Michael Donahue began his career in 1975 at the now-defunct Memphis Press-Scimitar and moved to The Commercial Appeal in 1984, where he wrote about food and dining, music, and covered social events until early 2017, when he joined Contemporary Media.
In Part 3 of his We Saw You interview, Jared “Jay B.” Boyd talks about his journalism career, which began with an internship at the Jackson (Mississippi) FreePress magazine and continued with The Commercial Appeal, the The (Mobile, Alabama) Press-Register, and The Daily Memphian newspapers.
Boyd’s goal when he returned to the Bluff City was to be chosen to be in the Memphis Flyer’s 20 < 30 list within five years. “I wanted to be on that cover,” he says. “By the time I’m 30, I’ve done enough to deserve that.”
Along the way, Boyd wore many hats, including “public safety reporter” and “sitting in courts,” as well as covering music and food for newspapers.
Jared “Jay B.” Boyd tells me in Part 2 of his We Saw You interview that he wanted to rap and skateboard when he was growing up in Memphis. He has done both, while also becoming the program manager of WYXR, a DJ, a co-host of radio’s Beale Street Caravan, and a board member of BRIDGES. He was previously a reporter for The Daily Memphian.
You’ve probably seen — or heard — Jared “Jay B” Boyd somewhere. He’s the program manager for WYXR radio, but he’s also a DJ, co-host of radio’s Beale Street Caravan, and a board member of BRIDGES.
Sitting down with Boyd for the latest We Saw You interview, I asked if there was more than one Jared Boyd because “Jared Boyd” seems to be everywhere.
He responds: “I’m the only one I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.”
In part one of the four-part series, Boyd talks about his childhood growing up in Parkway Village, going to Richland Elementary School, and White Station High School. His parents, he says, “allowed me to explore my interests.”
I also learned the late Andrew Love of the Memphis Horns was his cousin — and I learned Boyd can play the viola!
Stay tuned for more installments of We Saw You with Jared Boyd.
Jerry's Sno Cones owner David Acklin in a 2021 photo (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Owner David Acklin says Jerry’s Sno Cones is not coming back to its 1657 Wells Station location.
“I’m not going to re-open Jerry’s there,” Acklin says. “We’re going to move forward.”
Acklin, who still owns the Jerry’s Sno Cones at 1601 Bonnie Lane in Cordova, won’t say why he closed the old location. “I really can’t say anything about anything. I’m just taking the high road. We needed a change and we’re moving forward with Cordova.”
Asked if it was a safety issue, Acklin says, “I never had any problems. But I may be a different kind of guy. I’ve been in Memphis for 54 years and I love Memphis.”
Acklin believes the store opened in 1967. In a 2021 interview in the Memphis Flyer, Acklin says, “I used to go there when I was a teenager.”
He got to know the owners L. B. and Cordia Clifton, whose son Jerry was the namesake of the business. Acklin, who was working at a printing company at the time, worked for the Cliftons for free after he got off his other job.
Acklin eventually bought Jerry’s Sno Cones, but he continued to work at the printing company. As he says in the interview, “I used to change clothes at red lights. Take off my tie and put on my shorts … I used to wear penny loafers. I’d pull my socks off and slide into my flip-flops.”
There would already be a line when he got there at 3:30 p.m., he told the Flyer.
And in the interview Acklin recalls going outside one July. “The line went straight out around the sign and two houses down.”
He asked a youngster in line to count the people: there were 220 lined up.
Acklin is going to ask customers in the next couple of weeks to begin voting on another location for Jerry’s Sno Cones. “We’ll pick it out by people coming to Jerry’s and voting.
“We’ll have a list. Like Arlington, East Memphis, Germantown, Collierville, Bartlett — whatever areas we feel like a lot of our customers come from. Maybe let them nominate an area.”
So, will the old Jerry’s Sno Cone location become something else? Maybe a cafe? “Man, I guess anything is possible.”
Jackson Hendrix, Gabrielle Duffie, Nakita Spencer, Lawrence Matthews
You could call them “RiverBeatniks.” They were the more than 30,000 people who attended the inaugural RiverBeat Music Festival May 3rd, 4th, and 5th in Tom Lee Park.
Matthew Burdine and Daniel Bonds Russ Thompson and Katherine TerryEmily and Will Carter
They braved periodic raindrops and often warm temps to see and hear performers, including Stax great Carla Thomas, Al Kapone, the Wilkins Sisters, Southern Avenue, Killer Mike, and Lawrence Matthews. All some music lovers needed was a blanket and a comfortable spot to kick off their shoes and experience 50 performers on five stages.
“We scanned in over 30,000 over three days,” says RiverBeat producer Jeff Bransford. “Ten-thousand a night.”
