The firing of former Memphis Shelby County School’s (MSCS) superintendent Marie Feagins will have a theatrical retelling from the students of Ladia Yates Entertainment (L.Y.E.) Academy.
Feagins’ termination sparked public interest from parents, students, and community members alike — prompting it to be the center of social media think-pieces and fodder.
Ladia Yates, owner of L.Y.E. Academy, says it all could make a good documentary, which inspired her to create School Board The Musical.
“It’s actually a very interesting story,” Yates said. “It’s a revolving door. Something just keeps unfolding [and] keeping people’s attention. I think it’s a learning lesson, and I think it shows there’s a lot of corruption within the city of Memphis, the school system, the local government, that’s holding people back. It’s holding the city of Memphis back.”
Yates said Feagins “took the lid off” these things, which likely caused the fiasco to unfold.
“Whatever they’re doing is being revealed through her [Feagins],” Yates said. “Even if she didn’t try to do that, that’s just what’s happening. That’s why it’s such a big controversy.”
Controversy and drama is what draws people in, Yates adds. It also invites room for social commentary, and parody, which comedian Latoya Polk took advantage of during the height of the ordeal. Polk added humor by reenacting various meetings and embodying different school board members — an approach Yates found inspiring. Now, Polk will channel that same theatricality as the musical’s host.
“She’s bringing some sort of light to the situation through comedy,” Yates said. “That’s like how I’m bringing light to the situation through dance.”
These themes of light and laughter are integral in not only bringing the production to light, but for people to digest the mess in general. Yates said people were ready to “crash out” over Feagins, as the debacle was not just about her, but the welfare of students.
Feagins recently visited Yates’ studio for a public speaking class and recalls her students being immediately drawn to her.
“She has an energy that will draw you to her, contrary to what the board is saying,” Yates said. “You see all the kids … they’re taking to her, she’s dancing with them. You see the photos and can see the camaraderie between her and the children and you can tell they naturally take to her.”
While it can be easy for Feagins’ termination to be marked by turmoil, Yates hopes the musical will represent resilience, and leave people inspired.
“It’ll be clean-cut. We’re not going to bash anyone, call out names, or use anyone’s likeness,” Yates said. “It’s more so for inspiration and just telling a story, and the moral of the story is don’t give up. Keep going no matter who stabs you in the back.”
School Board The Musical opens at 5 p.m. on April 13th at Crosstown Theater. Tickets can be purchased here.
A sculpture and a fountain, River Man by the local artist John McIntire stands in the contrapposto pose simultaneously drinking a beer and peeing, the 2022 piece depicting a friend’s party-trick from the 1960s — that of the “human fountain.” The sculpture has been shown in Matt Ducklo’s Tops Gallery, a cheeky little thing, but even he didn’t know the source of McIntire’s inspiration at first. “He didn’t want to say it at the time,” Ducklo says. “But it’s based on [Kenneth Lawrence] Beaudoin.”
Ducklo has been interested in Beaudoin for a decade or so, the poet who’s been called “Forgotten ‘Poet-Laureate of the Mid-South.’” “ I started to think about him more after McIntire made that sculpture,” he says. And, now, as of December 2024, Beaudoin’s work — his poetry combining the visual with the literary — is on display in Tops’ “In the Hands of a Poet,” co-curated with artist Dale McNeil.
Like McIntire, Beaudoin was big in the counterculture scene in Memphis during the mid-20th century. He hosted literary salons out of his own home, created the Gem Stone Awards for poetry, and was one of the founders of the Poetry Society of Tennessee. He knew writers like Tennessee Williams, Jonathan Williams, William Carlos Williams, e.e. cummings, Randall Jarrell, and Ezra Pound. By day, Beaudoin was a clerk for the Memphis Police Department for nearly three decades. “My police job kept me close to human beings in tense situations,” he once told The Commercial Appeal. “From a poet’s point of view, it was perhaps the most important job I could have had.”
It was at his clerk’s desk — and his home — that he worked on his “eye poems,” collages of words and images from magazine cut-outs. “He would just sit in the middle of piles of magazines and books, cutting, gluing, and smoking,” McIntire said in a press release.
The result is something, as Ducklo says, “meant for the eye as much as they’re meant for the head.” The poems themselves are succinct, their visual pleasure subverting the capitalist and consumerist trends promoted in these magazines — magazines Beaudoin sliced and rearranged for his own purposes, an act itself another subversion.
Beaudoin created thousands of these eye poems and frequently gave them to friends and peers. Many of them — and other forms of his poetry — were widely published in small journals in his lifetime. Today, though, his poetry is out of print, including even his most comprehensive work, Selected Poems and Eye Poems 1940-1970.
This exhibit, in a way, serves as a reintroduction to the largely forgotten poet. After 10 years wanting to show Beaudoin’s work, Ducklo found someone wanting to sell their Beaudoin collection and, with his co-curator Dale McNeil’s Beaudoin poems, had enough for this show. Together, they also created a book that is currently available for purchase at the gallery. (You can also purchase it here.)
Beaudoin stopped creating his eye poems after going blind in the 1980s. He died in 1995.
