A view of the Mississippi from Loosahatchie Bar in October 2022 (Photo: Bruce VanWyngarden)
“The Mississippi River will always have its own way; no engineering skill can persuade it to do otherwise; it has always torn down the petty basketwork of the engineers and poured its giant floods withersoever it chose, and it will continue to do this.” — Mark Twain
The Mississippi River has long defined the city of Memphis, literally marking its border on the west, and shaping its commerce and its soul throughout its history. But for a city framed by one of the world’s largest rivers, Memphis is woefully underserved when it comes to vehicular bridges.
We have two: The Memphis and Arkansas Bridge, which is traversed by I-55 and perennially under repair. It was constructed in 1949 and is locally known as the “old bridge.” And then there is the Hernando DeSoto Bridge (aka the “new bridge”; aka the “M bridge”), which opened in 1973 and carries vehicular traffic for I-40. It was closed for months a couple years back because of a large crack that developed in one of its I-beams.
The Memphis and Arkansas Bridge is not built to withstand earthquakes, and I wouldn’t put house money on the “new bridge” surviving one either. If we’re being candid, Memphis is one earthquake away from being without a Mississippi River crossing, which would absolutely decimate the city’s economy by diverting 100,000 vehicles a day to other bridges north or south of here. For comparison’s sake, the city of St. Louis, also on the Mississippi River, has 11 bridges.
But Memphis got some good news last week. It was overshadowed by another minor news event involving a presidential candidate’s ear, but, hey, we’re getting a new bridge! A $393.7 million federal grant for a replacement span over the big river was announced for the states of Tennessee and Arkansas. The new “new bridge” will replace the old “old bridge,” and will be designed to meet current seismic standards.
The news was greeted with great rejoicing by GOP Governor Bill Lee: “This unprecedented investment in Memphis marks the single-largest transportation investment in Tennessee state history and will be transformative for our infrastructure.” It goes without saying that almost all Republicans, including Tennessee’s congressional delegation, voted against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which is funding the construction. Memphis Congressman Steve Cohen was the only Tennessee representative to vote for the act. It will take a few years for Memphis’ newest bridge to be completed, but at least we’re making progress.
Our river was in the news for other reasons last week, as well. Mississippi River cruises, long a financial boon for Memphis and other river cities, have taken a major hit due to drastic river-flow fluctuations caused by climate change. Flooding and drought have led to the cancellation of millions of dollars worth of cruises, according to a New York Times article:
“While operators are building new ships, and towns and cities are investing in infrastructure to welcome boat traffic, cruises on the Mississippi face mounting challenges from an increasing number of droughts and floods. … Memphis made its $40 million Beale Street Landing the centerpiece of a larger redevelopment of parks and trails snaking along six miles of Mississippi shoreline. Last year, more than half of the 128 scheduled cruise ship landings there were canceled, mostly because of low water levels that made it impossible for the boats to reach the dock.”
Forest and wetland destruction, new dams, and dredging have exacerbated the Mississippi’s natural flow fluctuations. And climate change has caused even more dramatic shifts in water levels. It was only two Octobers ago that you could basically walk across the Mississippi at Memphis. River traffic was down to one lane, with barges stacked up single file for miles and miles, awaiting their turn. And it was only last month that the Mississippi River at St. Paul had the eighth-highest crest ever recorded.
No one knows what the future holds, a situation for which the novelist Norman Maclean had wise words: “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of those rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters.”
Tim Barker after Edge Alley closed (Photos: Michael Donahue)
When one door closes, another one opens.
Lately, these doors have the name of a restaurant on them.
Since April, several high-profile Memphis restaurants have closed. Reasons include staffing, crime, leases running out, and so on.
But announcements for more brand-new restaurants have also popped up in recent months.
One of those slated to open is the eagerly-awaited, new restaurant from Felicia Willett-Schuchardt, owner of the old Felicia Suzanne’s on North Main. I ran into Willett-Schuchardt at a couple of tasting fundraisers. She told me she planned to open her new restaurant in the fall. That’s in the old Spindini restaurant space at 383 South Main Street.
That’s great news. But then I began hearing about closings.
Edge Alley at 600 Monroe Avenue was the harbinger when Tim Barker announced his restaurant would close December 10, 2023. He told me he decided to close “for a number of reasons.” Number one? “I feel it had started to become unsustainable,” he said.
Closing Edge Alley “makes the most sense. I don’t want to lower the quality of the product, change our service standard, cut staff. Now is kind of the time for me. Also, my lease is up. So, everything is all at once. Rising costs, lease is up, and then maybe the concept has run its course.”
Then came Bounty on Broad, which announced its closing on April 3rd on Facebook. “Today, with a heavy yet grateful heart, Bounty on Broad announces its closure, effective immediately …”
Not long after that, more and more restaurants began following suit.
Dory, a fine dining restaurant at 716 West Brookhaven Circle, closed June 29th. The restaurant, owned by executive chef David Krog and his wife, Amanda, opened in 2021 during the pandemic.
David told me in an interview, “It’s been coming since the day we opened. We were brand-new and unestablished and not on anybody’s radar, either. We didn’t get the honeymoon. These aren’t excuses. These are just what happened. There is no excuse. It was sad. The restaurant business is tough. For us, we didn’t make it.”
I wrote about Maximo’s when it announced it was going to close the same day Dory closed. Amy Zuniga, who owned the restaurant at 2617 Broad Avenue with her husband, Julio, told me, “There’s not enough business to sustain us. And we’ve been short-staffed and can’t find anyone. We can’t keep going, unfortunately.”
And, she said, “We’ve been trying to hang in there for awhile, but it’s just gotten to this point where there’s only so much hanging on we can do.”
Fino’s From the Hill at 7781 Farmington Boulevard, Suite 101, is now closed. But the other location at 1853 Madison Avenue is still open. Owner Kelly English says, “The lease was up and it made sense for us to close and focus on one location rather than to sign on again. There is nothing else to it.”