Kristin Leach and Haggard CollinsAriyanna Beecher and Miles Robinson
How did he think RiverBeat went? “Spectacular. We couldn’t be happier. The feedback we got from both patrons and artists has been overwhelming.”
And will RiverBeat return next year? “One-hundred percent,” Bransford says. No doubt about it. “We’re already planning.”
Pollard’s Bar-B-Que owner Tarrance Pollard first started his own restaurant in 1996. (Photos: Michael Donahue)
Tony Pollard preferred throwing the pigskin to selling the pig skin.
Pollard, a running back with the Tennessee Titans, is the son of Tarrance Pollard, owner of Pollard’s Bar-B-Que at 4560 Elvis Presley Boulevard. He worked at Pollard’s one summer, but he preferred playing football to working in a restaurant, says his aunt, Denise Plunkett, who was working behind the counter the afternoon I visited. It was my first visit to Pollard’s, although I’ve driven by it many times.
Tony was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2019 National Football League draft. Recalling a statement he made when he was in the third grade, Plunkett says, “He told his mom he was going to be in the NFL one day.”
A poster featuring a picture of Tony clutching a football and the words “Home of Tony Pollard” hangs on the wall near another poster that reads, “Featured on Food Network.” The restaurant was featured on Restaurant: Impossible, Plunkett says.
Tarrance tells me he worked at other barbecue restaurants, including Gridley’s Bar-B-Q and A&R Bar-B-Que, before opening his own place in 1996.
When I ask Plunkett what sets their barbecue apart from other places, she says, “It’s absolutely amazing. It’s tasty. It’s tender. You have to be careful not to bite your finger off.”
She’s noticed children who usually don’t like barbecue “really eat this.”
They give her “two thumbs-up.”
I sit at the counter, which has a countertop covered with sheet music that has been enclosed. Songs include “Walking in Memphis” and “Love Me Tender.” The latter could apply to my jumbo Pollard’s barbecue sandwich.
Like the kids, I’ll also give the two-thumbs-up recommendation for this delicious sandwich. I could have bitten off my finger or one of my thumbs.
I also ask Terrance what sets his barbecue apart. “Love and time,” he says.
Next, I travel to a barbecue restaurant I’ve also passed many times, but never stopped to go inside.
Jimbo’s Brickhouse BBQ in Byhalia, Mississippi, features pitmasters Brandy McNeese, Jimbo Dalton, and Toni Whitt.
That changes when I walk in the door to order a jumbo barbecue sandwich at Jimbo’s Brickhouse BBQ at 8600 MS-178 in Byhalia, Mississippi.
First of all, a Jimbo’s jumbo is just gigantic.
“Knock a dent in it and tell me what you think,” says owner Jimbo Dalton.
It is fabulous. As are the wet ribs Dalton brings to the table for me to try. They are delectable. Some of the best ribs I’ve ever eaten. So tender. They also serve dry ribs.
“We just cook slow with wood the country way.”
Dalton says he’s self-taught when it comes to barbecuing. “Burning up meat till I got it right.”
This all began when he barbecued at his house when he was a teenager.
People (about 200) then began gathering at his house on weekends for his barbecue. It turned into a party. “We’d float a keg. Listen to music.”
And, he says, “I know a lot of people and a lot of people know me.”
People began ordering barbecue. They’d come to the house to pick it up.
Dalton then got a food trailer, which he operated for six years.
He and his late wife, Lisa, began their brick-and-mortar restaurant, which was the brick-and-mortar office for the old brick factory that was in Byhalia.
Dalton is constantly adding to the building. He’s built patios and just about four weeks ago built the bar on the front patio. “All built with hard work, sweat, and blood.”
He serves barbecue pork, chicken, brisket, ribs, as well as other food items, including hamburgers and salads. Dalton introduces me to his fellow pitmasters Brandy McNeese and Toni Whitt. The gigantic cooker is in a separate area.
The walls in a small room up front are covered with signatures of Brickhouse visitors from all over.
Dalton features live music and karaoke at Jimbo’s Brickhouse, which is open Wednesday through Sunday.
And, hopefully, those karaoke singers will occasionally belt out the Commodores song, “Brick House.”
Madison Tavern, where they will serve pasta jambalaya. (Photos: Michael Donahue
Tim and Tarrah Quinn own )
Madison Tavern will open May 10th at the site of the old Local on the Square at 2126 Madison Avenue.
Tim Quinn, who owns the bar/restaurant with his wife, Tarrah, hoped to open last November, but it took longer because of technicalities involved with starting a new place.
They chose the name “Madison Tavern” because of “the feel of the building. It’s got two fireplaces upstairs. It’s just a cozy, comfortable place.
