Joe Boone interviews Chaperone, a trio of DJs who are bringing psychedelic house music to Amurica World Headquarters, Saturday.
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Month: August 2014
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New Plans for Graceland Project
Toby Sells reports on the unveiling of new plans for a Graceland “Guest House” hotel.
New details of the proposed development project at Graceland surfaced this week in a plan that will be presented to Memphis City Council members next week.
Plans to build a new hotel, called The Guest House at Graceland and close to the former home of Elvis Presley, were revealed in May. The price tag on that project jumped from $70 million to $75 million since the plans were originally unveiled.
The new plan came from Memphis Mayor A C Wharton’s administration. It includes a three-phase construction project, an overall master plan, a new board to oversee the project, and a proposed financing mechanism.
The proposal that will go before council Tuesday includes:
• Graceland Archives Studio – a 200-seat theater that will give “guests an in-depth look at the vast Graceland archives.” The $1 million studio is slated to open on August 9.
• Guest House at Graceland – 450 rooms, 16,000 square feet of meeting and ballroom space, 500-seat theater, two restaurants, and a pool.
• New attractions on west side of Graceland campus – new entry element at Graceland gates, a high-tech “discovery center,” a high-tech area to experience Elvis in concert, and retail, food, and beverage areas.
To help pay for the new developments, the city will ask the state to designate the area as a tourist development zone (TDZ). Some state and city taxes collected in TDZs are funneled away from traditional government coffers and go instead to pay for big projects like convention centers or tourist attractions.
A TDZ was established around the Pyramid to help pay for its redevelopment and coming projects in the Pinch District. The city now has a request before the state to make a TDZ around the Mid-South Fairgrounds to create a state-of-the-art sportsplex on the property.
In the case of the Graceland project, Wharton will ask council to approve an additional 5 percent tourist surcharge on goods and services used by visitors to the Graceland TDZ, the resolution says.
The resolution that will go before council Tuesday will also ask to set up a committee to oversee the project. The nine-member committee will have the authority to issue bonds, incur debt, and pay debt.
It’s as nice a Memphis basketball story as you’ll read this year. Former Memphis Tiger and Grizzly Antonio Burks has been named the men’s basketball coach at Soulsville Charter School, a program funded by the Soulsville Foundation, which also manages and operates the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.
After graduating from Booker T. Washington High School, Burks rose to stardom over three years at the University of Memphis under coach John Calipari. The quicksilver point guard played for the 2002 NIT champions and was named Conference USA Player of the Year after his senior season in 2003-04. Burks was chosen by Orlando in the second round of the 2004 NBA draft, but never suited up for the Magic. He played a total of 81 games for the Grizzlies during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons.
Burks’s playing career ended in 2009 when he was shot and nearly lost his life during a backyard robbery of a card game in Memphis. His gradual but steady recovery has proven to be a more rigorous challenge than any he faced on the hardwood.
The 34-year-old Burks starts his new job next week.
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Try the Ahi.
John Klyce Minervini says you need to give Interim’s Seared Ahi with Peach a try.
This weekend, you’ll find several ways to ramp up your style.
Saturday August 2nd, local designer Andrea Fenise will be hosting a Brunch & Sew with creative partner Kamesha Hervey Richard of Ava Loren Design. Brunch will be served as you learn the basics of sewing and pattern making. Ticket prices include brunch and sewing materials. For tickets and more info click here.
After closing the University of Memphis location, Crazy Beautiful has found its new Midtown home in Overton Square, at 2111 Madison Avenue, in the same building as Sweet Noshings and Breakaway Running. It is expected to open in October.
In the meantime, Crazy Beautiful will open their pop-up shop today August 1st in anticipation of their permanent location, just in time for back-to-school tax free weekend. The pop-up shop is located at 2092 Trimble Place at the Tower courtyard. Hours are Mon-Sat 10am-8pm and Sunday 12pm-6pm.
In other retail news, one of Memphis’ newest clothing store The Cedar Room is open and fully stocked with men’s formal and casual wear, accessories, gifts, and cigars. The Cedar Room is located in Harbor Town next to the Ivory Closet which has recently launched their online store. They offer free standard shipping for orders over $100. Happy shopping!
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Summer Movie Journal #4
Addison Engelking continues his weekly series of overlooked and off-beat summer films.
Food pics are a dime a dozen, and at this point we’re pretty jaded. What’s that, you say? A photo of a life-changing yellow pukka curry from celebrity chef Jamie Oliver? Yawn. Yet another garden-fresh watermelon salad from Real Simple editor Sarah Copeland? Wake me when it’s over.
But once in a while, a food pic comes along that really gets our attention. That’s what happened on Wednesday night, when Interim Restaurant and Bar posted this photo on their Facebook feed. It shows a forthcoming menu item, the house-cured gravlax on German rye bread ($12).
I mean, come on, right? I had to try it.
Gravlax is a Scandinavian dish that consists of salmon that has been dry-cured with a mixture of salt, sugar, and fresh herbs. At Interim, they serve it over arugula, with crème fraiche and capers. It’s a thrilling flavor combination, and the salmon is so good that they could have served it by itself, alone on a plate. If you order the gravlax, be sure to nibble on a bit of the fish without the fixins. Yum.
But what really stood out was the seafood special: seared ahi tuna with peach and arugula slaw on a bed of beet orzo (market price, usually about $30). Chef Jason Dallas, formerly of Chez Philippe, developed it together with sous chefs Sepand Mazahery and Ysaac Ramirez.
The orzo is rich and hearty, picking up earthy undertones from the beets. The slaw is sweet and a little spicy. And in between, the fish is just terrific. It’s wild-caught, sushi-grade tuna from the Gulf of Mexico, and it tastes like it just came out of the water.
And as a matter of fact, did just come out of the water. Chef Dallas handed me the tracking tags from Gulf Wild, a Florida company that works with Gulf fishermen to ensure sustainability, accountability, and freshness. By using a tracking number, I was able to determine that the tuna I was eating had been caught earlier in the week by fisherman Robert Carter, aboard his vessel the Blackjack 1.
Now that’s pretty cool. If you’re looking for a good example of what Memphis chefs are capable of, you could do worse than to start here.
A Memphis preacher and a Memphis woman both pleaded guilty to stealing money from the government Thursday in separate cases, according to Edward L. Stanton III, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.
Craig Wilson, 45, of Memphis, pleaded guilty to helping others steal about $168,000 from the federal government while he was the pastor of New Beginnings Church.
Wilson said he helped people file false income tax returns. The tax refund checks were deposited into bank accounts controlled by Wilson and some others involved in the scam.
The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigative Division and the United States Secret Service.
Wilson faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervision upon his release. He will be sentenced in federal court on October 25.
Janet Wheeler, 48, of Cordova, told prosecutors in a guilty plea that she falsely claimed she was qualified for federal housing assistance.
From 2009 to 2011, she was a participant in the Housing Choice Voucher Program by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In that time, she made false claims to the local Memphis Housing Authority and received about $30,000 in undue government assistance.
Wheeler now faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for December 5.
Nancy Apple brings her Rhythm and Roots Revival show to Beale Street’s Handy Park Friday, featuring an appearance by legendary, 84-year-old pedal steel guitar player, Kayton Roberts (shown).