Andrew Ticer, Michael Donahue, Michael Hudman at Bishop in 2023
A shocker was the recent announcement of the closing of Bishop, the elegant Downtown restaurant owned by Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman in Central Station Hotel.
The hotel’s Facebook page says it “will be opening a brand-new restaurant this fall.”
I was stunned when I heard Jeff Fioranelli announced his restaurant, Buckley’s Grill, was closing in June after 30 years.
“Our lease was up at the end of August regardless,” Fioranelli says. “And, frankly, I had made a commitment five years ago to sign on for one more five-year term. Regardless of what my partner wanted to do after that, it was time. I figure 30 years in the trenches was enough for me. If he wanted to go on, so be it.
“The climate has gotten so difficult for so many reasons,” Fioranelli says. “The restaurant industry is getting hammered from all sides. Especially in Memphis.”
He saw customers who live outside of Memphis “less frequently. A lot did not want to risk driving to Memphis from outlying areas. Collierville. Bartlett.”
Because of crime or the perception of it, they now feel it’s “a lot safer if you go out of the city limits. Asking someone to leave Collierville to come to town when you’ve got so many options is not something we can bank on.”
Will Fioranelli open another restaurant? “I have a passion for the business. But when you step out of this business and look in, you realize there are forces beyond your control at this point that you just can’t fight. A business in another area? Possibly. But right now I think I’m just going to grow my hair out like you did.”
The good news is more restaurants are opening.
Harrison Downing, Schuyler O’Brien, Cole Jeanes with their sons in 2023
Hard Times Deli at 655 Marshall Avenue in the Edge District has a planned fall opening. “We’re directly across the street from Sun Studio,” says Harrison Downing, one of the chef/owners along with Schuyler O’Brien and Cole Jeanes. “It’s the building next door to the Edge Motor Museum.”
The famous hamburger-making “Patty Daddy” members of the “Secret Smash Society” will serve “elevated deli sandwiches.” It’s similar to how Kinfolk, which is owned by Jeanes, does its elevated breakfasts, Downing says. “We’ll take all our fine dining training and make it an elevated sandwich shop.”
With the “cost of food now” and “places closing,” opening a new restaurant is daunting. But, as for their concept, Downing says, “Everybody seems excited about us bringing this to Memphis.”
A news release says Cocozza American Italian owners Patrick and Deni Reilly, who also own the Majestic Grill, are slated to open a second location of the restaurant this winter at 919 South Yates. It states, “The Reillys look to fill the same niche for busy East Memphis families as they do at their original location in Harbor Town, by providing family-friendly, classic American Italian fare in a casual full-service restaurant with a fun, funky dining room that evokes memories of eating in your favorite grandmother’s kitchen.”
Meanwhile, the Tandem Restaurant Group is moving and shaking things up around town.
Ben Yay’s at 51 South Main Street is closing “probably at the end of this month,” says Tony Westmoreland with the group which owns Ben Yay’s.
Why? “There’s just absolutely no traffic down there.”
But, he adds, “We’re not going to lose the concept. We’re going to move the concept to Sugar Grits.”
That will make Sugar Grits at 150 Peabody Place, Suite 111, a combination of “North Carolina and Creole-inspired cuisines.”
Tandem, which owns several restaurants, has been busy. “We’re trying to pivot and use spaces we have commitments in. We’re not looking for anything brand-new.”
The “pinch” in the restaurant business began happening in August of last year, Westmoreland says. “And it has not let up.”
Sales at their restaurants, mostly Downtown, have been lower this year than last year. “May kicked everybody Downtown in the teeth. We didn’t even beat a normal month with all the events and stuff.”
The group’s Carolina Watershed at 141 East Carolina Avenue closed in January. “We put it on the market. We have a couple of people looking at it. We felt like we were going to get it sold before summer is over, but it hasn’t happened yet.”
But, Westmoreland says, they might put in a pop-up for their new Memphis Original Gangsta Fried Chicken restaurant at the old Carolina Watershed until the new restaurant opens at 786 Echols Street. Chef Duncan Aiken will be serving his “gangsta fried chicken” with his special sauce at the pop-up as well as the new restaurant. And he’ll serve soul food, including corn bread, mac and cheese, greens, and smashed potatoes. “It’s going to be like a chicken spot with some sides. That will probably be September before we get that one rolling.”
Uncle Red’s, which was going to open at the Echols address, is now going to open in August at 2583 Broad Avenue, the original site of Salt|Soy, which has now combined with Alchemy Memphis at 940 Cooper Street. Uncle Red’s will serve smoked turkey legs based on family recipes from FreeSol, lead singer of the alternative band also called FreeSol. FreeSol, aka Christopher Anderson, will be the operating partner at the restaurant, which will serve lunch and dinner. “It’ll be a fun menu. But the majority of it will be based around turkey and smoked products.”
Front Street Deli, also owned by Tandem, is slated to be open by July 18th. The restaurant at 77 South Front Street will be run by Westmoreland, Aiken, Stephanie Westmoreland, Julien Salley, and Nick Scott. “Duncan is doing the sandwich portion and part of the pasta portion. And Nick is finishing up the pasta portion.”
The pasta portion will feature their new brand, “Pasta Cosa Nostra,” which will be pasta served in small containers so people can walk up and down the street and eat it.
Another Tandem business, Old Zinnie’s, which has been closed since May, will be back. The bar/restaurant at 1688 Madison Avenue will be called “Zinnie’s,” but they will primarily serve authentic-style Phillys — Philadelphia shaved steak. The real Phillys. And Cheese Whiz.”
They plan to re-open Zinnie’s in August, if not sooner. “We’re doing a little bit of remodeling right now ’cause it just needs a cleanup. We will be reopening as non-smoking. So, that’s going to be your game changer.”
