Tuesday update

Exciting news for those of you in East Memphis:

You asked Memphis! We delivered! Cocozza Take & Bake NOW available at Highpoint Grocery! Pick up Spinach Manicotti, Chicken Parm, Eggplant Parm & Chicken Arrabbiata for dinner tonight! #cocozza #cocozzamemphis #cocozzatakeandbake #cocozzatohighpoint #majesticgrille #pandemicpopup #takeandbake #dinnertonight #americanitalianfood #highpointmarket #highpointmemphis #highpointterrace

The Flying Saucer has announced expanded hours for burgers and beers. The brewpub is now open 11 AM-10 PM seven days a week. Of course, with a new health directive on the horizon, those hours may not last for long.

998 new COVID-19 cases in Shelby County yesterday, yet the health directive was not put in place yesterday as rumored. I have to admit, I don’t understand what the delay is. Although I certainly am not going to be happy about the additional restrictions on our freedoms, I understand the potential of overwhelming the hospitals makes them necessary.

Last call: If you’re interested in buying the historic Earnestine & Hazel’s dive bar building, you have until January 15 to get your offer in.

CDC Director Redfield said this week he thinks there’s the potential for 100 million Americans to be vaccinated by March 1, and another 100 million by June 1, with just the Pfizer vaccine. If the Moderna vaccine gets approval and ships, even more vaccinations will be possible by June. The population of the U.S. is around 330 million.

Slider Inn Downtown has reduced its hours and laid off 35 people. Starting this week, the restaurant will be closed Monday-Wednesday, and will be open 11 AM-10 PM Thursday-Sunday. Brunch will now be available Saturday and Sunday 11 AM-3 PM. Bands performing live music will be moved to the upstairs loft to follow COVID-19 protocols.

Elmwood Cemetery hosts an online seminar Cemetery Work: How Cleaning Monuments Brought Me Joy tonight at 6. Sheena Barnett will tell the story of how she was looking something to fill her time after the pandemic forced her out of her job. She volunteered to do stone cleaning work at Elmwood and it turned into a passion.

The Downtown YMCA has a hiring event this morning at 10.

This Quora answer to a question about narcissistic personality disorder is the best I have read. The answerer is a life coach who helps people who have been victimized by narcissists/narcopaths. In particular, the “Threat to Relationships” section absolutely nails it.

That’s it for today. I will listen to the noon COVID-19 press conference and be back either this afternoon or tomorrow morning with a recap.

Monday update

Pro tip: Go see Chef Steph Cook at Blind Bear for dinner this week (or takeout if the health department shuts down dining in). Yesterday I had his pasta special and it was PHENOMENAL. It exceeded even the high expectations I had.

This is alligator andouille sausage, tasso ham, and shrimp pasta in a slightly spicy cream sauce with tomatoes and green onions. Delicious. Bonus points to Steph for asking, “Has Perjorie tried it yet? What does she think?” Trolls like foods that are the same color as their hair, so she was particularly excited about the green onions.

The Memphis Tigers have accepted an invitation to the Montgomery Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama, where they will play Florida Atlantic University. The game will be on Wednesday, December 23 at 6 PM and will be televised on ESPN.

I’m hearing that the new health directive may be issued today, in response to the disturbing number of new cases reported over the weekend: 930 on Saturday and 695 yesterday.

That’s all for now. Back tomorrow or maybe later today.

Sunday update

The Shelby County Health Department reported a record 930 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday. In case you missed my midday update yesterday, a source on the Shelby County COVID-19 task force said that a new directive is being prepared, to be issued this week, to address the rising number of new cases.

Here’s James Aycock’s COVID week in review for Shelby County.

What will the new restrictions be? My guess is they will ban indoor dining, since that’s what is being done in other communities such as New York City and Los Angeles.

Country music legend Charley Pride died at age 86 this weekend.

Blind Bear special today: Black Sheep Meats alligator andouille and tasso ham pasta with asparagus, red peppers, and onion.

