noon I heard fire engines and thought, “I hope that’s not my building.” Unfortunately it was. It was a false alarm but they hadn’t turned the elevators back on by the time I got off work at 1. I had to go to the Blind Bear in work clothes, and without my troll.

While there I watched the St. Louis Cardinals opening day festivities. It was their first opening day in recent memory without All-Star pitcher Bob Gibson and base thief Lou Brock. The Cards paid them an appropriate tribute.

Then they introduced living members of the Cardinals Hall of Fame. Man, former catcher Ted Simmons was rockin’ the hair. I wonder if Ted’s one of those people who’s waiting for COVID to be over to get a haircut, or if he prefers it long? Looks good, he should keep it.

A little later in the afternoon, I let the bartender change the channel off the Cardinals so my friends Jason and Nappin Ass Nate could watch golf. Never let it be said that I’m not agreeable. Once again I was disappointed that my troll wasn’t with me. The Masters is her favorite golf tournament because the winner’s jacket is the same color as her hair.

On to the news… DJ Siphne Aaye plays a lunchtime set today noon to 1 in Health Sciences Park. If you can’t make it out there, the event will be broadcast on Facebook Live.

The DMC has several business promotion opportunities available. These include

• Selling items at a river market on Riverside
• Hosting outdoor concerts at your business
• A social media video special (5-10 minutes in length) featuring a member of your staff and highlighting a few of your items

People on Nextdoor report a round of about 30 gunshots near the South Bluffs/South End area last night around 9.

Artists Maritza Davila and Carl E. Moore will host a reception for their show, “Assessments,” at 55 S. Main, Saturday from 1-3. Their art will reflect how artists have been forced to pivot during the quarantine.

Cheers to Tony Ludlow of Sgt. Tony’s Fitness Bootcamp. The former Marine staff sergeant was profiled in The Daily Memphian. Starting May 3, if you want to take his boot camp, you have to show proof of COVID vaccination. Sgt. Tony says that if you choose not to get the vaccine because of “freedom,” that’s your right, but he thinks that excuse is “bullshit” and you won’t be endangering his boot camp attendees.

Today would be a great day to sit upstairs at Nate’s bar at Earnestine & Hazel’s… it’s National Dive Bar Day.

Tennessee’s Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe said that if Tennessee is not fully open by June, it surely will be by July. I hope so. I’m ready to sing. I’m ready to dance. I’m ready to move my bar stool where I want without someone getting out a tape measure and verifying it’s within six feet of no more than one other bar stool. God that rule is stupid. Although, less stupid than previous rules.

The Land Use Control Board may have killed the environmentally racist Byhalia pipeline with an 8-0 vote yesterday. They voted that pipelines cannot be located within 1500 feet of homes, schools, parks, or family recreation centers.

You don’t need an appointment to get vaccinated at the Pipkin Building after 5 PM. This is part of the City’s and FEMA’s plan to get as many shots in arms as quickly as possible. Also, MATA is providing free fares for vaccine appointments.

An Ole Miss student is charged with aggravated assault after he sprayed bleach down a fraternity pledge’s throat. Now, what I want to know is, did the accused get the idea from the Trumpster’s ridiculous suggestion last spring that we should ingest disinfectants to fight COVID? If so, can Trump be charged as an accessory to the crime?

Grey’s Fine Cheese is hosting an event at Grind City Brewing Co. tomorrow. From 1 to 3 you can sample some of their cheeses paired with Grind City craft brews. This is not a ticketed event; just come on out and enjoy. They’ll have cheese stuffed Oreos, and I can’t say that sounds tasty in the least, but perhaps I should keep an open mind.

Ladies, get a workout and some Asian food… Shred415 and STIX, next-door neighbors in the Peabody Place building, have a combo deal this evening.

Downtown YMCA has a summer hiring event tomorrow 9 to 1. They’re looking for summer lifeguards, camp counselors, and child care workers.

That’s the news for this post. Off to work here in a bit. I’ve got my writing done for this week so this will become a going-out day, and this time I’ll have my troll with me. Back tomorrow with more news.