Tops Gallery is located in the basement of 400 South Front St. The entrance is on Huling. The gallery’s hours are noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and by appointment.
On this week’s edition of the podcast, Toby Sells talks about his cover story “The Battle for Midtown.” Zoning and housing are hot topics, as the Memphis 3.0 plan is up for review.
Brandon Clarke dunks the ball against the Phoenix Suns. (Credit: Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images.)
The Memphis Grizzlies narrowly defeated the Phoenix Suns 151-148 in their first overtime game of the season, Tuesday night, moving to 3-0 in the season series.
Phoenix controlled the game for most of the first half, thanks to big offensive contributions from Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
Memphis fought back in the second half with a vengeance. After being down by as many as 10 in the third period, the Grizzlies went on a 13-1 scoring run to give themselves a 99-97 lead, outscoring the Suns 43-41 in the quarter.
Former Memphis Grizzly Grayson Allen had a hot hand in the fourth quarter off the bench for Phoenix, shooting 4 of 4 from beyond the arc and 3 of 5 from the free throw line for a total of 15 points in the quarter.
Ja Morant also scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, with Desmond Bane adding 11 points. Jaren Jackson Jr.’s night ended by fouling out late in the final moments of regulation play, but not before putting together an impressive stat sheet for the night.
Morant’s floater with 1.9 on the clock tied the game at 137-137 and sent the game to overtime.
The Grizzlies trio of Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Ja Morant combined for 82 points out of 151, but it was a team effort that secured the win.
During the extra period, Santi Aldama hit a well-timed three-pointer to pull Memphis within one with 1:10 remaining.
Brandon Clarke tipped in a second-chance bucket to give Memphis the lead with 37 seconds on the game clock, and rookie Jaylen Wells hammered home the victory, scoring the final points with 9.1 seconds left.
By The Numbers:
Ja Morant led the Grizzlies in scoring with 29 points, and added 4 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 28 points, shooting 11 of 13 overall and 3 of 3 from beyond the arc. He added 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocks
Desmond Bane finished with 25 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals.
Jaylen Wells closed out with 19 points on 7 of 12 overall shooting and 5 of 7 from three-point range. He added 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Wells scored the final points for Memphis during overtime.
Santi Aldama led the second unit with 17 points on 6 of 9 overall shooting and 5 of 7 from beyond the arc, tying his season-high five made three-pointers. He also contributed 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.
Brandon Clarke added 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block, including tipping in the basket that gave the Grizzlies the lead in overtime.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies will continue their five-game homestand Friday night against the New York Knicks. Tip-off is at 7 PM CST.
The Cotton Museum could soon be purchased and managed by the state of Tennessee.
A bill filed in the Tennessee General Assembly by state Rep. Torrey Harris (D-Memphis) and state Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) would put the Memphis museum in state hands on July 1.
The bill’s caption reads the proposed law “requires the state to enter into good faith negotiations for the purchase of the Cotton Museum in Memphis, subject to approval by the State Building Commission.”
The full bill text says that the state would enter into negotiations to manage the museum. If approved, management would given to the Tennessee State Museum and managed by the Douglas Henry State Museum Commission in collaboration with the Tennessee Historical Commission.
The museum was founded in 2006 to “preserve the history of this worldwide marketplace and to tell the epic story of the famed cash crop and its profound influence on the city of Memphis,” according to its website.
“Our mission is to share the story of the cotton and the influences of the people that were gathered here around the industry not only with a growing international audience, but with Memphis area residents, especially our city’s youth,” the site reads.
The bill was filed earlier this month. Its first formal review is planned for Wednesday during the Senate Education Committee.
A series of information meetings and yard signs are speaking out against Memphis 3.0. (Photo: Toby Sells)
Editor’s note: Citywide planning, land use discussions, zoning, and the potential economics of it all are far too broad and dense to ever be covered in a single news story. (So are other considerations about income, race, and population loss.) Please consider this piece the beginning of our coverage on Memphis 3.0.
For this one, we’ll take you inside one of MidtownMemphis.org’s information meetings and share a Q&A rebuttal about it all from John Zeanah, director of the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development (DPD).
Memphis 3.0 will “sell out” Midtown neighborhoods to investors and businesses looking to cash in on (but maybe never really care about) the attractive communities residents in those places have built over decades.
That’s a very basic expression of the argument voiced for months now from MidtownMemphis.org. The volunteer group is fighting the plan with a series of information meetings, an online information hub, and yard signs — sure signs that a Midtown fight has gotten real.
Passed in 2019 and devised by former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s administration, Memphis 3.0 is a document guiding the growth of Memphis. It’s up for its first-ever five-year renewal. A major strategy for sustainability in the plan has been to support some of the city’s anchors like Crosstown Concourse, Overton Square, and commercial areas around Cooper Street.
However, MidtownMemphis.org argues the locations for these anchors and the planned density that could surround them aren’t fair. For example, group members say a lot of density is planned for Midtown but very little for East Memphis.