Please consider giving gift cards to your favorite restaurants this holiday season. They so badly need the support right now. Especially give gift cards to restaurants that are hit hardest by having to close five hours earlier than usual under the current regulations.

Also, please support The Peanut Shoppe on Main Street. They open on Sundays during the month of December for your holiday shopping convenience. The lack of foot traffic on Main this year has hurt their sales. You can order online if you don’t want to venture outside. We all need to treat ourselves this year, and some candy, chocolate, and nuts are a great way to do it.

That’s it for this post. Back tomorrow if there’s any news to report.

Saturday update

If you love the food and the atmosphere at Pontotoc Lounge, you better get by there this weekend. It’ll be your last chance for a while.

We have had to make the very tough decision to temporarily shut our doors after this weekend until further notice. Would love to see your beautiful faces for one last round of 2020 libations, as we will miss you dearly. Please remember to support local and keep safe. ❤️

The Dirty Crow Inn has published its menu for this Sunday’s pop-up at 40 et 8 in West Memphis.

Many of us have plans this Sunday, but fear not – this will be a weekly thing until the Crow can open a new permanent location post-pandemic. Scroll back to my previous post for directions to the 40 et 8.

Chef Michael Patrick of Rizzo’s posted the following to Facebook:

Hello Folks,
The product being carried at Miss Cordelias is working out pretty well. I am going to start closing for lunches so I can focus on and fulfill these orders. Thank you to all who have supported us during the lunch hours. Remember we will still do caterings. Just give us a call.

From Patrick Reilly, co-owner/chef at Cocozza:

Cocozza American Italian now delivers. American Italian deliciousness delivered to your door! Hey neighbors! Cocozza is now available for delivery via DoorDash! Order your red sauce favorites delivered to your door! We sure will need your support to get us through the winter months! Curbside pick up still avail as well as patio and dining room seating!

Houston vs. Memphis is on ESPN2 at 2:30. Earlier in the day, #1 Alabama plays Arkansas at 11:00.

Today is National Ding-a-Ling Day.

The Women of Soul concert scheduled at the Orpheum tonight has been canceled.

From Richard Cushing of FreeWorld:

Dr. Herman Green’s Beale Street Procession is tentatively scheduled for next Saturday afternoon, 12/19, at 1:00pm. The weather looks good (at present). Please stay tuned… Thx! 🙏😇🎷💖🌎🙏 — feeling grateful at Beale Street – Memphis.

Seamus Reilly, son of Patrick & Deni, and his friends have organized their own canned food drive to support MIFA. You can drop cans off at Majestic/Cocozza or the Memphis Made taproom.

Yesterday I was reading a piece by one of my favorite writers on Medium, Sinem Günel, and she said something I found particularly profound: Schools do not exist to teach us how to be happy, healthy, and prosperous. Schools exist to teach us how to be servants to the system. That is so true. I promise you this: If I am able to achieve financial freedom through my writing, I will spend the rest of my life helping others find their unique individual path to get free as well.

Late start today! I didn’t get up until almost 5:20. Time to get things done. Back tomorrow with more news.

Friday update

Dr. Bruce Randolph, the county health officer, said yesterday that the health department received over 70 complaints about businesses violating COVID-19 guidelines this week. Enforcement will be out this weekend. Due to threats received face-to-face and on social media, enforcement officials will be escorted by Memphis police officers or Shelby County deputies. Dr. Randolph said the major things they will be looking for are

  • Employees or customers failing to wear their face masks
  • Groups failing to maintain 6 feet of distance
  • Crowding
  • Standing
  • Gathering
  • Smoking indoors
  • Whether the bar is open

If restaurant and bar owners are not sure whether an activity is permissible, Dr. Randolph advised them to read the latest health directive. Inspectors will have a checklist and will give the business a copy of the checklist before they leave. When violations are found, inspectors have the options of issuing a warning, closing the business immediately, or returning the next day to close the business.

Dr. Randolph also discussed the use of tents: If all of the flaps are down, making the space completely enclosed, then it falls under the health directive regulations that apply to indoor spaces. If the flaps are up and air can circulate freely, then the tent is classified as outdoors.

