Collierville resident Susan Powers has been catering events throughout the area since the 1980s, but now she and her husband Randy will take the business full-time with Market Café & Catering.
The café is located on Market Street, on the historic town square of Somerville, next door to Powers Jewelers, a business opened by Randy’s grandfather, and just minutes away from Lewis’ Restaurant, which Randy’s other grandparents opened in 1938 in Moscow, Tennessee.
“Randy is the barbecue master,” says Susan. “His grandparents owned Lewis’ Restaurant until it closed in 2000, and that is one thing he learned from them. Everything is going to be homemade. We’re not going to buy smoked turkey; we’re going to smoke whole turkeys.”
The menu will include an assortment of wraps, such as tuna salad made from grilled tuna steak, soups served in fresh-baked bread bowls, and a variety of desserts. Daily lunch specials will feature home-cooking with meat and vegetables.
In addition to prepared meals, customers can pick up “do-it-yourself catering” and gift baskets with goodies and one-of-a-kind gifts made by Powers family members.
“We will have a freezer with crab cakes, stuffed mushrooms, and artichoke dip. So if you’re having a party you can pick up something to serve that’s homemade,” says Susan.
“We’ll have gourmet gifts and gift baskets. My family is very artistic. My aunt and uncle in California make beautiful stained glass, and my cousin makes pottery. My mother-in-law will embroider tea towels and other gifts.”
The café will open around mid-November, with hours, initially, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. The couple plans to expand the hours to offer seafood and steaks on Friday and Saturday nights.
“It’s the country, so we don’t want to get crazy. But I’ve had so many requests for a nice restaurant — comfortable but nice,” Susan says.
For more information on hours or catering, call 901-465-6066.
Calvary Episcopal Church, 102 N. Second Street, continues its 20th year of the “Calvary & the Arts” concert series. Each Wednesday through December 8th (except November 24th), the public is invited to a 30-minute concert featuring local musicians. Following the performance, guests can enjoy lunch prepared by chefs from local restaurants and catering services or by the church’s executive chef, Emmett Bell.
On November 3rd, jazz musician Joyce Cobb will perform with Cool Heat, followed by Bell’s chicken à la king. Also on the menu this month is Capriccio Grill’s lasagna and a performance by international opera singer Kallen Esperian on November 17th.
Concerts begin at 12:05 p.m. and lunch tickets can be purchased for $6 per person at the door. For more information, call 525-6602, ext. 102 or see Calvaryjc.org.
Memphis barbecue chef and restaurateur Craig Blondis has one of the “50 Best Dream Jobs in America,” according to the editors at Men’s Journal magazine. The owner of Central BBQ, 2249 Central Avenue, was featured in the November issue along with a dinosaur hunter, a swimsuit photographer, and a poker player.
When Eric Messinger, author of the article, sat down with editors of the magazine, they made a list of “jobs that capture that adventurous flavor” the magazine represents and “jobs that are really cool,” the writer says.
“Rib shack owner” made the list, so Messinger turned his journalistic eye toward Memphis.
“When you think of a classic rib shack, you think of awesome comfort food. You might walk in and hear your music playing, and they might know your name. I got the feeling that this place captured all of that,” says Messinger. “When I spoke to Craig, he had all those things I was looking for. He himself is at the counter. He just started the restaurant two years ago. He and his partner had been participating in barbecue contests every weekend, so he had a passion. It was a passion that turned into a profession.”
Join the National Kidney Foundation of West Tennessee at the Memphis Botanic Garden for the 10th annual ”Sip Around the World” wine tasting November 5th. Wines from more than 50 wineries will be available for sampling along with food, music, and a silent auction, from 7 to 10 p.m. Tickets cost $50 in advance and $55 at the door. Call 683-6185 for more information. •