“We just secured $393+ MILLION through the [Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act] to fully replace the I-55 bridge connecting America through #Memphis,” Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) posted late last week. “As @POTUS would say, it’s a ‘Big **** Deal’! And it sure is — it’s likely the largest single investment the federal government has ever made in Memphis.”
Cohen and iPhone
Posted to YouTube by Corey Strong
In a new political ad, Corey Strong looked back to 2007 when the iPhone was introduced and Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) was first elected to Congress, noting that Cohen had been around “longer than the iPhone.”
“What have we seen?” Strong asks. “Do we have the infrastructure we need to succeed? Have we seen the growth that neighboring areas have seen? No.”
The Zoo
Posted to Facebook by Juicy J
Juicy J’s new album Memphis Zoo (released last week) features amazing cover art (right). Sharks swim in a glass Pyramid aquarium. A grizzly bear plays basketball. A masked-up giraffe holds a ring of keys, promising escape.
Elvis backstage at the
Shell in 1955 (Photo: Robert Dye Sr. / Courtesy
Overton pPark Shell Archives)
It seems like this should be national news — international, even. We’re talking about Elvis Presley, after all. And the 70th anniversary of his first great triumph as a live performer is fast approaching, although anyone who saw it advertised in the paper beforehand might have gotten his name wrong. Promoting the eighth annual Country Music Jamboree scheduled for July 30, 1954, an ad in the Memphis Press-Scimitar read, “In person, the SENSATIONAL radio-recording star, Slim Whitman, with Billy Walker, Ellis Presley and many others … Tonight at Shell, $1.25 reserved.”
Whoever this “Ellis” Presley was, he shared the Overton Park Shell stage with some mighty respected company amongst country music fans. Pretty good for only the second or third public performance of his life.
As it happened, it was more than pretty good: It was earth-shattering. In Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll, Peter Guralnick quotes Presley’s guitarist Scotty Moore as saying, “With those old loose britches that we wore, it made it look like all hell was going on under there. During the instrumental parts he would back off from the mic and be playing and shaking, and the crowd would just go wild, but he thought they were actually making fun of him.” They weren’t. After the show, dozens of teens rushed backstage for autographs from this new singer.
That validation was exactly what the young Presley needed, only 11 days after the release of his first single, “That’s All Right.”
It’s a story that Cole Early knows well, being the content and archives manager of the Overton Park Shell, not to mention curator of the Shell’s excellent Connie Abston Archive & History Exhibition. That short set, Presley’s first live show with just his recording band of Moore and Bill Black, was akin to a big bang of pop music, in stark contrast to Presley’s one earlier attempt to sit in with a band unfamiliar with his style.
“His first public performance ever was in a honky-tonk on Summer Avenue, and he wasn’t received well,” says Early of Presley’s previous experience. “The country music audience there at the club that night just saw this flashy kid wearing pink, and this was like a dive bar, a honky-tonk place.” Then came his appearance at the Country Music Jamboree.
Knowing that the Shell bore witness to one of rock-and-roll’s great moments, Early wanted to celebrate the memory of Elvis’ performance in style. Since the Shell already offers the Backstage Experience tour of the Connie Abston Archive, it was easy to imagine the Shell stage as the culmination of an even greater tour. What Elvis fan could resist seeing various key locations in The King’s ascension, working east from Downtown, then ending up at the very stage on which Elvis first made his mark, with music by a live band?
Done in partnership with Backbeat Tours and the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, the whole package, billed as The 70th Anniversary of Live Rock ‘n’ Roll, will be available one day only, on Saturday, July 27th. Early says the tour will “originate Downtown at the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum. Of course, they have amazing exhibits down there. Then it’s going to do an Elvis-centric tour of Memphis, though not Graceland.” Expect stops at Sun Studio, the Presley’s Lauderdale Courts apartment, Elvis’ high school, the original Lansky Bros. clothing store, and the like. “And then they’ll come here to the Shell for a custom Backstage History Experience tour with mostly the Elvis points, and then at the end, a live re-creation of that first show, right where it happened.”
Finley Watkins & His Blue Moon (of Missouri) Boys will be playing, and Early says they’re a perfect fit. “You know, Elvis was a teenager when he played at the Shell, he was 19,” he says. “So it’s great having Finley, who’s also a teenager. And yes, he will have a Scotty and a Bill with him as well. That will be super exciting because they’ll have an upright bass, like Bill Black played during the original show. The Shell’s acoustics pick up that slap back really well. So we’re really proud that the Shell is the one venue where that can be realistic, in such a way that it couldn’t be in any other room or venue.”
For more details and tickets, see the “special events” at backbeattours.com.
Are you one of those Memphians who proudly says, “I’ve lived in Memphis my whole life and I’ve never been to Graceland”? Hmmm? Or, maybe, you’re more of the “been there, done that” type — the type who says, “MoSH? No, I haven’t been there since it was the Pink Palace.” But why? Why be so pessimistic when your city has so much to offer and there’s so much to do? No matter how long you’ve lived in Memphis, you haven’t seen everything; you haven’t been everywhere.
So, this summer, we encourage you to throw away your curmudgeonly attitudes, and discover or rediscover those spots that have put Memphis on the map. Sure, sometimes, they’re a bit touristy, but, hey, be a tourist. Lace up your brightest white sneakers and fasten your fanny pack around your hips. Affix your visor on your head and lather on that SPF. It’s time to staycation, baby.
Photo: Toby Sells
Go Back to Beale Street
Beale Street’s magic lies in mystery and discovery.
This mystique has drawn millions to its sidewalk shores for decades. Visitors know it’s a party place with music, probably. Curiosity magnetizes desire. Before they know it, they’re walking with their feet 10 feet off of Beale. (I said what I said.)
Maybe the mystique is gone for locals. Maybe that’s why they proudly shun Beale, on par with cocktail-party protestations about never going to Graceland.
