Paul Ryburn's Journal

It’s 11 degrees F outside as I type this. Feels like -4. I wonder how many people’s cars won’t start this morning?

The roads I walked Downtown this morning are in good shape. Ice patches here and there.

The official total for Memphis for this week’s winter storm is 1.6 inches combined sleet and snow.

The NBA all-star break is over and the Grizzlies are back in action at Indiana tonight at 6. TV: FanDuel Sports

It’s National Cherry Pie Day.

Elon Musk finally explained why his company xAI chose Memphis to locate its new supercomputer. Time was of the essence and the Electrolux building was empty and available.

Groove on Demand rideshare will be closed again today.

The Grizzlies will retire Tony Allen’s number 9 jersey on March 15. A documentary film about Allen, “Tony Allen: The Grindfather,” will be released on YouTube March 6.

Yo-Yo Ma, backed by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, comes to the Cannon Center Tuesday.

The Mid-South Farm and Gin Show will be back at the Renasant Convention Center at the end of this month.

Make-a-Wish Mid-South presents Wine for Wishes at the Cadre Building Friday night.

That’s it, back tomorrow.

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Memphis is getting a new BBQ competition. The Mid-South Korean BBQ Festival (“Korean BBQ Fest”), to be held on the grounds of Grind City Brewing on Saturday, April 12, will feature cookteams’ interpretation of South Korean style. South Korea is Memphis in May’s.2025 honored country.

Hmmm I wonder if Squeal Street BBQ will get back together for this event? There’s definitely an interest in #asianfood among members of that team. 

When are we going to see a NORTH Korean BBQ festival? A photo of Kim Jong Un would be mandatory, of course, in every team booth, and competition categories could include “dog,” “cat,” and “rodent.” Prediction if such an event occurs: A team from Knoxville will win Grand Champion with its BBQ Squirrel Fried Rice dish.

Hard Times Deli is now open at 655 Marshall, and Choose901 has a look (includes a photo of the menu).

Closed today due to winter weather

• Terrace at River Inn
• Groove on Demand rideshare
• Cossitt Library

Memphis Made will have Junt fresh cream ale back on tap in its taproom for a limited time starting Saturday.

That’s it for today. Back tomorrow.

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Cold today (39°) with increasing wind, then wintry conditions tonight.

Timing/type: Light rain/sleet/snow mix starting ~4-6pm. Sleet/snow (and freezing rain in MS) by 7-9pm. All snow by midnight.

Accumulation: 1-2″ snow (higher Tipton, lower MS). Up to 0.1″ of sleet, light glaze in MS.

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— MemphisWeather.net (@memphisweather.net) February 18, 2025 at 6:13 AM

There’s going to be a Mardi Gras parade traveling up Main St., Saturday at 11 AM. It will start at G.E. Patterson Avenue and will proceed north to Madison. Damn that’s a long parade! There will be food trucks, drink specials, and vendors all along Main Street. After party at Esco with DJ Mannie Fresh.

The Downtown Neighborhood Association will have its monthly meeting at Withers Gallery at 333 Beale Street Wednesday, February 26. Celebrate Black History Month by viewing the work of this influential photographer. Free margaritas and food for DNA members. The founder of A Tour of Possibilities, Carolyn Michael-Banks, will speak.

Credit Jerred Price’s excellent #KeepingDowntownInfformed newsletter for the 2 items above.

Today is National Drink Wine Day.

The Memphis Tigers fell 8 spots to 22 in the AP poll following Sunday’s loss to Wichita State.

The Pet Hospitals Downtown seeks a receptionist.

There will be a total lunar eclipse the night of March 13.

The burger of the week at Momma’s is Momma’s Mac Attack: 4 smashed patties, Momma’s Special Sauce, shredded lettuce, American, dill pickles, diced onion on a sesame seed bun.

That’ll do it for today. Back tomorrow, weather permitting.

It’s free to read this blog, but I gratefully accept tips! 
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Recently, while checking upcoming events at the Renasant Convention Center, I saw that the company I worked for 2009-2018, the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL), is bringing one of its North American tournaments to town March 13-23.

Bridge is a trick-taking partnership card game similar to spades, but with more layers of complexity. Your great grandparents may have played it around the kitchen table. If you’ve ever wanted to learn the game of bridge, or you play casually and you want to get better, there will be plenty of games and events designed for you.