“When I think of ‘tavern’ I think of some movie where people are walking down the road in the Middle Ages. They stop in and get a beer and something to eat. It’s nice and quiet. Candlelight. The owner who works there all the time serves them the daily special. And then back on the road they go.”
Why a new name? “Just a fresh beginning with a new family,” says Tim, 42, adding, “It’s been around 12, 15 years. Sometimes it’s just time to have something new.”
The Quinns, who bought Local on Main Street about four years ago, says they’ll “start working on a rebrand for Downtown as well.” They plan to change the name to “Quinn’s.”
Tim wanted to buy Local on the Square as soon as he began working there as general manager in 2017, when Jeff Johnson was the owner of both locations. “When I first worked in this building I was there one week and I asked Jeff how much to buy the place. He kind of laughed.”
Johnson gave him “a large number” as the selling price. Tim told him, “Woah. That’s a big number. Let me work on that.
“Within three years he sold me the Downtown location. And here, three more years later, I’m moving into the old spot.”
The Quinns gave the old Local on the Square a facelift, but they’re not changing the personality. They painted over the purple walls. They’re now blue with red accents, and they redid the floors. “Not a whole lot as far as the footprint of the place goes is changing. We cleaned it up to make it look fresh. Some new light fixtures, new tables, new equipment behind the bar.”
And, he says, “We took out the old games — the old Skee-Ball. We’ve got new dart boards coming in. Bubble Hockey. It’s like foosball, but it’s hockey. I’ve never played that before.”
The walls will feature “all consignment artwork by local artists.”
As for the food, Jose Reyes, who was kitchen manager when Tim worked at Local on the Square, will be back. “He took a leave of absence and went back to take care of his mother in Mexico. He’s from Mexico City. While he was there he purchased an avocado farm and opened another restaurant with his brother.
“He loves being in Memphis. Once his mom was up and good and everything was taken care of — one of his sons is running the avocado farm — he came back to Memphis.”
Tim plans to keep some of the old Local on the Square food items, including the sausage cheese board, which he will upgrade, and pretzel sticks. But he will now feature “an American menu” with “Southern-influenced” fare.
Most of the new items come “from conversations with the staff, with Jose, and some other managers, other food vendors.”
Tim is gathering his staff’s favorite family recipes, which he’ll “tweak a little bit.”
And, he says, “We’ll be, hopefully, doing a daily special: a paella. My brother’s wife’s family is from Zaragoza, Spain. Whenever we get together to eat, his wife makes her family’s paella. She’ll come in and show us how to make that.”
Tim plans to offer paella “a couple of times a week. It’s not really something you can cook on the fly. It’s something that gets better after it sits in the pot a bit.”
He also plans to serve grilled cheese sandwiches, which are popular at the Downtown location.
Tim began making grilled cheese sandwiches with Adam Hall and friends when they had a team at Memphis Grilled Cheese Festival, where they have been “fan favorites every year so far.”
The sandwich, which Hall came up with, is made of grilled chicken, buffalo sauce, white cheddar cheese, and regular white bread. “You put a mixture of butter and Miracle Whip on the bread and toast it.”
It was a hit from the beginning at Local on Main Street, Tim says. “Originally, we put that on the menu just as a special. It evolved into having grilled cheese on the menu all the time.”
The Downtown menu now includes various grilled cheese sandwiches, including ones made with duck and lobster — “different meats with different sauces.”
“We’ll do grilled cheese here as well. For the late-night menu we’ll slap a couple of grilled cheeses on there and a couple of egg rolls. And everybody’s going to be happy.”
The World Championship Hot Wing Contest and Festival was back on Riverside Drive for the first time since 2017. The festival, which was held April 20th, was on Tiger Lane for many years after leaving Riverside Drive.
A total of 3,000 people attended the 22nd annual festival, says founder Paul Gagliano. All except one year, the event has benefited the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Memphis. Not counting this year, it’s raised more than $300,000 for the charity.
Gagliano recalled that first contest: “I asked the guy that had the Poplar Lounge if he would put up the parking lot and a little money.”
Paul Gagliano, David Hunnam, Pat Hunnam, Michelle HunnamKilgore Trout, Joseph Wilson, Brennan Powers
He then went into the bar and told people his plans for a hot wing contest. They looked at Gagliano like he was crazy, but seven people took part. It was a hot wing contest, but, Gagliano says, “They were grilling deer meat and all kinds of meat.”
And, he says, “Budweiser gave me $1,000 bucks. And that was like a million right there.”
This year, 50 teams took part and competed for $10,000 prize money.
Matteo Servente and Ryan Watt (Photos: Michael Donahue)
Matteo Servente and Ryan Watt don’t care if their business takes a licking. In fact, that’s what they want.