But Beale Street deserves another look, locals. Here are a couple of assignments to help you get back to Beale.
1. Shop local — No, you don’t need another “Memphis” shot glass. But you need local beer (and music).
Assign yourself to go drink one beer at the Ghost River Brewing Co. taproom on Beale’s east end. The beer is fresh, local, and the taps are always changing. If nothing else, go for the beer garden. It’s beautiful, spacious, and one-of-a-kind. It’s a local’s oasis on Beale with a big stage for live music and a second-story patio built for great people-watching.
Stroll to Beale’s west end for a look inside Walking Pants Curiosities. Housed in the former Tater Red’s space, the shop offers elevated tourist fare, some of it appropriate for a Midtown cookout. (Consider the “South Mane” T-shirt.) Much of it is made by local makers like apparel from God Forbid & Co. and Cosgrove & Lewis Handmade Luxury Soaps.
2. Just go — Throw pride (and maybe prejudice?) to the wind. Consider all of Beale local. It is. Eat a bowl of gumbo at King’s Palace Cafe. Play pool at People’s. Catch a live band in one of those open-air bars. Take your kids for ice cream at A. Schwab. It’s all in the 38103. That means it’s Memphis. Just go. Let Beale’s mystery fuel your local discovery. — Toby Sells
Ching’s Hot Wings (Photo: Kailynn Johnson)
Indulge in Ching’s Hot Wings
A staycation is the perfect opportunity to knock something off of your food bucket list. As I scrolled through my cluttered saved posts on Instagram and TikTok of places that had been stowed away as the result of “camera eats first” posts and stories, I decided to knock something off my list that had sat there since my college days. As a Mississippi girl I thought the best wings that the South had to offer came from the Dixie Queen locations in DeSoto County. However, when I was a student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, I would always hear my Memphis friends longing for the taste of honey hot wings from Ching’s Hot Wings located at 1264 Getwell Road. My friend Jessica Davis let me know, after months of settling for franchises like Zaxby’s and Buffalo Wild Wings, that Ching’s was the spot to truly get a taste of what differentiates Memphis wing culture from others.
I decided to reward myself with a well-deserved cheat meal of honey hot chicken tenders, honey hot drizzled fries, ranch on the side, and an Orange Mound punch. As I went to pick up my order, it felt like walking into Memphis’ own Sardi’s as pictures of famous celebrities, both locally and nationally known, filled the walls, adding to the cozy vibe accompanied by the mouth-watering smell of wing sauce. As I took my first bite into my chicken tender, I realized Jessica was right: This wasn’t the same as the dipped tenders we’d eat during late-night outings in Knoxville. I can see why she’d be in such a hurry to get back home. — Kailynn Johnson
Bass Pro Pyramid (Photo: Bass Pro Pyramid | Facebook)
Journey to the Pyramid
The Great American Pyramid opened in Downtown Memphis in 1991. Originally envisioned as a 20,000-seat arena for sporting events and concerts, the Pyramid was home court for the University of Memphis basketball team for several years and hosted performances by the Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, R.E.M., Fleetwood Mac, and other major artists.
In 2001, the Pyramid became the home of the newly transplanted (from Vancouver) Memphis Grizzlies. In 2004, when the FedExForum was completed, the Pyramid was closed and sat empty until 2015, when it reopened as the Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid. And if you haven’t experienced the current incarnation of the building, you need to head Downtown and take it in, at least once.
It’s an immersive experience. You walk into a life-size cypress swamp filled with fish of many varieties, live ducks, and even a couple of alligators. In the center of it all, there’s a 300-foot freestanding elevator that takes you to a restaurant at the top of the building with a breathtaking balcony view of the Mississippi River and Downtown.
There’s an archery range, a pistol range, a Wahlburgers restaurant, and even a river-themed bowling alley, where “alligator eyes” and other creature features decorate the bowling balls and shimmering lights make you feel like you’re under the river’s surface. There are boats and ATVs and all manner of fishing and hunting equipment for sale, plus clothes, boots, ammo, outdoor grills, a fudge shop, and so much more. And, here’s the best part: If you decide you can’t just leave until you see it all … you don’t have to! You can just book a room at the in-house wilderness-themed Big Cypress Lodge and spend the night enjoying the comforts of the “big pointy bait shop,” as Memphians lovingly call it. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience. — Bruce VanWyngarden
Return to Chucalissa
The bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River where Memphis now stands have been inhabited by humans on and off for thousands of years. When Hernando de Soto’s expedition reached the river in 1541, they found a group of abandoned mounds in the area. The Chickasaw called the place “Chucalissa,” which means “abandoned house.” In the 1930s, Civilian Conservation Corps workers who were building T.O. Fuller State park rediscovered the mound complex. Archeological excavations revealed that the site had been occupied for at least 500 years. It is now a National Historic Landmark, and the site of the C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa.
Most native Memphians know Chucalissa from elementary school field trips. But it’s definitely worth a visit with fresh eyes. The museum itself is built in the shape of a mound. It has an extensive collection of Native American artifacts recovered over 40 years of excavations. The “abandoned houses” belonged to a community associated with the Mississippian culture. From approximately 800 to 1600 C.E., the Mississippians spread from their capital in Cahokia, near what is now East St. Louis, Illinois, north to the Great Lakes, south to the Gulf Coast, and as far east as Charleston, South Carolina. Little is known about the Mississippians, who had no written language, except for what was written down by de Soto’s scribes and a handful of other sources from early European colonizers. But the pottery and other artifacts they left behind speak to a highly sophisticated culture.
Behind the museum is the mound where the village chief had his home, and the plaza where the Chucalissians gathered for communal events, including games of stickball. There’s even a replica Mississippian house, based on archeological studies of the community which once stood here. It all makes for a fascinating afternoon learning how the first Memphians lived. — Chris McCoy
Michael Donahue at the Peabody (Photo: Jon Sparks)
Stay at the Peabody
Part of a great trip for me is to stay at a grand old hotel. Something outstanding and beautiful that’s stood the test of time. A place with great restaurants. A hotel that reeks of elegance and stature.