I’ll come back and see more at the end of this post. But for now let’s get onto the news…

Penny’s Memphis Tigers suffered a road loss to Wichita State yesterday. That’ll probably drop Memphis to a 6 seed in bracketology projections.

Next up for the Tigers: They host Florida Atlantic on Sunday.

Jaren Jackson Jr. had 2 blocks for Team Kenny in last night’s NBA All-Star Game. WHAT??? Defense in the ASG? They lost to Team Chuck though.

It’s Presidents’ Day, so government offices are closed.

And now, back to bridge…

The full name for the game the ACBL sanctions is duplicate contract bridge. It’s duplicate because you’re not really playing against your opponents at the table; you’re playing against all the other partnerships sitting the same direction as you (north-south or east-west), who are playing the same hand as you.

It’s called contract because you bid on what you want the trump suit to be (no trump suit also being an option), and how many tricks you believe your partnership can take if that is agreed upon as the trump suit.

During the 11 days at the Renasant Convention Center, the ACBL will offer

• Games you can play against other bridge players with no or limited experience
• Education seminars where you can learn bridge in a day
• One-hour celebrity speaker seminars featuring some of the best bridge teachers in the world

You don’t need to have a partner to participate in games; they have a partnership desk that can match you up with one.

More information

Back tomorrow with more news.

It’s free to read this blog, but I gratefully accept tips! 
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It’s looking more and more like Memphis will see winter weather Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Although snow is most likely, we could see an ice event with freezing rain or sleet. Highs aren’t expected to make it out of the 20s Wednesday and Thursday (normal is 57) with lows in the lower teens.

Hive Bagel and Deli is hiring line cooks. Full- and part-time shifts are available.

Penny’s Memphis Tigers have a road game at Wichita State this morning at 11. TV: ESPN

Sebastian Maniscalco and Jim Gaffigan bring a night of comedy to FedExForum this Friday.

Katt Williams’ Heaven on Earth Tour stops at FedExForum Saturday.

Stax Music Academy brings a Black History Month celebration to the Cannon Center Friday.

There will be a Memphis Mardi Gras parade of corgis Saturday. That’s the dog breed Queen Elizabeth II loved so much.

That’s it for today. Back Monday or Tuesday.

It’s free to read this blog, but I gratefully accept tips! 
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
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Happy Fifteenth! If you spent a bunch of money on flowers and chocolates and dinner yesterday, I hope you got some.

Did you know that most V-Day flowers enter the U.S. through the port of Miami? I read that in the excellent Morning Brew newsletter.

It’s National Clementine Day, celebrating one of Memphis’ most dangerous streets. You can see Clementine Rd. to the north as you drive 240 between Mill Branch and I-55. I don’t recommend seeing that street from a more up-close-and-personal vantage point unless you’re packing the nine.

It’s also National Hippo Day.

Stage play When a Woman’s Fed Up is at the Orpheum today. 2:30 and 7:30 shows.

In other Orpheum news, hit Broadway musical Hamilton returns Tuesday and will be in town through March 2.

Congratulations to the Grizzlies’ Zach Edey and Jaylen Wells, both on 2025 NBA Rising Stars champion Team C. The team will advance to the NBA All-Star tournament on Sunday.

Jaren Jackson Jr. will play for Kenny’s Young Stars Sunday, coached by basketball commentator Kenny Smith.

Beale Street Bears notes that Jaren is on track to be named to an All-NBA team this season. If he does, he’ll be eligible for a supermax contract extension this summer. 5 years, $345 million for an average annual value of $69M. Time for the Grizzlies to start paying luxury tax.

The Daytona 500 is tomorrow.

I have another good story about the Memphis Union Mission, told to us in chapel by one of the pastors.

You may have heard that the Union Mission operates a drug and alcohol recovery program called Iron-on-Iron, on a countryside campus called Calvary Colony. It’s on Benjestown Rd. in the area between the Mississippi River and Frayser. To get there from Downtown, you’d go north on Second until it curves right and turns into Whitney Avenue.

Calvary Colony wasn’t always in that location, though. In the 1950s it was on Mud Island.

This was years before the A.W. Willis bridge and the monorail bridge. When new participants signed up for the recovery program, they had to be ferried across the Wolf River Harbor channel by boat.