Also, adding density to certain places around Midtown means multifamily homes, the group says, instead of single-family, owner-occupied homes. They fear profit-minded landlords will use 3.0 to work around zoning laws to create duplexes or quadplexes, won’t upkeep these properties, create transient tenants, and make neighborhoods less attractive for potential buyers. They say this could slowly destabilize neighborhoods into ghosts of their current selves.
“What we’re against — and we have history on our side — is destabilizing the neighborhood to support Crosstown,” said MidtownMemphis.org volunteer Robert Gordon, who has spearheaded the battle against 3.0. “[The plan] is going to wreck Crosstown, wreck the neighborhood, and, consequently, wreck the city. And if you don’t believe me, go back to Midtown in 1969. Go back to Midtown in 1974. Go back to Midtown when it was zoned like the [Memphis 3.0] future land use planning map envisions zoning.”
All of it, they say, could lead to a showdown at Memphis City Hall next year as council members review the changes for a vote.
However, John Zeanah, director of the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development, said the 3.0 plan won’t do what MidtownMemphis.org fears it will do.
“The goal is to make sure that our community has healthy, stable anchors that are supported by healthy, stable neighborhoods,” Zeanah said. “The suggestions that we would take extreme actions to destabilize neighborhoods is really puzzling. It doesn’t come from anything that we’re saying as a part of our meetings. It doesn’t come from anything the plan is saying.”
Nearly 60 people gathered for a MidtownMemphis.org Memphis 3.0 meeting earlier this month. (Photo: Toby Sells)
Inside a MidtownMemphis.org 3.0 meeting
A dreary, cold, wet February night was not enough to stop a crowd from sloshing through puddles to hear about how the Memphis 3.0 plan could “sell out our neighborhood,” as the signs say. Nearly 60 people gathered for a MidtownMemphis.org 3.0 meeting earlier this month at Friends For All.
MidtownMemphis.org has been holding meetings like these since September. Other info sessions — six in total — have been organized at Otherlands Coffee Bar, the Cooper-Young Community Association building, and the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library. Gordon said it was in January that planing officials stopped working with MidtownMemphis.org on the 3.0 issue.
At the latest February meeting, Gordon took the stage before a slideshow projected on a screen behind him. He described MidtownMemphis.org as a “sort of neighborhood association for neighborhood associations,” meaning his group meets monthly with Midtown neighborhood groups from Central Gardens, Cooper-Young, and more. MidtownMemphis.org also plants trees around Midtown and oversees the community garden next to Huey’s Midtown.
Gordon told the crowd he entered public planning discussions as a NIMBY (not in my backyard), concerned that the Poplar Art Lofts plan in 2019 would push noise and exhaust onto those enjoying Overton Park. This led him to the MidtownMemphis.org organization and he’s been a volunteer with the group ever since.
Gordon described the 3.0 plan as a “city guide” and a “North Star” for Memphis-area planning efforts. The plan’s motto, he said, reverses the sprawl strategies of years past and embraces the idea to “build up, not out.” While the motto is the essence of the plan, Gordon called it “quite misleading.”
One critical foundation of the Memphis 3.0 plan is where that growth inside the city’s footprint should happen. The plan says that growth should happen around anchors. These anchors, picked with the help of residents, are usually commercial areas like Overton Square, Crosstown Concourse, Cooper-Young, and others.
To Gordon, city planners dropped a compass point on these anchors and drew a circle around them. Inside those circles is where the 3.0 plan wants to grow, he said. This is a critical foundation of MidtownMemphis.org’s argument against the 3.0 plan, with Gordon saying, “I’m not alone in thinking that’s a bad way to make plans.”
“So, you may have bought your home in a single-family neighborhood, but the future land use planning map sees in the future … a change to a more dense kind of neighborhood,” Gordon told the crowd. “One of our big issues with [3.0] is right here at the core of it: the anchors. We don’t agree that an anchor necessarily warrants this kind of density. Nor do we agree with what are called ‘anchors.’ For example, let’s just point out, Overton Park is not an anchor.”
The anchor model and the density projections that come with it are brush strokes too broad to paint the intricacies of planning something as complex as Midtown neighborhoods, Gordon said. This is seen at a macro level in the plan as the city is divvied up into 14 planing zones. In this, Midtown, the Medical Center, and Downtown are merged into one zone called “Core City.”
“I think that is a mistake because Midtown is residential housing, and Downtown and the Medical Center are not,” Gordon says. “So, let’s start by saying those should be separated.”
But Gordon easily shifts into the micro: the dense, complex, nitty-gritty of 3.0 that could allow single-family neighborhoods to legally be chopped into quadplexes, new units built where they can’t be now and, he says, destabilize Midtown neighborhoods.
The density models from anchor planning in 3.0 are the easiest way for a developer to create multifamily in a single-family zone, he said. They’ll pay “professional convincers,” basically development lobbyists at Memphis City Hall, to speak to planning boards like the Land Use Control Board or the Board of Adjustment and ask for a special zoning change on property from single family to multifamily.
“This professional convincer is going to go in there armed with information from Memphis 3.0 and say, ‘This is what the city wants,’” he said. “So, in short order, your single-family neighborhood is going to begin to show multifamily buildings. And people who are looking for houses to buy are going to go, ‘Wait a minute. I remember this as a single-family neighborhood. What’s that four-plex doing there?’”