You know. Like the Peabody Hotel.
People take staycations at the Peabody, says Kelly Brock, the hotel’s director of marketing and communications. “We promote ourselves locally, too,” she says.
In March, the hotel finished “a complete renovation of the lobby and the lobby bar.”
Brock suggests arriving at 4 p.m. Check in, and then hang out and have a cocktail at the lobby bar. Watch the live duck march at 5 p.m. Or take your drink upstairs and watch the sunset from the Peabody roof.
Have dinner at Chez Philippe, the hotel’s fine dining restaurant with a French presentation, or Capriccio Grill, the Italian steak house.
Start the next day with coffee or a Bloody Mary or mimosa when the bar opens at 10 a.m. Watch the duck march at 11 a.m. Then have brunch between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. in Capriccio Grill. Pick out something like Elvis or Priscilla would wear at one of the Lansky shops and get a massage or facial at Feathers Spa.
Pretend you’re in London with “Afternoon Tea,” which begins at 3:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays in Chez Philippe. Indulge yourself with tea sandwiches, warm scones with clotted cream and raspberry jam, petit fours, and cakes.
Guests who check in Thursday get free admission until 7 p.m. to the Peabody Rooftop Party, which features live music on Thursdays through August 15th.
Note: No duck is served on any menu. But toy ducks are for sale at the South’s Grand Hotel. — Michael Donahue
Deanie Parker’s Grammy (Photo: Courtesy Stax Museum of American Soul Music)
Choose Your Own Adventure at Stax
The beauty of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music is that the relatively modest building on McLemore, built to the specs of the original theater’s blueprints, is a bit of a labyrinth. Not only can you wind through the pleasingly meandering exhibit space, music echoing around you, but you can imagine the demo studios and offices in the back, a hive of activity in its heyday. That’s where a lot of the action documented in last year’s CD set, Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos, went down. Now you can see Deanie Parker’s Grammy for it on display.
Similarly, you can imagine the sparkling, thumping sound of the label’s classic records as you look over the reconstructed control room, with its one huge, mono playback speaker, or pace the gently sloping floor of the space where the instruments of Booker T. and the M.G.’s sit out, ready to resume their labors. It’s a vintage recording studio geek’s dream.
There are many paths to choose, all ripe for rediscovery. Another favorite is the Isaac Hayes express, hopscotching between all exhibits pertinent to Black Moses, including his eye-popping desk and office décor, his growing activism with The Invaders empowerment group, and, of course, that Cadillac, still gleaming like a starship.
On some days, I can barely get past the opening exhibit, so powerful and rich are its details. Welcoming visitors is a small country church from Duncan, Mississippi (home of Deanie Parker’s people), exuding history’s vibes like some lost Rosetta Stone. You can imagine hands passing over its wooden pews in the soft light of a thousand Sundays. As outgoing executive director Jeff Kollath said of the museum, “This is a people-driven endeavor, and this is a Memphis-people-driven endeavor.” — Alex Greene
Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum (Photo: Abigail Morici)
Meet the Woodruffs and Fontaines
I had only ever stood outside the Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum on a ghost tour with Historical Haunts (a bonus staycation suggestion for you). So on a Wednesday, and on assignment for this staycation issue, I took myself there. Did I go in the hopes of seeing the spirit of Mollie Woodruff myself? Maybe. Did I succeed in that endeavor? No. Did I enjoy myself? Very much.
Built in 1871, the house was home to two prominent families in Memphis history: first the Woodruffs and later the Fontaines. The building withstood yellow fever, had a stint as an art school, and outlasted other Victorian houses in the area which were knocked down in favor of urban renewal. Only a handful remain in the city.
The Woodruff-Fontaine opened as a museum in the 1960s, thanks to the work of the Memphis Chapter of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities, and today it is furnished with period-appropriate artifacts and heirlooms that have been donated by Memphis and Mid-South families. (Don’t touch any of the antiques, though, because, as the signs will warn you, anyone who has ever touched them is now dead. Yikes.)
Photo: Abigail Morici
Notably, the organization has also amassed an impressive collection of textiles, which they display on rotation. Currently, there’s the “Southern Summers” exhibition, where you can learn how early Memphians kept their cool during those hot, hot days of summer, including how they dressed. (Ooh la la!)
Tours are self-guided, but the ever-knowledgeable staff are always around to answer any questions you may have. Seriously, the Woodruff-Fontaine has some delightful people (and an outdoor cat)! (Don’t know about the ghosts, though. They’re a little standoffish.) You’ll be able to see all three floors, and if you aren’t afraid of heights, head up to the tower and get a view of the Memphis skyline. It’s worth it.
Tours are available Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 4 p.m., with the last admission at 3:30 p.m. Oh, and the museum is often putting on events like Twilight Tours and magic shows, so check out their website at woodruff-fontaine.org for more information. — Abigail Morici
I made a great discovery during the summer of 2015. While driving through the Mississippi Delta, a sign welcomed me to Greenwood, “Home of 5-Time Olympian, Willye B. White.” Who? I did a Google search. Willye B. White was a Black girl born with fast feet like Hermes. Running from work in cotton fields, she raced in international track competitions from 1956 to 1972.
I was teaching school. There was no time to research Willye’s life. But in 2020, the pandemic shuttered school, and in the quietness, I remembered Willye White and that welcome sign. The pandemic made space for me to document the achievements of this U.S. Olympian — Black, female, poor, and significant to Tennessee history. My research began on the phone. Former Olympic swimmer Donna de Varona encouraged me to contact Pat Connolly. Connolly and White called themselves “soul sisters.” Connolly is a retired pentathlete and coach who trained U.S. Olympians Evelyn Ashford and Allyson Felix. She put me in contact with former Olympian and Tennessee State University (TSU) track star, Ralph Boston. My uncle, Hugh Strong, connected me with former Olympian, TSU Tigerbelle, and Memphis educator Margaret Wilburn.