Why did they move Calvary Colony off Mud Island? Because in that era, nearby Beale Street was booming. On Friday nights, men in the program would jump in the water and swim across to go party on Beale.

Back tomorrow or Monday or Tuesday.

It’s free to read this blog, but I gratefully accept tips! 
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We’re in for a couple of weather events in the coming days.

On Saturday, Memphis is expected to get storms with heavy rain at times. The forecast radar has line after line of storms moving through all day. If you have plans outside, might as well forget about them.

On Wednesday we could see light snow or a wintry mix. Good news though – the high is predicted to be in mid to upper 30s, so frozen precipitation should melt quickly.

Max’s Sports Bar news: Starting next week, they’ll offer a honey hot chicken pizza with honey gold hot sauce, chicken, onions and ranch.

Today the Flying Saucer will feature a flight pairing 4 Memphis Made beers with Girl Scout cookies.

Ghost River will host Love Song Bingo, called by Cerrito Entertainment, tonight from 7 to 9 in the taproom at Main and Crump. Prizes every round.

House music fans, Saturday night is your night as ClubHaus comes to the Cadre Building at Second and Monroe 7 PM-2 AM. From the event listing:

ClubHaus returns bigger than ever, showcasing everything house music has to offer with some of the top DJs in the region. If you love House, Bass House, Tech House, Future House, Progressive House, and even some UK Garage, you’ll feel right at home at the premiere house event of 2025!

Prepare to experience high-energy club vibes in a massive and elegant downtown venue. ClubHaus will have a powerful sound system, stunning visuals, and a mesmerizing laser show provided by ILLumination Lasers & Lights!

DJs for ClubHaus: Von Gögh, Brian Hamilton, Andy Chance B2B Scotty B, Jordan Rogers, and Vibeology ( Delyrius x FERB ).

Uptown residents are concerned about the traffic a new Chick-fil-A will bring to the area.

That’s all. Weather permitting, back tomorrow.

It’s free to read this blog, but I gratefully accept tips! 
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
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Grind City Brewing hosts Love & Hate Trivia tonight at 6:30. $50 gift card for first place, $25 gift card for second, and a 6-pack for third.

Read the love story of Patrick & Deni (Majestic Grille, Cocozza) in this week’s Memphis Flyer.

The CA says plans for a Downtown Chick-fil-A are still on track.

The Grizzlies are in L.A. to play the Clippers at 9:30 tonight. TV: FanDuel Sports

Professional Bull Riders are at FedExForum Saturday.

Shen Yun returns to the Cannon Center Tuesday.

That’s all for now. Back tomorrow.

It’s free to read this blog, but I gratefully accept tips! 
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
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Edible Memphis has a look at the folks behind new restaurant Hard Times Deli out in The Edge. Not only will they serve a quality product, but they also intend to keep quality of life high for their employees and themselves.

Memphis Made and Mahjong Merriment will host Taps and Tiles Friday evening, March 7. This is not a class; you need to already know how to play mahjong.

Today is Extraterrestrial Culture Day.

Taconganas Cordova employees were detained by the feds yesterday. Could the Downtown taco truck be next?

The Grizzlies have a 9 PM (CST) game in Phoenix. TV: TBS, TNT, or truTV

Kaleidoscope (subset of FreeWorld) plays Downtown Central BBQ every Saturday from noon to 3.

That’s it. Short post on a rainy day. Back tomorrow.

It’s free to read this blog, but I gratefully accept tips! 
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
Apple Pay: paul.ryburn@gmail.com

Did you know that Super Bowl halftime performers are paid only union scale – which tends to be not six or seven figures, but three? Super Bowl halftime show facts

It’s going to be a rainy week in Memphis.

Today is National Brownie Day and National Poop Day.

The NBA All-Star Game this coming Sunday will have a new format.

The 17th-ranked Memphis Tigers got a 90-82 revenge win over Temple yesterday. They improve to 20-4 overall, 10-1 AAC. Next up: Thursday at South Florida

Live horror experience INSIDIOUS: The Further You Fear comes to the Orpheum Wednesday.

The Trumpster says he’s getting rid of the penny.

That’s all. I may take Tuesday off from blogging due to the weather.

It’s free to read this blog, but I gratefully accept tips! 
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
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