While the process may move slowly, he said, it could be a deciding factor for potential Midtown homeowners who might not want to gamble their biggest investment “on a neighborhood that’s in flux.”
A neighborhood could get multifamily zoning even if it’s not in one of those anchor density zones, Gordon said. The Memphis 3.0 plan designates some entire streets for higher density, regardless of where they lie, he said. So, even if your neighborhood passes all the other tests, a developer could use the street designation as an argument for, say, a four-plex on a street. Later, another developer could come in wanting the same thing nearby because there’s already one across the street.
A third way Gordon told crowd members a neighborhood could get density through 3.0 is from degree of change. He joked it was the “dreaded degree of change” because it was harder to explain. The term, he said, basically means how money gets into a neighborhood. The 3.0 plan outlines three categories, he said. In it, the city works alone or with developers to fuel projects in certain neighborhoods, based on the need, and that could mean high-density housing.
“If you’re in a ‘nurture’ neighborhood, the city’s going to throw a lot of money at you,” Gordon said. “If you’re in an ‘accelerate’ neighborhood, the city’s going to throw some money at you but they’re going to try and get private investment to come in.
“If you’re in a ‘sustain’ neighborhood, then the city’s is going to say that private investors are going to take care of that.”
Memphis 3.0’s future land use planning map envisions denser neighborhoods. (Photo: Courtesy Memphis and Shelby County DPD)
A contentious question of motivation
The Q&A portion of the meeting found a raw spot in discussions around Memphis 3.0 and the density topic in general. The basic question: Are single-family housing proponents seeking to bar low-income people from their neighborhoods?
Abby Sheridan raised the point gently at the MidtownMemphis.org meeting. The reason she and her family moved close to Crosstown, she said, was to be within walking distance of the Concourse, for the density. She went to the meeting to see what the opposition to 3.0 was about, she said.
“Don’t be afraid of density,” she told the crowd. “Just because we allow for different types of housing doesn’t mean it’s an automatic guarantee.
“I’ve lived in multi-unit neighborhoods for most of my adult life. They are thriving, vibrant communities.
“If we, as Evergreen [residents], believe that diversity is our strength, y’all are really showing your colors tonight.”
The comment sucked the air from the room that was quickly filled with side chatter, sighs, and low gasps. Emily Bishop, a MidtownMemphis.org volunteer, responded, saying owner-occupied homes stabilized Cooper-Young in the late ’80s when she bought her home (once a duplex, she said) there.
“The businesses were nonexistent in Cooper-Young,” Bishop said. “There was one Indochina restaurant. [The neighborhood] was light industrial at best.
“There was no zoning change that brought density back. What makes a neighborhood thrive are owner-occupied homes with people who get involved, who do the code enforcement work, who get rid of slumlords, and who support the local businesses.”
In all, Bishop said Memphis doesn’t have a housing shortage; it has an affordable housing shortage.
“And there again,” Sheridan said, “what I’m hearing you say is … ‘not in our neighborhood.’”
Gordon jumped in to cool off the topic by saying that MidtownMemphis.org really is simply in favor of doing smaller plans for distinct neighborhoods.
Joe Ozment spoke plainly.
“I’ve been doing criminal defense in this city for 33 years and I’ve seen what’s happened in areas like Hickory Hill and Cordova when you add density,” he said. “We don’t want that in Midtown.”
Jerred Price, president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, and his board attended the meeting to “support the neighbors.” He and the board agreed that Downtown should be a separate planning bloc from Midtown. He said the anchor-and-compass method “shouldn’t be a strategy for development.”
Dropping “one of those special, little circle-drawing thingamajiggers” at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital would mean high density for the single-family neighborhoods like Uptown, he said. But higher density could be welcomed on the other side of the interstate there because it’s in the Downtown core.
“So, even for us, those circles don’t make any sense of our communities,” Price said. “We stand with you on that.”
Asked about the timeline of the Memphis 3.0 proposal, Gordon said public meetings will continue through this year. Revised plans with that public input would then be published. Then, the Memphis City Council would vote on them, likely in 2026.
“If the future land use planning map hasn’t changed,” he said, “we will continue to marshal forces and the idea will be a showdown at city council.
“We would bring many citizens up there to protest a map that is not properly planned and does not look at what is stable in Midtown, is determined to destabilize Midtown for the benefit of commercial anchors, and is giving a free pass to other parts of town.”
Q&A with John Zeanah
John Zeanah is the director of the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development. He said overarching city plans like Memphis 3.0 are nothing new; they’re even mandated for cities in certain states.
Among those plans, Memphis 3.0 stands out, Zeanah said. It has won awards from the American Planning Association and the Congress for the New Urbanism. Memphis 3.0 is the city’s first comprehensive plan since 1981.
We asked him to respond to the movement against the 3.0 plan, which was authored by his office. — Toby Sells
Memphis Flyer: What do you make of the arguments about 3.0 from MidtownMemphis.org? John Zeanah: Memphis 3.0 was adopted six years ago. So, when is it going to do those things [that MidtownMemphis.org argues] if it hasn’t already?
