A word of caution to my readers who like to dine out Downtown: Don’t rely on Apple Pay on your iPhone as your only option for payment.
The reason why is a scam run by the crowds of wonderful (dripping with sarcasm) customers that have overtaken Downtown restaurants since COVID. They’ll go out in a big group, consume copious amounts of food and drink, and pay with Apple Pay. Then when they get home, they’ll get on the phone and dispute the charge. It’s harder for a business to prove a transaction took place if there was no physical swipe of a card’s magnetic strip and no read of its chip. The customer almost always gets refunded and the restaurant has to eat the food and drink cost. This is affecting some restaurants to the tune of thousands of dollars a month. So they’re no longer accepting that payment method.
Yesterday I witnessed an awkward moment where a couple found out they couldn’t use Apple Pay until AFTER they’d had a meal and a couple of mimosas each. They had used Apple Pay successfully at the restaurant a month ago, so they had every reason to believe it would work again. They eventually figured it out – I think they Venmo’d the bartender, who then paid the tab with her debit card. You don’t want to have to depend on workarounds like that, though.
They say cash is king, but even that won’t work everywhere, as business like Birdie’s and Zio Matto have put up WE ARE CASHLESS signs. Understandable; in a city like Memphis, you want to disincentivize people from robbing your business.
My point is this – take two methods of payment when you dine out, just to be safe.
How bout them HOGS!!!! I just had a feeling they would be the team to take down the Tennessee Vols.
Let’s look at this Saturday’s games of interest:
- South Carolina at 7 Alabama, 11:00 AM, ABC
- Memphis at South Florida, 2:30 PM, TV: ??? (Rescheduled due to Hurricane Milton)
- 1 Texas at 18 Oklahoma (Red River Rivalry), 2:30 PM, ABC
- Mississippi State at 5 Georgia, 3:15 PM, SEC Network
- Florida at 8 Tennessee, 6:00 PM, ESPN
- Arkansas State at Texas State, 6:00 PM, ESPN+
- 2 Ohio State at 3 Oregon, 6:30 PM, NBC
- 9 Ole Miss at 13 LSU, 6:30 PM, ABC
Keep an eye on Hurricane Milton. It has the potential to do heavy damage to central-west Florida later this week. Mandatory evacuation orders are in place for areas around Tampa Bay.
Girl from the North Country is at the Orpheum this week.
The Cannon Center will throw a party, free to the public, Friday evening from 5:30-7:30 to celebrate 100 years of events and concerts at 255 N. Main.
Momma’s is adding a $5 pint night 7-11 PM to its Tuesday lineup, which already included a chicken fried chicken food special and karaoke on the patio.
Posts may be a bit less frequent than last week. Having foot and leg problems again. I’ll be back when I can.
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