Boston and Wilburn ran with White at TSU. They remembered her to be a resilient athlete and charismatic talker who was called “Mississippi Red” because of her ginger hair. Interviews served me a three-dimensional view of Willye. She was a runner, world traveler, and wise woman, quick with sage observations. For instance, when it came to brutal challenges on the track and in the crucible of the Jim Crow South, she said, “People are always trying to take away my smile, but it’s mine, and they can’t have it.”
After speaking with Willye’s friends, I wrote the first biography about one of the greatest U.S. Olympians to go uncelebrated in the history books. With palpable excitement, as we approach the 2024 Summer Olympics, the amplification of Willye’s valor begins with me.
Willye White was the first American to compete for 20 consecutive years during five Olympic Games in track and field. She sprinted and jumped as a member of 39 U.S. international teams, including the first team to visit the Soviet Union in 1958 and first team to visit China in 1975. She set seven world records. And for nearly two decades, Willye was the best female long jumper in the nation with a career high of 21 feet, 6 inches. White’s maternal grandparents, Louis and Edna Brown, were unskilled laborers who raised her up in Greenwood. They inspired her love for learning. Despite Willye’s reading challenges, she graduated high school in 1959. She graduated Chicago State University in 1976. When she was in fifth grade, her older cousin Vee invited Willye to try out for her high school track team. Willye made the team and sports fueled her self-confidence. She said, “Athletics were my freedom. Freedom from ignorance, freedom from segregation.”
Olympians trained without corporate sponsorship in Willye’s day. So she supported herself working full-time in a Chicago hospital, while training before and after work. Her passion for track was a free ticket to see the world. At 16 years old, in 1956, she participated in her first Olympic Games and won a silver medal in the women’s long jump. She was the first American woman to medal in this event. Willye lived in Greenwood but trained during the summers in Nashville, Tennessee, with Ed Temple, the women’s track coach at TSU. Training in Nashville was her escape from picking cotton. And upon high school graduation in 1959, Willye joined Ed Temple’s TSU Tigerbelles as a freshman. Olympic gold medalist Wilma Rudolph was her Tigerbelle teammate and friend.
It was Coach Temple who nicknamed Willye White “Mississippi Red.” When Red started socializing off campus and missing curfew, Temple canceled her scholarship. She withdrew from TSU in 1960 and moved to Chicago. Temple met Willye again in the summer of 1960 and 1964 when he coached the U.S. Women’s Olympic track teams in Rome and Tokyo. The two mended their differences, and during the 1964 Games, he added her to the 4×100-meter relay race. With Wyomia Tyus, Edith McGuire, and Marilyn White, she won her second silver medal for the USA.
Willye established her track career during the turbulent years of the Civil Rights Movement. While Dr. King marched in street protests, Willye contributed to Black progress on the track with muscle and might. At the end of her track career in 1972, she served as a Chicago city administrator. She also coached student athletes. Willye’s winning mantra was, “If it is to be, it is up to me, because I believe in me!”
Mississippi Red died in 2007 from pancreatic cancer. The city of Chicago named an athletic complex in her honor. You can visit the Willye B. White Park at 1610 W. Howard Street, Chicago, Illinois.
Alice Faye Duncan is the official biographer for U.S. Olympian and TSU Tigerbelle, Willye B. White. Traveling Shoes is the story of Willye’s grace and grit. You can find more books from the author at alicefayeduncan.com.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Have you ever been given a Starbucks gift card but then neglected to use it? Many people fail to cash in such freebies. Believe it or not, there are also folks who buy lottery tickets that turn out to have the winning number — but they never actually claim their rewards. Don’t be like them in the coming weeks, Aries. Be aggressive about cashing in on the offers you receive, even subtle and shy offers. Don’t let invitations and opportunities go to waste. Be alert for good luck, and seize it.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The coming weeks will be a favorable time to enhance your relationship with food. In every way you can imagine, be smart and discerning as you plan and eat your meals. Here are ideas to ponder: 1. Do you know exactly which foods are best for your unique body? 2. Are you sufficiently relaxed and emotionally present when you eat? 3. Could you upgrade your willpower to ensure you joyfully gravitate toward what’s healthiest? 4. Do you have any bad habits you could outgrow? 5. Is your approach to eating affected by problematic emotions that you could heal? 6. Are you willing to try improving things incrementally without insisting on being perfect?