They’re saying the plan is up for a five-year review. We’re undergoing our first five-year plan update now. One of the things that we’re doing as a part of the five-year plan update … is conducting a comprehensive look at the zoning map and understanding how well our zoning works with [Memphis 3.0].
I think part of the misunderstanding is the claim that we would necessarily rezone areas, according to the plan, to the most intense use or the most intense zoning district that could be conceived. And that’s not the case.
First of all, [Memphis 3.0] is general in nature. It — and the future land use map that they are so worried about — is meant to be general, with a generalized land use map.
I think there’s some misunderstanding about whether the future land use map is calling for all these new things to happen. It’s an expression of what’s existing today. In some cases, it’s a mix of both.
Suffice to say, as we are going through the five-year plan update and we’re thinking about how zoning is a tool to implement the plan, our orientation is not to just apply the most-intense zoning district. There are changes to zoning that may not always be in residential areas. In fact, I’d say most of the zoning changes that will end up being recommended are in some of our commercial areas and commercial corridors.
The goal is to make sure that our community has healthy, stable anchors that are supported by healthy, stable neighborhoods. The suggestions that we would take extreme actions to destabilize neighborhoods are really puzzling. It doesn’t come from anything that we’re saying as a part of our meetings. It doesn’t come from anything the plan is saying.
They’ve said developers could use the future land use planning map as another arrow in their quiver. They could argue that while multi-family homes may not be allowed in a zone now, they could point to the suggestion in Memphis 3.0 and make a case for their project at city hall. One cannot simply point to a generalized land use map and say, “Well, because this area around an anchor is a mixed-use type, I should be entitled to do the most intense thing that is part of this mix.” That’s no. 1. And no. 2: The plan does not have the authority to entitle that. That’s the role of zoning.
So, if you live in a neighborhood that is predominantly single-family and your zoning is single-family detached, and it is a stable neighborhood, there is no reason for the city to propose changing the zoning for the neighborhood. You are the healthy, stable neighborhood that is helping to support the anchor nearby. That is a good thing. That’s what we want to help preserve.
Perla Kirkpatrick, Kathy and John Lyons, Ben Bolden, Michelle Bolden, and Jonas Bolden (Photos: Michael Donahue)
A rainy day is a good day to soak up some chili and jump into a tank of water. Special Olympics Greater Memphis obliged with its annual Bluff City Fire & Ice Chili Cook-Off & Polar Bear Plunge.
Amarion Tate and Amari FunchesKevin BrazzellChad and Graham CornwellEleanor Massey, Troy Ramsey, and Gloria RamseyJosh, Alice, Valerie, and Aggie Sparks
The event, held on February 16th at the Pipkin Building, featured 56 chili contestants, says Lisa M. Taylor, executive director of Special Olympics Greater Memphis.
Shannon Smith and Tim CrosasSpencer Stalnaker Jacob Frasure, Andrew Martin, Noah Burch, and Hunter StroudTim Griffin, Michael Thomas, Lonnie Hurt, Spencer Owens, Don Taylor, and Courtney BradleyJacob Dyer, Jerry Suzore, Josh Mayo, Michael Dyer, and Mark Wes
More than 500 people attended, Taylor says. “It was not our biggest one, crowd-wise, due to the weather,” she says.
But, she says, “With the weather being like it was, I think we did excellent.”
Rob, Ashley, and Llewyn ColemanAndy Demster, John Lunsford, and Chance NesterKimberly Tolbert and Hollis Moore
Then there were those people who wanted to get wet. They participated in the Polar Bear Plunge. “We were very lucky to have a break in the weather. They plunged into a pool we set up. We had around 85 people, including the U of M football players and three U of M volleyball players.”
Bryan Crow, Gray Clawson, and Emi PayneAlexis Michael, Chris Carrier, Cody Garbuzinski, Riley Kilgore, and Evan MichaelHenry Boggs, Alex Boggs, Reagan Boggs, Jenay Boggs, Lisa Farrah, and Thomas Boggs
But again, she says, “Weather cut the numbers.”
Knuckleheads Chili came in first place in the chili contest, which celebrated its 18th anniversary. This was the 29th Polar Bear Plunge.
Courtney Jones and Amy Bingham (Photo: Kristi Evans)
Oh Grate! is getting greater. Or “grater.”
They still use graters for the cheese on some of their frozen ready-to-heat meals, and sales of their Fiesta Sauce (formerly known as Tropical Dressing) as well as new innovations in their product lineup have been great, says Amy Bingham, co-owner with Courtney Jones of the store at 2028 West Poplar Avenue, Suite 104, in Collierville, Tennessee.
First the Fiesta Sauce: “It’s still going really well,” Bingham says. “We’re shipping it out all over the country.”
The sauce is based on the green dressing, a mustard-vinegar based salad dressing, that was served at the old Pancho’s Mexican Restaurants. “We missed the Pancho’s green sauce that everybody put on tacos and taco salads,” Bingham says.