Folks, today I lead off with news of a developing crisis. This is not quite as bad as World War II when gasoline and food had to be rationed, but it’s close. The situation we face is truly tragic.

There’s a shortage of 16-ounce Pabst Blue Ribbon cans in the Memphis area. Bars are replacing them with the smaller 12-ounce cans, lowering the Value Drinking Index by 25% no matter what price is charged. I talked to a distributor yesterday and this sounds like a problem city-wide.

First COVID, now this. We just can’t catch a break.

SOB Downtown closed its doors Monday, in preparation for the opening of SOB Downtown in a larger space down the street middle of this month. The Flyer has a preview.

Momma’s will be closed over the weekend. They’ll use the time to staff up for a grand re-opening celebration as well as to renovate both inside and out.

There will be a reception for a new exhibit by sibling artists Kat and Sanford Gore, entitled Gore & Gore, at The Medicine Factory, 85 W. Virginia Ave. Saturday from 10 to noon.

A body was pulled from the water near Bass Pro Drive yesterday afternoon.

Paul Young, new CEO of Downtown Memphis Commission, talked about his plans recently on WREG Live at 9.

Thanks to last night’s win against the Atlanta Hawks, the Grizzlies now a 2-game lead over San Antonio for 8th in the Western Conference. Next up: The Grizzlies travel to New York to face the Knicks. That game will be nationally televised on NBATV at 6 PM Friday.

Plans for 7 Vance got rejected by the Design Review Board yesterday, and I am not surprised. The artist’s rendition (click the link to see it) looks like any other generic condo building you might find on Georgia Ave. or Carolina Ave. and is out of place among the boxy warehouses in the area of Vance and Wagner. On the other hand, the DRB heaped praise on The Walk on Union’s plans.

Fewer than 60 COVID cases were reported in Shelby County for the second day in a row. Since health directives generally last 4 weeks, Health Directive No. 19 should end at 11:59 PM a week from tomorrow. I wonder if Dr. Randolph will be at today’s COVID-19 task force press conference with info on whether they’ll loosen restrictions even more… or whether he’ll say “continue the course” a bunch of times and keep the restrictions in place for 4 more agonizing weeks.

As your number-one source of news and information about The Edge District, I would advise you to stop by Venezuelan restaurant Sabor Caribe on Madison Avenue to celebrate National Empanada Day. Their menu says they have beef, chicken, black bean, and cheese varieties available.

That’s the news for today. Time to go kick some ass at work then go out and enjoy this perfect April weather. Back tomorrow with more.

I had a Tuesday update post ready yesterday morning but wasn’t able to publish until moments ago. My Publish button was greyed out and the server was unresponsive… yet my blog was still readable. Weird.

U.S. News and World Report ranked the Doctor of Nursing program at UT Health Sciences Center number 26 in the country, placing it in the top 16% of all such programs.

From Local 24: Memphis church learns of a hurtful past, but works to find healing. Calvary Episcopal in its early days shared a city block with Nathan Bedford Forrest. Parishioners recently learned that Forrest bought and sold slaves on the corner.

Two Memphis Made beers are getting a refresh. RockBone IPA’s latest iteration uses Lemondrop hops for a citrus taste. Huggy Bear brown ale, with a chocolate finish, is getting upsized from 5% to 6.4% ABV. Did you know that brewers number their batches similar to how software developers number their product? This version of RockBone is version 2.021.

The Grizzlies improved to 25-23 with a win over the Miami Heat last night. They now hold 8th place in the Western Conference by a game, fending off the 9th-place San Antonio Spurs. Tonight the Grizzlies travel to Atlanta for a 7 PM tipoff time.

The CA has an article on the closing of Downtown Family Dollar. It has struggled for the past year because most Downtown office workers have worked remotely. Even if you don’t care about Family Dollar, this story is worth a click for the 187-photo Downtown Memphis Through The Years gallery.

Today’s National Beer Day, so get out and celebrate with the brew of your choice. May I recommend the PBR?