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Hybridization could be a fun theme for you in the coming weeks. You’re likely to align yourself with cosmic rhythms if you explore the joys and challenges of creating amalgamations, medleys, and mash-ups. Your spirit creatures will be the liger, which is a cross between a lion and a tiger, and a mule, a cross between a horse and a donkey. But please note that your spirit creatures will not be impossible hybrids like a giroose (a cross between a giraffe and a moose) or a coyadger (a cross between a coyote and a badger). It’s good to be experimental and audacious in your mixing and matching, but not lunatic delusional.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): In 1986, Cancerian singer-songwriter George Michael released his song “A Different Corner.” It was a big hit. Never before in British pop music had an artist done what Michael accomplished: wrote, sang, arranged, and produced the tune, and played all the instruments. I foresee the possibility of a similar proficiency in your near future, Cancerian — if you want it. Maybe you would prefer to collaborate with others in your big projects, but if you choose, you could perform minor miracles all by yourself.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In the biblical allegory of Noah and the Ark, God warns Noah about an impending flood and commands him to build a giant lifeboat to save living things from extinction. Noah obeys. When the heavy rains come, he, his family, and many creatures board the boat to weather the storm. After 40 days and nights of inundation, they are all safe but stranded in a newly created sea. Hoping for a sign of where they might seek sanctuary, Noah sends out a dove to reconnoiter for dry land. But it returns with no clues. A week later, Noah dispatches a second dove. It returns with an olive leaf, showing that the Earth is drying out and land is nearby. Dear Leo, your adventure isn’t as dire and dramatic as Noah’s, but I’m happy to tell you it’s time for you to do the equivalent of sending two doves out to explore.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): According to an ancient Chinese proverb, “An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.” I will add a corollary: An ant may be able to accomplish feats an ox can’t. For instance, I have observed an ant carrying a potato chip back to its nest, and I doubt that an ox could tote a potato chip without mangling it. Anyway, Virgo, this is my way of telling you that if you must choose between your inspiration being an ant or an ox in the coming days, choose the ant. Be meticulous, persistent, and industrious rather than big, strong, and rugged.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “If it sounds too good to be true, it always is,” said stage magician Ricky Jay. I only partially agree with him. While I think it’s usually wise to use his formula as a fundamental principle, I suspect it won’t entirely apply to you in the coming weeks. At least one thing and possibly as many as three may sound too good to be true — but will in fact be true. So if you’re tempted to be hyper-skeptical, tamp down that attitude a bit. Open yourself to the possibilities of amazing grace and minor miracles.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): What is the largest thing ever sold in human history? It was a 530-million-acre chunk of land in North America. In 1803, the French government sold it to the American government for $15 million. It stretched from what’s now Louisiana to Montana. Here’s the twist to the story: The land peddled by France and acquired by the U.S. actually belonged to the Indigenous people who had lived there for many generations. The two nations pretended they had the right to make the transaction. I bring this to your attention, Scorpio, because the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to make a big, important purchase or sale — as long as you have the authentic rights to do so. Make sure there are no hidden agendas or strings attached. Be thorough in your vetting.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): An antiques dealer named Laura Young bought a marble bust of a distinguished man at a thrift store in Austin, Texas. Later she discovered that it was over 2,000 years old and worth far more than the $35 she had paid for it. It depicted a Roman military leader named Drusus the Elder. I foresee similar themes unfolding in your life, Sagittarius. Possible variations: 1. You come into possession of something that’s more valuable than it initially appears. 2. You connect with an influence that’s weightier than it initially appears. 3. A lucky accident unfolds, bringing unexpected goodies. 4. A seemingly ordinary thing turns out to be an interesting thing in disguise.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): My childhood friend Jeanine used to say, “The best proof of friendship is when someone gives you half their candy bar. The best proof of fantastic friendship is when they give you even more than half.” And then she would hand me more than half of her Snickers bar, Milky Way, or Butterfinger. In accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to give away at least half your candy to those you care for in the coming days. It’s a phase of your astrological cycle when you will benefit from offering extra special affection and rewards to the allies who provide you with so much love and support.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): If you’re a teacher, it’s a favorable time to enjoy a stint as a student — and vice versa. If you’re a healthcare worker trained in Western medicine, it’s an excellent phase to explore alternative healing practices. If you’re a scientist, I suggest you read some holy and outrageous poetry, and if you’re a sensitive, introverted mystic, get better informed about messy political issues. In other words, dear Aquarius, open a channel to parts of reality you normally ignore or neglect. Fill in the gaps in your education. Seek out surprise and awakening.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Jane Brunette, a writer I admire, uses the made-up work “plurk” to refer to her favorite activity: a blend of play and work. I have always aspired to make that my core approach, too. I play at my work and work at my play. As much as possible, I have fun while I’m doing the labor-intensive tasks that earn me a living and fulfill my creative urges. And I invoke a disciplined, diligent attitude as I pursue the tasks and projects that bring me pleasure and amusement. I highly recommend you expand and refine your own ability as a plurker in the coming weeks, Pisces. (Jane Brunette is here: flamingseed.com)
Tennessee lawmakers express frustration the state Department of Safety is failing to follow through with gun-safety ads for which the legislature approved funding. (Photo: Karen Pulfer Focht)
Tennessee’s Department of Safety is failing to follow through on a $1.6 million campaign for safe gun storage in vehicles, despite a major increase in weapon thefts from cars and trucks, lawmakers say.
Lawmakers approved the funding in an August 2023 special session on public safety for a firearms public awareness drive that was supposed to target vehicle break-ins. Gov. Bill Lee called lawmakers into that special session but was unable to pass any consequential gun-related bills in response to the Covenant School shooting in which six people were killed, including three children.
Since then, the Department of Safety has produced a weapon safe-storage commercial for homes but nothing dealing with vehicles, where lawmakers say the problem is the worst.
The state’s public service spot shows a man overseeing his son using a shotgun to fire at aluminum cans. Meanwhile, in the house, the man’s daughter pulls a rifle from a closet and appears to be on the verge of firing it, before the video shows the rifle is equipped with a safety lock designed to keep children from loading it and pulling the trigger.
Rep. Caleb Hemmer (D-Nashville) supports that commercial but is “frustrated” with the state’s refusal to target safe gun storage in vehicles. Hemmer and Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) ran into opposition from Republicans when they sponsored a bill requiring, then encouraging, people to lock weapons in vehicles.
“We have this problem, and we put money to deal with it and they’re only dealing with 10 percent of the problem, not 90 percent of it,” Hemmer says.
He notes the department is not even “thinking about addressing it,” after public and private “prodding.”
Critics of Tennessee’s gun law argue that weapon thefts from vehicles increase dramatically after the Legislature passed the permit-less carry law five years ago. State law, based on the Attorney General’s interpretation of a court decision, now allows people 18 and above to carry without a permit. Yet they are not allowed to take their weapons into many businesses and leave them in vehicles unsecured.
Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake circulated statistics immediately after the Covenant School shooting in 2023 showing vehicle thefts jumped to 1,378 in Nashville in 2022 from 848 in 2019 and to 2,740 in Memphis from 1,159 in the same time frame.