Dr. Randolph pointed out that a fully closed tent is actually a bigger health threat than a permanent, brick-and-mortar indoor space. The reason is that a tent does not have an HVAC system to keep the air circulating.

There were 695 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday in Shelby County. COVID Act Now numbers: 55.6 new cases/day/100K population (25 is considered the danger zone). Reproduction rate is 1.11 (needs to be below 1 for the virus to start dying out). Positivity rate is 13.7% (over 10% indicates insufficient testing, meaning many cases are going unreported).

Whether you are displaying symptoms, have possibly been exposed to someone with the virus, or are just curious whether you have it, testing is available this weekend for free, Saturday and Sunday 8:30 AM-5:30 PM at these locations:

  • Poplar Healthcare, 3495 Hacks Cross Rd.
  • Former vehicle inspection station, 1720 RKS Commerical Dr. near Lamar/Prescott/I-240

Dr. Randolph was asked if people who have already had COVID-19 should get the vaccine when it becomes available. His recommendation was yes, because it is not currently known how long one has immunity after having the virus.

If we get shut down again – or if we don’t, but you decide to stay indoors – here’s something to help you pass the time:

Very cool site I discovered recently: Google Keen. This is one of the projects they give engineers time and freedom to work on, kind of like the freedom Thomas Edison granted to those who worked in his lab. Keen is kind of like Pinterest, in that you can save items of interest (known as gems in Keen), and the format is very visual. However, the distinction from Pinterest is that Google uses its AI and goes out and finds similar items you may be interested in. You can create your own private or public Keens, and you can subscribe to other people’s public Keens. You can also set up a daily or weekly email digest from your Keens. I can see this becoming a valuable source of creative ideas.

Tom Lee Park construction groundbreaking: Watch on Facebook or YouTube. See the plans for the park here.

Paper & Clay has its grand opening today starting at noon and continuing through tomorrow. It’s in the former Harley-Davidson space at 525 S. Main.

The Memphis Fire Museum at 118 Adams is hosting Breakfast with Santa tomorrow from 8 AM to noon. Kids can get their picture made with Santa in a socially distanced setting, and there will be storytime, holiday movies, and tours of the museum. Cost is $15 per person. There are 8:15, 9:15. and 10:15 seatings for breakfast.

From WKNO: South Main businesses lend Santa a hand

From the CA: How the “stars aligned” to clean up Downtown Memphis during the pandemic

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are TIME’s 2020 Person of the Year.

The second edition of the 2020 Holly Jolly Holiday Celebration returns to Handy Park today 4:30-6:30 PM. Free hot chocolate, the music of the season, and pictures with a socially distanced Santa.

A government panel recommended the Pfizer COVID vaccine yesterday. As soon as the FDA signs off, the first doses will be distributed in days. It will be a few months before the average guy on the street with no complicating factors or high-risk job is able to get the vaccine. I plan on getting it as soon as I am able and I hope you will too.

That’s it for this post. Back tomorrow with more news.

Thursday update

The Dirty Crow Inn posted an update to its Facebook page yesterday:

The Dirty Crow Inn does plan to reopen, but during this Pandemic it makes no sense to do so now. We will open when this all calms down. BUT! In the mean time, we will be selling my food every Sunday starting this Sunday the 13th at the 40 et 8 in West Memphis! Just a 5 minute drive from the original location on Kentucky St. 40 et 8 has Beer & Liquor and now the best wings ever. Live Music and curbside pickup will be available soon. KA-KAH!!!

That’s not a typo – 40 et 8 is the name of the business. To get there:

  • Take I-55 (Old Bridge) to West Memphis
  • Take the Broadway exit
  • Take a left on Legion Rd. at the Crown Inn
  • Turn left by the Speedway and 40 et 8 will be in the back

The address is 152 Legion Rd. They will serve Dirty Crow’s recipes 3 to 10 every Sunday.

Good news for those of you who are fans of Ching’s hot wings: The legendary restaurant on Getwell Road has reopened after 8 months.