Jones began making it when Pancho’s still had restaurants in Memphis. “I had made it for years at home,” she says. “Oftentimes it would be hard to find at Kroger. Once Pancho’s was sold, you could not find it any longer.”
It wasn’t difficult to unearth the original Pancho’s recipe. “Everybody likes to throw out the recipes. You can find them online. A copycat Pancho’s dressing.”
She made some changes to the original recipe, which she later had to adapt for shelf life and to make it in bulk while “trying to keep that quality as best as we could, true to the original sauce.”
“Next thing we knew our doors were blown off and everybody was here trying to get the green sauce.”
Sales of their Fiesta Sauce “went viral last year,” Bingham says.
They changed the name from “Tropical Dressing” to “Fiesta Sauce” last year because “people were confused about the flavors,” Bingham says. Was it salsa or tropical? Pancho’s referred to its sauce as “Tropicale Salad Dressing.”
But the “main thing that has really changed” at Oh Grate! is the inclusion of locally-made products in their store. “We kind of tapped into an audience of people who love food from Memphis.”
In addition to honing in on “the nostalgia from Pancho’s,” they wondered what else they could offer so people “could relive some of these Memphis memories.”
Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous was at the top of their list. “We formed a partnership with Rendezvous, and we sell their products here at our store. We sell ribs, smoked sausage, all their sauces and seasonings. And that has been wildly successful.”
Not everybody can just hop in their car and drive an hour or so from Collierville to the Rendezvous at the last minute. “You’re just craving Rendezvous, but you’re not going to drive Downtown unless it’s a special occasion,” says Bingham.
They also began carrying products, including juices and meals, from RawGirls. “It’s all fresh, all tailored to meet a targeted need. So, the Charcoal Lemonade is for detox; Sinus Shot is best this time of year. Everybody’s got the sniffles. It’s packed with ginger and vitamin C, so that really enhances the effectiveness.”
Arbo’s Cheese Dip is another item. This was founder Andrew Arbogast’s answer to Pancho’s cheese dip after Pancho’s moved out of Memphis.
They sell the chips and white cheese dip from Las Delicias as well as the “top-notch toffee’” from 901 Bakehouse in Germantown.
And they carry the homemade sourdough bread and pizza dough from Southern Flourery No. 6 in Collierville, not to mention short bread cookies and pound cakes from Made From Scratch Cookie Company.
Their counters now include Memphis Grindhouse Coffee, Dancing Peppers salsa, and products from Brim’s Snack Foods, which makes several products in addition to its popular pork rinds.
A line of mustards, including hot and spicy flavors, from Harvest Gourmet in Cookeville, Tennessee, is their newest addition. They discovered it at Harvest Gourmet’s booth at the recent Mid-South Sports & Boat Show at Agricenter International. “We tasted their mustard and just fell in love with their products.”
They “made a pretty large purchase” and put the products in their store, Bingham says. “It happened so quickly and unexpectedly. Less than 24 hours and we had met with them and had their products on our shelves.”
Another new product — Southern Chocolate Chess Pie — originated closer to home. Jones’ daughter Maddox Huey “started making pies at home,” she says. “And, of course, we have the facility here to help her with that. One day she made a chocolate chess pie at home. I tell you, the whole family was blown away.”
More pie flavors are on the way. “She’s about to begin making a key lime pie for us.”
Bingham and Jones enjoy helping people get their businesses off the ground. “It’s hard to know where to start a business,” Bingham says. “We want to help others along. We have this retail space that people have kind of come to know in this small area. But it can give exposure to smaller businesses as well.”
Oh Grate! also has had “great collaborations” with established businesses like the Rendezvous. “We’ve learned from them.”
They’ve been able to “share, grow, and help each other.”
As for the Oh Grate! heat-and-serve meals, all of which are made on-site, Bingham says, “We cover the gamut.”
They make soups, sliders, and ready-to-eat dinners with different entrees, including chicken spaghetti, shrimp Alfredo, meatballs, and marinara. They also carry lunch and party items, including chicken salad and pimento cheese. “We are your one-stop shop for not having to cook.”
Last year, Oh Grate! introduced a new item: Energy Bites, which Jones describes as “little power balls,” including oatmeal, flax seed, peanut butter, honey, and chia seeds. “We’re now making hundreds and hundreds of energy balls.”
Some Oh Grate! products are available locally at High Point Grocery, South Point Grocery, and Cordelia’s Market. “We firmly believe in local,” Bingham says. “Local grocery stores are vital to our success as well.”
They recently began selling their products in North Mississippi stores “all the way down to Batesville,” including Piggly Wiggly.
Much of their success is “due to our amazing team,” Jones says. “We now have 17 people that work with us part-time. Everyone is part-time but me and Amy. None of this would be possible without them.”
What’s next for Oh Grate!? “I would say our most requested item is the Pancho’s hot dip recipe,” Bingham says. “That is what we get asked for quite often. I feel it would do quite nicely in our lineup.”
People just referred to it as “the hot dip,” Jones says.
Will that be on Oh Grate! shelves one day? “It’s something we are looking into,” Bingham says. “It takes a while to launch a product.”
But, Jones adds, “There’ve been some test batches.”