Servente and Watt are owners of Zio Matto Gelato, which recently held its grand opening celebration at 545 South Main Street, Number 110, inside Central Station.
Julianne WattGrayson West and Santiago ArbelezArmani FeathersonFelicia Willett-Schuchardt and Clay Schuchardt
“Gelato is the best Italian treat,” Servente says. “It’s like ice cream, but better. It’s got less fat. It’s got less sugar. And it’s creamier and packs more flavor.”
They offer 14 flavors at a time, but, he adds, “We have recipes for many, many more.”
Servente, who is from Turin, Italy, founded the business. “Matto” is what his niece called him when she was little. And “Zio” is “uncle” in Italian.
Jalyn Souchek and Keith EvansonWill and Thomas McGownChristine and Carroll Todd
“We love being on South Main because it’s a neighborhood similar to Italy,” says Watt, a filmmaker, adding, “You get the gelato and take it right outside and walk down the neighborhood.”
Also, he says, “Being near the [National] Civil Rights Museum and being here at Central Station, [there’s] a mixture of tourists and locals. It’s a perfect location.”
When he was 6 years old, Ben Chavez used metal squares, circles, and triangles to create art in Montessori school. When he was 40, he used square and oval flatbread to create his “Barbecue Burnt End” and “Mediterranean” flatbreads at Terrace at the River Inn restaurant.
Whether it’s numbers, objects, art, or food, Chavez, who is chef de cuisine with the River Inn property in Harbor Town, has always been good at combining “ingredients.”
His stepfather was the cook in the family because Chavez’s mother worked long hours as a server in a restaurant. Chavez didn’t want to be a chef, but he liked to observe the cooking process. He liked to “see how it started and how it ended.”
He became more fascinated with cooking after his grandmother, who had Mexican roots, moved in with them and began making tortillas from scratch and other culinary items. “I saw a whole different side of cooking.”
Chavez, who worked in telecommunication jobs, didn’t get into cooking until he was 30. “That’s when I was sort of figuring out how to cook.”
His parents gave him a Crock-Pot. “I didn’t know what to use it for.”
He came up with chili after he went online to find out what he could cook in it. “After looking at a bunch of different cooks’ recipes, I arrived at my own.”
Chavez learned to cook by “trial and error.” Like “trying to cook a steak correctly. Cooking a pork chop right. Buying what was cheap and figuring out how to cook it.”
After he got furloughed from his job as merchandising coordinator for Levi Strauss during Covid, Chavez began painting and customizing shoes. “You put cold water in a bucket, spray paint the water, dip the shoe in, and it would create a design on the shoe.”
Chavez, who also painted his own designs on shoes, sold them for $200 and up.
His wife then discovered some of his old recipes. “She had been cleaning the house or whatever and found a bunch of old notebooks I had dating back into my 20s. I had been writing down recipes or writing down food I had liked and enjoyed or experienced.”
Looking up online culinary schools he could attend, Chavez’s wife discovered the online Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. Chavez said he’d give it a shot. “And then sort of ran with it.”
In 2021, they moved to Ripley, Tennessee, to live in a house his dad had just rehabbed. Chavez applied and got a job cooking “just very Southern old school” fare at the Old Town Hall & Cafe in Covington, Tennessee. “I worked there for free for the first 90 days.”
But, he adds, “I was getting my foot in the door.”
He created “secret dinners” at the restaurant after it closed at night. He sold tickets to the three- or four-course dinners, but he wouldn’t reveal beforehand what the menu consisted of. “I had a lot of fun. That was me learning the craft.”
After Old Town Hall, Chavez moved to The Cellar Restaurant and Prohibition Bar next door. From there, he went to Brownsville, Tennessee’s Serendipity Bar & Grill, where he “moved the menu forward. Made some changes.”
He was working at Guy Fieri’s Tunica Kitchen & Bar at Horseshoe Casino when he landed a job at Paulette’s, which includes Terrace, also located in the River Inn.
Shortly after he landed the job, Chavez and food and beverage manager Daniel Clark went to work changing the Terrace menu. Instead of serving steaks, Chavez suggested they concentrate on “good food that came relatively quickly and could be shared.”
They kept the cheese balls, French fries, and beef and lamb sliders, but they went to flatbread pizzas, which were faster and less heavy. Chavez created the Barbecue Burnt End Flatbread and Mediterranean Flatbread. “We just add the ingredients and build it like a pizza.”
Summing up his culinary career so far, Chavez, who now lives in Memphis, says, “I’m very shocked I was able to move this forward this fast.”
But, he adds, “You force yourself to rise to the occasion.”