Useful data map: See the percentage of hospital beds in your county occupied by COVID-19 patients. Currently it’s 20% for Shelby County. Worst number for a regional county: Craighead County, Arkansas, which contains Jonesboro and Arkansas State University, at 67%.

It’s National Lager Day, so pop open a can or bottle of whatever lager floats your fancy. May I recommend the PBR? Or you could go local with a lager celebration at Wiseacre 2/Little Bettie.

Deni Reilly and Kelly English were interviewed on Jennifer Biggs’ food podcast for The Daily Memphian this week. Both think there will be very few indoor dining options in Memphis by January, whether that’s because of health department regulations or voluntary closures.

The Memphis Redbirds have extended their agreement with the St. Louis Cardinals and will remain the Cards’ Triple-A affiliate through at least 2030.

The DM has coverage of the Tom Lee Park groundbreaking ceremony that happened yesterday.

Opinion piece in the CA: Tom Lee Park will bridge the gap of race and class to create one Memphis

From AZCentral.com: Brandon Clarke working to build off “phenomenal rookie campaign” with Memphis Grizzlies

Don’t forget The Peanut Shoppe for your holiday candy and gift needs!

We lost a loved and valued member of the Downtown family and the Moody Ques BBQ team last week. That’s why I didn’t write Saturday, and why I said “it’s been an unusual weekend” at the top of the blog Sunday.

I’ll try to tune in this afternoon for the COVID-19 task force press conference. If there’s any news that can’t wait, I’ll do a quick post in the 1:00-2:00 hour; otherwise, I’ll be back in the morning with more news.

 

Wednesday update

Doug McGowen, the chief operating officer for the city of Memphis, opened the COVID-19 task force press conference yesterday. He contrasted the current surge with the one that happened back in March at the beginning of the pandemic. Back then, the coronavirus was spreading mainly in urban communities, and people from around the country could be brought in to provide extra assistance. However, now the virus is everywhere, in every county. Therefore, we are largely restricted to our own resources in Shelby County to fight the virus.

Chief McGowen went on to say that people are being called on to serve. Licensed medical workers are needed to provide care, and non-medical workers are needed to make sure medical workers are not doing administrative work when they are needed out in the field. The chief encouraged those interested to go ahead and sign up for the state’s Medical Reserve. Both paid and volunteer positions are available.

Dr. Bruce Randolph, County Health Officer, gave a scary statistic about the first weekend of assurance testing last Saturday and Sunday. Anyone could get a test, symptomatic or asymptomatic, but most of those tested had no idea they had the virus. Yet over 400 of the approximately 2500 tests came back positive, a 16% positivity rate. The virus is running rampant in the community, and until the vaccine is widespread, masking, social distancing, and hand washing are our only tools to fight its spread.

Happy New Year, YOGA! Amy Hutcheson of Downtown Yoga will offer a 6 week beginners series with options for in-studio and virtual training. Dates are January 6-February 10, Wednesdays 6:45-7:45 PM. Two options are available:

  • In studio: $120 for the entire series (6 social distanced spots available)
  • Virtual: $75 for the entire series

If you miss a class, the recording video will be made available for the 24 hours following.

A Gus’s Fried Chicken restaurant will open next month in Mesa, Arizona, a suburb to the southeast of Phoenix.

From the DM: A new bill would raise drag racing penalties and allow for car seizure. Something needs to be done. Drag racers Downtown have been out of control much of this year.

The Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team got a 94-57 win over Mississippi Valley State yesterday. The Tigers travel to Atlanta this Saturday for a 4 PM neutral-site game vs. Auburn. That game will be carried on the SEC Network.

Today is National Llama Day.

Cheers to our neighbor to the north, Tipton County, for doing the right thing by enacting a mask mandate.

The Tom Lee Park groundbreaking will be livestreamed on Facebook today at 3 PM.