Dolly Parton (Photo: Laurence Agron |
Dreamstime.com)
Like many of this fantastic publication’s erudite and discerning readers, I consider myself a Memphian, not a Tennessean. That is, at least, until Dolly Parton enters the chat. Famed country music singer/songwriter, businesswoman, film star, and philanthropist, Parton’s list of accolades is longer than a country mile, and they’re the rare sort of achievements that have crossover appeal.
I mention Our Lady of the Wildflowers because I have just signed my newborn son up for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a program funded primarily by the Dollywood Foundation (with some funding from community partners), which provides free books for children from birth to age 5. If that sounds like nothing more than a tax write-off, consider that Parton has said the program was inspired by her father’s struggles reading and that she credits her mother’s songs and stories as an inspiration for her own eventual creative career. Consider also that 21 percent of adults in the United States are illiterate, and a whopping 54 percent of Americans read below a sixth-grade level. According to the National Literacy Institute, low levels of literacy cost the U.S. up to $2.2 trillion per year.
As I write these words, the Imagination Library’s funding is under attack in Indiana. The state’s (Republican) governor, Mike Braun, is looking to defund the program, likely in an attempt to curry favor with President Donald Trump and his gang of cost-cutting cronies.
“We are hopeful that Governor Braun and the Indiana Legislature will continue this vital investment by restoring the state’s funding match for local Imagination Library programs,” Parton said in a statement released online. “The beauty of the Imagination Library is that it unites us all — regardless of politics — because every child deserves the chance to dream big and succeed.”
It’s hard to argue with that kind of logic, right?
Wrong. That seemingly American-as-apple-pie statement couldn’t be more out of step with today’s values. Enough of us decided this November that a quick buck and cost-cutting are preferable to an investment in our future. With the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health, USAID, NASA, and other critical programs on the chopping block, who has tears to spare for the Imagination Library?
The current moment seems to me to be summed up thusly: America says it wants Dolly Parton, but it keeps choosing Donald Trump. Though Parton is surely too intelligent ever to descend into politics — and she doesn’t have to, since she’s not desperately avoiding a lengthy stint in prison — she does seem to be the actual best version of everything Trump pretends to be.
Where Trump claims to be a self-made success, along with his siblings, he inherited a portion of his father’s estate, then valued between $250 and $300 million. Parton, on the other hand, is a real person of the people, one of 12 children raised in a single-room cabin in Pittman Center, Tennessee — her “Tennessee Mountain Home.” She wrote and sang her way to success. Trump’s populist shtick only works if one can suspend disbelief long enough to forget about his gold-plated toilet, his hush payments to porn stars, and his failed for-profit “education center.” As a businessman, his career pales in comparison to Parton’s. Through her Dollywood Foundation, she spends money by the bucketload, investing in poverty relief, in the Imagination Library, in building a cancer treatment center, in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and in preservation efforts for the bald eagle — our national bird. She has that money to invest because she’s actually good at business.
Trump’s businesses, on the other hand, have filed for bankruptcy six times. In 2011, the Gold-plated Grifter was quoted by Newsweek as saying, “I do play with the bankruptcy laws — they’re very good for me.”
Both celebrities — don’t kid yourself; Trump isn’t a politician or a businessman, he just plays one on TV — have augmented their natural appearance (and there’s no reason to judge them for that choice). Trump is famously prickly about himself, though, and completely devoid of a sense of humor. Parton, however, maneuvers through interviews like a dancer on stage, disarming reporters with comments like, “It costs a lot to look this cheap.” She’s funny, and she has a sense of humor about herself. I know who I would rather drink a beer with, and not just because “9 to 5” is one of the best songs ever written.
There do seem to be strange similarities between the two figures. Is the devil just an angel seen through a scanner, darkly? More than anything else, Parton believes in investing in what she values, while Trump and the sociopaths holding his leash seem intent in strip-mining the once-proud American government and economy for personal gain.
The moment to choose our hero has already passed. America chose self-interest over sacrifice, cruelty over compassion, petty small-mindedness over creativity. I pray that we get a chance to correct our course, and that we haven’t lost too much when that moment comes.
Jesse Davis is a former Flyer staffer; he writes a monthly Books feature for Memphis Magazine. His opinions, such as they are, were formed in his early years spent tucked away in the library stacks.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries author Anne Lamott articulated a thought that’s perfect for you to hear right now: “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” I might amend her wisdom a bit to say “for a few hours” or “a couple of days.” Now is a rare time when a purposeful disconnection can lead you to deeper synchronization. A project or relationship will improve after a gentle reset. Your power mantra: “Renew yourself with quiet inaction.”
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Beavers are the engineers of the natural world. The dams they fabricate not only create shelters for them but also benefit their entire ecosystem. The ponds and marshes they help shape provide rich habitats for many other species. Boosting biodiversity is their specialty. Their constructions also serve as natural filters, enhancing water quality downstream. Let’s make beavers your inspirational symbol for the coming weeks, Taurus. In their spirit, build what’s good for you with the intention of making it good for everyone whose life you touch. Ensure that your efforts will generate ripples that nourish your tribe and community.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I predict that you will soon have reason to celebrate a resounding success. You will claim a well-deserved reward. You may even shiver with amazement and gratification as you marvel at how many challenges you overcame to emerge triumphant. In my view, you will have every right to exude extra pride and radiance. I won’t complain if you flirt with a burst of egotism. In accordance with my spirituality, I will tell you, “Remember that this wonder you have spawned will live for a very long time.”