The Redbirds (May 4) and Memphis 901 FC (June 15) plan to open playing AutoZone Park at about 50% capacity. Of course, if people go get vaccinated, we may be able to loosen the numbers a bit more.

Real Good Dog Rescue will host an adoption event at Memphis Farmers Market this Saturday from 8 to 1.

Tuesday’s post was so late getting up, it wasn’t even Tuesday anymore. Keep scrolling if you haven’t seen it.

Sorry this is a day late… had problems publishing yesterday.

Memphis River Parks Partnership and the city have come up with a fantastic plan for Riverside Drive, allowing it to be shared by vehicles and pedestrians.

• Good news for vehicles – in the long term, Riverside will remain 2 lanes each direction (during park construction, it will be one lane each direction at Beale Street Landing)

BUT

• Good news for pedestrians – there will be three raised crossings at Vance, Huling, and Butler. The raised crossings will have speed bumps on either side, and cars’ undersides will be damaged if they don’t slow down to navigate over the crossings.

This sounds outstanding. Hopefully it will eliminate the ability to drag race on Riverside between Georgia and Beale without doing thousands of dollars of damage to the racers’ cars.

It’s not just the drag racers either. When I worked in Horn Lake and took Riverside to work in the mornings, drivers were honked at, cussed at, and flipped off if they didn’t maintain a speed of about 48 to 51 MPH on a stretch of road where the posted speed limit was 35. Prevailing traffic speed was way too high to be safe for pedestrians.

There will be flashing lights at the intersections, activated by pedestrians, as well as the “speed table” crossings. There will also be pods of parking spaces totaling about 60 on the west side of Riverside.

Cheers to all involved on coming up with a win for everybody. This is the kind of thinking we need more of in our city.

Fox 13 has updated info on the gunshots fired near Hyatt Centric Memphis at Front and Beale Sunday night about 10. The shooter was said to be a man standing on the southeast corner of Front Street firing a weapon. He hit a moving car as well as shot out windows in two hotel rooms. The hotel is scheduled to open this week.

Larger hotels in Memphis tend to employ their own PR person, and if Hyatt Centric has one, that person is certainly getting a baptism by fire in their new job.

I heard about 20 gunshots popping off in rapid succession at about 9:45 last night. It sounded to the south and west of my apartment. I guessed the location to be Riverside and Monroe, but a post on Nextdoor places the gunfire at Front and Beale. At least two vehicles were said to be exchanging shots at that location.

In other words, in a span of about 20 seconds, I heard more gunshots than I heard my first 17 years of living Downtown pre-pandemic. I also heard squealing tires and revving engines that sounded like people were drag racing on Riverside.

OK here we go. From WREG: Police investigating shooting outside new Downtown Memphis hotel. Shell casings were found all over the area. Welcome to the neighborhood, Hyatt Centric! Imagine what the TripAdvisor reviews are going to look like if you don’t use your influence with the city to get police to crack down hard.

I wonder how many tenants The Waterford will lose this year because of this bullshit.

I wonder how much the value of condos at 266 Lofts on Front will be depressed by the fact that there’s a war zone outside on the weekends.

I looked out my window about 9 last night and saw plenty of kids riding around on scooters. I wonder how long it will be before a second one gets caught in the crossfire.

I wonder if any conventions will bypass Memphis after their organizers read the headlines about Downtown Memphis and learn about the cruising and the shootings.

I wonder if any season ticket holders will decide not to renew their 2021-22 Orpheum plan because they feel it’s not safe to come to the Orpheum’s neighborhood.

AutoZone could certainly throw its corporate weight around with the city and request something be done… after all, this is happening in its Store Support Center’s backyard.

In other news…

The Grizzlies improved to 24-23 and 8th place in the Western Conference with a win over Philly last night.

The NCAA men’s basketball championship tips off tonight at 8:20 on CBS. All the Cinderellas are gone, leaving the two best teams in the country, Baylor and Gonzaga, to battle it out for a national title.

That’s all I’ve got for this Monday. I’ll keep my eye on the news for more info on the shooting last night. Back tomorrow.