I’m very adamant that we need to inform the public that when you get out of your vehicle you have it safely stored if you can’t take it with you.
– Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis
The state’s two largest urban areas saw a downtick last year. Metro Nashville reported 984 weapons stolen from cars in 2023, while Shelby had 2,113, according to information from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Many weapons are stolen from vehicles by teens and wind up being used in violent crimes, such as the 9mm pistol juveniles pulled on a Belmont graduate and musician Kyle Yorlets when he was shot to death in February 2019.
Republican state Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis), who carried the measure for a safe storage campaign in the 2023 special session, said Monday he had spoken with Hemmer and the Department of Safety and plans to keep pushing the message.
“I’m very adamant that we need to inform the public that when you get out of your vehicle you have it safely stored if you can’t take it with you,” White says.
White, whose efforts to pass safe gun storage laws failed several times, says the Department of Safety told him it was just starting to get “ramped up” on the safe gun storage campaign.
Safety Department spokesman Wes Moster did not respond to Tennessee Lookout questions about the public service spots and why they don’t deal with vehicles.
Instead, he said there has been “no delay” in the advertisements, which are being distributed statewide across radio, television and movie theaters. In addition, spots on streaming services, social media, newspapers and billboards will be sent out this summer.
“The department will strategically determine whether additional advertisements will be made,” Moster said in an email response to Lookout questions.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and X.
Levee Trail by the Mississippi River (Credit: Big River Park).
A glug of flood water was predicted to elevate Mississippi River levels here over the next two or three days, though officials said that some of the excess water was good news for the region.
Last week, mayors with the Mississippi River Towns and Cities Initiative (MRCTI) explained how seasonal flooding and rains from Hurricane Beryl affected their areas. La Crosse, Wisconsin, for example “pushed right up to major flooding” before waters receded. However, Hastings, Minnesota saw the river crest at more than 19 feet at the beginning of the month, only about five feet below the city’s record, according to the Hastings Journal. But it wasn’t all bad news.
“In some ways, the rain, the precipitation, is welcome,” said La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynolds. “We just pulled out of a 60-month drought that cost our nation $26 billion. And for the first time since 2022, there is no drought along the Mississippi River corridor.
“June brought record heat and well-below-normal precipitation. July reversed that trend and gave us a recharge and then some. The third thing is this new water has — in some ways — secured our Louisiana cities from additional saltwater intrusion for at least several months.”
Grafton, Illinois, Mayor Michael Morrow. Credit: MRCTI
Grafton, Illinois, Mayor Michael Morrow appeared live at the MRCTI news conference last week with the Mississippi River behind him, encroaching on a city street. At 23.5 feet, the flood level was below the record 31 feet set in 1931, he said. So, “Grafton is open,” Morrow said.
“We like to say that because we don’t have levees, we are right on the river,” Morrow said. “Our tourists, they can some and put their toes in the river. We just had a group of people getting out of a car over here a minute ago. … The little kids came up and touched the river, and off they went.”
The coming high water expected for Memphis began as a wet pattern over Minnesota and Wisconsin in April and May, according to Anna Wolverton, a National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist who also works for the Army Corps of Engineers Mississippi Valley Division. In June, an “extreme rainfall event” poured over southern Minnesota and South Dakota, she said, and “that’s what officially kicked this flood wave off and it’s still traveling down the Big River and that was three to four weeks ago now.”
As the mayors spoke during a press event, Thursday, the crest was moving though southern Iowa and into central Illinois and northern Missouri. The “really elongated crest“ lasted a few days at each river gauge, Wolverton said.
Predicted Mississippi River levels. Credit: National Weather ServiceCredit: National Weather Service
River levels at Memphis began to rise early this month, according to NWS data. On June 6th, the observed river stage was at nine feet. It continued to rise, reaching 16 feet on Thursday. Data from the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) WaterWatch app said the river stage was at nearly 17 feet (well below the flood stage of 34 feet). The river is expected to crest at 18 feet Tuesday before falling again.
The Mississippi was 10.75 feet below normal in October 2022. (Photo: Bruce VanWyngarden)
Anyone who remembers the bone-dry moonscapes of October 2022’s record-low river levels might wonder what else we can expect this year. Wolverton said it was nearly impossible to predict. But water levels had already begun to fall in early June last year, putting the river at least one month ahead of 2023.
“I expect at least another month or so before we’re talking about low water again,” Wolverton said.
“I expect at least another month or so before we’re talking about low water again.
Anna Wolverton, a National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist who also works for the Army Corps of Engineers Mississippi Valley Division
But record-warm sea surface temperatures throughout The Atlantic Basin could draw more tropical storms. Federal agencies have already predicted a higher-than-normal hurricane season. Those could bring even more water to the Mississippi River.
So far, the Mississippi River system is prepared for excess water, according to Carl Winters, the USGS National Flood Coordinator. He said two big contributors for Mississippi River flows are waters from the Missouri River and the Ohio River.
While flows on the Missouri River are elevated (at about 90th percentile for historic flows), they are receding. However, flows from the Ohio are low, at about the 30th percentile for known flows. The flow for the Mississippi at Memphis was at 80 percent and rising last week, Winters said.
Sure, it’s Monday, but it’s never too early to Thank God It’s Friday. That’s the message from GloRilla with the latest single “TGIF” off her album Ehhthang Ehhthang. She’s been barnstorming the country with Megan Thee Stallion’s Hot Girl Summer tour, and it’s been super hot.
The new video, directed by Jerry Morka and produced by Diesel Filmz is a classic tour video. Glo and her girls show off her tour bus, party in some swank locales, and dazzle enormous audiences. And they twerk. A lot.
The video is already a smash hit, currently #3 on YouTube’s music video charts with 13.4 million views and counting. Go Glo!
If you would like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.