CANCER (June 21-July 22): When you see the stars in the night sky, you’re looking at the ancient past. Light from those heavenly bodies may have taken as long as 4,000 years to reach us. So we are beholding them as they used to be, not as they are now. With that as your inspiration, I invite you to spend quality time gazing into your own personal past. Meditate on how your history is alive in you today, making its imprint on all you do and say. Say prayers and write messages to yourself in which you express your awe and appreciation for the epic myth that is your destiny.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I mourn the growing climate calamity that is heating up our beloved planet. Among many other distortions, it has triggered yellow forsythias and blue gentians to blossom during winters in the Austrian Alps — an unprecedented event. At the same time, I am also able to marvel at the strange beauty of gorgeous flowers growing on the winter hills of ski resorts. So my feelings are mixed — paradoxical and confusing — and that’s fine with me. I regard it as a sign of soulfulness. May you be so blessed, Leo: full of appreciation for your capacity to hold conflicting ideas, perspectives, and feelings.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The quietest place on Earth is a room at Microsoft’s headquarters near Seattle. It’s made of six layers of steel and concrete, and its foundation includes vibration-dampening springs. Within it, you can hear your heartbeat, the swishing of your clothes, and the hum of air molecules colliding. The silence is so eerily profound that many people become flummoxed while visiting. Here’s the moral of the story: While you Virgos are naturally inclined to favor order and precision, a modicum of noise and commotion in your life is often beneficial. Like background sounds that keep you oriented, minor wriggles and perturbations ensure you remain grounded. This will be extra important for you to acknowledge in the coming weeks.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): To make a Mobius strip, you give a half twist to a strip of paper and attach the ends. You have then created a surface with just one side and one edge. It’s a fun curiosity, but it also has practical applications. Using Mobius strips, engineers can design more efficient gears. Machinists make mechanical belts that are Mobius strips because they wear out less quickly. There are at least eight other concrete functions, as well. Let’s extrapolate from this to suggest that a similar theme might be arising in your life. What may seem like an interesting but impractical element could reveal its real-world value. You may find unexpected uses for playful features. One of your capacities has dimensions you have not yet explored, but are ready to.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Sandra Cisneros is a visionary writer with Sun and Mercury in Sagittarius. She is always in quest of the next big lesson and the next exciting adventure. But she also has the Moon, Venus, and Saturn in Scorpio. Her sensitive attunement to the hidden and secret aspects of reality is substantial. She thrives on cultivating a profound understanding of her inner world. It took her years to master the art of fully expressing both these sides of her character. I bring this to your attention, Scorpio, because you’re primed to go in quest for experiences that will open your heart to novel amazements — even as you connect with previously unknown aspects of your deep self that resonate with those experiences.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The Moeraki Boulders are spread along a beach in New Zealand. Many of the 50 big rocks are nearly perfect spheres and up to six feet in diameter, so they provide a stunning visual feast. Scientists know that they have steadily grown for the last 4 million years, accumulating ever-new layers of minerals. I propose we make them your symbols of power until July 1st. In my astrological estimation, you are in a phase of laying long-term groundwork. What may seem to be a tedious accumulation of small, gradual victories is part of a grander undertaking. Like the Moeraki Boulders, your efforts will crystallize into an enduring foundation.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A Japanese proverb says, “The bamboo that bends with the wind is stronger and more resilient than the oak tree that resists.” That’s true. When storms bluster, oak branches get broken and blown away. Bamboo may look delicate, but it is actually strong and capable of withstanding high winds. It flourishes by being flexible instead of rigid. That’s the approach I recommend to you, Capricorn. Challenges may emerge that inspire you to stay grounded by adapting. Your plans will become optimal as you adjust them. By trusting your natural resilience, you could find unexpected chances for interesting transformation. Your potency will lie in your ability to bend without breaking.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Seattle’s Space Needle serves as an observation tower. It’s 605 feet high. For years, there was a restaurant with a rotating floor at the top. In its early days, the movement was so brisk that some visitors got dizzy and nauseous. Engineers had to recalibrate the equipment, so it was sufficiently leisurely to keep everyone comfortable. Your current situation resembles this story. The right elements are in place, but you need to adjust the timing and rhythm. If there are frustrating glitches, they are clues to the fine-tuning that needs to be done.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Octopuses have three hearts, each with a different function. Every one of their eight limbs contains a mini-brain, giving them nine in total. Is there any doubt, then, that they are the patron creature for you Pisceans? No other zodiac sign is more multifaceted than you. No other can operate with grace on so many different levels. I celebrate your complexity, dear Pisces, which enables you to draw such rich experiences into your life and manage such diverse challenges. These qualities will be working at a peak in the coming weeks. For inspiration, consider putting an image of an octopus in your environment.