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

Tuesday update: Two Downtown restaurants closed by the Health Department

The Health Department closed 9 restaurants in Shelby County over the weekend due to COVID restriction violation, and two of them were Downtown. The Tin Roof on Beale Street and Brinson’s at 341 Madison were on the list. Dr. Haushalter, head of the Health Department, said that inspectors tend to give warnings if violations are found for an initial inspection, preferring to educate rather than enforce. However, she said, if the violations are egregious and include behaviors like crowding and not enforcing masking, exceptions are made and businesses are immediately shut down. It looks like they are cracking down on smoking indoors too, banned in the most recent health directive.

I have not been in Tin Roof this year, but I’m not surprised they got shut down. They were constantly advertising parties on Facebook like there was no pandemic at all. They weren’t making much of an effort to keep things on the down-low.

Restaurants and bars that are closed must remain closed for 14 days (an incubation period of the virus) and must submit a plan for reopening to the Health Department.

Restaurant owners voiced their concerns about the restrictions yesterday. Tami Montgomery said that her business Dru’s Place has lost about $140,000 this year. She said that forcing her to close at 10 PM rather than midnight has reduced her revenue 30 to 40 percent.

The first pilot to break the sound barrier, Chuck Yeager, has died at age 97.

I’ll watch the COVID-19 task force press conference today, and if there are any major developments I will post an update in the 1:00-2:00 hour. Otherwise I will be back tomorrow with more news.

Monday update

The Daily Memphian has a roundup of college football bowl projections including the Memphis Tigers. Although the Tigers didn’t live up to last season’s accomplishments, most likely their record is good enough to warrant a Power 5 conference opponent. Forecasts include

  • Birmingham Bowl vs. Tennessee or Mississippi State
  • Military Bowl vs. Virginia
  • Gasparilla Bowl vs. Boston College

The Tigers play their final game against Houston at 11 AM Saturday, televised on the ESPN+ premium streaming package.

Majestic Grille/Cocozza co-owner Deni Reilly responded on Facebook yesterday about Christmas plans for this year:

Happy December Majestic friends! We hope you are all happy & healthy. Thank you to those of you who have been supporting us in our pandemic pop-up, Cocozza American Italian. Your support is helping to ensure we can re-open The Majestic on the other side of the pandemic. Many of you have been asking about Clark’s Christmas Dinner & Brunch with Santa. After much thought and discussion with our team, and in light of the ever changing & seemingly obtuse restrictions being handed down to us by the County, we feel that we cannot execute either of our popular annual Christmas events to the Majestic standards we and you expect of us. While we are incredibly disappointed not to be able to cheer on Cousin Eddie or share a hot cocoa (or mimosa) with Santa this year, we know in our hearts that it is the right thing to do to keep us, our staff, you and our community safe.
For those of you wanting to get in the spirit & show your support, we recommend ordering Cocozza Bulk Dinner platters & watching Clark make a mess of Christmas at home and ordering Cocozza Brunch ToGo (don’t forget the Bloody Mary’s) & enjoying some Christmas cartoons at home with the kids. You can visit www.cocozzamemphis.com to see our menus.
Stay safe this holiday & here is to a Majestic 2021!
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!
Patrick & Deni & The Majestic Grille Family

The Health Department closed two T.J. Mulligan’s locations over the weekend for COVID protocol violations. Reports indicate the health department had issues with people walking into the restaurants unmasked and people being allowed to voluntarily put down contact tracing info without being stopped at the door and asked for it. The lesson seems to be (and I’ve been preaching this for months): Have a doorman or host at all times. Yes it’s an additional person on the payroll, but it’s the cost of being open during a pandemic. More from WREG

The County Commission meets this afternoon at 3. Watch the shitshow here. Oh dear God… I just checked Facebook Events and “The Conservative Women of Collierville TN” plan to hold a STAND up for FREEDOM rally at the Commission meeting. They’ll be demonstrating outside the building and broadcasting on Periscope.

President Trump’s attack dog/flying monkey Rudy Giuliani has tested positive for COVID.

Wishing a very, very happy 4th birthday to Perjorie T. Roll… Mondays aren’t normally going-out days for me, but with an important birthday like that, an exception will be made this afternoon. Back tomorrow with more news.