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.
The new Central BBQ building on Central Avenue at Cox Street (Credit: Michael Donahue)
The new Central BBQ now being built at the corner of Central Avenue and Cox Street looks more magnificent every time I drive by.
I called Roger Sapp, co-owner with Craig Blondis, to tell me about it. He says it’s slated to open the first of December. “If we’re lucky,” he adds.
“It’s going to be about 4,800 square feet with a 1,500-square-foot patio. The building on the left is the patio. It runs along the sidewalk where the old restaurant used to be.”
That’s the indoor patio, which is on the east side. The outdoor patio is on the west side. The new dining room with kitchen and bathrooms is in the middle. That parking lot is where the old restaurant used to be.
The new restaurant is about 50 percent bigger than the old one. And, Sapp says, “Our kitchen is going to be great. We’re putting a big kitchen in.”
I asked what happened to the old Central BBQ. “We closed it for remodeling and ended up tearing it down.”
Blondis bought the building at Cox Street and Central Avenue. “It’s going to be additional seating of maybe 40 people and a small wine bar.”
I love the old brick look of the new restaurant. That’s because it is old brick, Sapp says. “I took the brick off the building we tore down next door to the one Downtown. We got to use all the old brick.”
The restaurant looks massive, but, Sapp says, “The one Downtown is still the biggest.” That one, at 147 East Butler Avenue, originally was two warehouses. It’s about 12,000 square feet including the indoor patio.
The upcoming Central BBQ on Central is not as big as the one on 4375 Summer Avenue, which is 8,000 square feet including the kitchen.
Just writing this article made me hungry. I’m ready for some Central barbecue where I originally tried it years ago. But this time in a new building.
And, keeping it in the family, Sapp’s son Garrett Sapp is running the job for Ybos & Sons Construction Inc.
Mortimer's bartender Mark Esterman with the restaurant's tantalizing prime rib dinner (Credit: Michael Donahue)
When I think “Monday,” I get real hungry. Because Monday is “Prime Rib Night,” as people call it, at Mortimer’s.
Well, now I can get real hungry when I think “Tuesday” because Tuesday is now another Prime Rib Night at 590 North Perkins Road. That’s an extra evening for customers to enjoy the restaurant’s succulent prime rib special.
I was in Mortimer’s recently and ordered the prime rib medium rare because I wanted a certain shade of pink. To me, there are few things as delicious as prime rib paired with horseradish. So, I dipped just about every bite of meat into my little cup of horseradish.
I also ordered a baked potato — because I think you just have to order a baked potato slathered with butter when you order prime rib. Everything was delicious.
Prime rib dinner at Mortimer’s (Credit: Michael Donahue)
I think my first prime rib dinner was at the old Fred Gang’s Meat Market restaurant on Airways Boulevard. I remember being taken there for dinner on my 30th birthday as a ruse. My surprise party was at the old Bombay Bicycle Shop. My date wanted me to think she was just taking me to dinner and then we’d stop by Bombay afterwards for drinks. But we arrived late to Bombay. Like about an hour. I still remember the bored faces of the party guests when we walked in. I blame it on the prime rib lingered over it at Fred Gang’s.
For many years, you could get a prime rib sandwich as a special on Wednesdays at Mortimer’s. I took the meat off the bread and ate it just like I would on a Monday night.
I asked the extremely popular bartender Mark Esterman why Mortimer’s added another prime rib dinner night. “The reason was Mondays were so crazy busy,” he says, adding Tuesdays were kind of slow. “We were trying to figure out something else to make Tuesdays and other days busier.”
They added prime rib on Tuesday about seven weeks ago. “And the price doesn’t hurt,” Esterman adds. The prime rib comes with a side and salad for $27.99.
And, I was happy to hear, I can still get that prime rib sandwich again on Wednesday “…if we have anything left on Wednesday,” Esterman says. “Last week, there wasn’t anything left. The week before there was enough for six sandwiches.”
As for a new Wednesday night special, Esterman says, “We’re talking about possibly doing a lobster roll on Wednesdays. That’s just one idea we have for Wednesdays.”
I’ve had one lobster roll in my life. That was after a trip to Maine for a wedding. I ordered one at the airport so I could say I tried one. If they start selling those at Mortimer’s, that’s going to be a good reason for me to get real hungry when I think “Wednesday,” too.
Prime rib on Mondays and Tuesdays at Mortimer’s (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Felicia Willett-Schuchardt and her husband, Clay (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Me and everyone else can’t wait for Felicia Willett-Schuchardt to open her new restaurant on South Main.
In addition to her cooking, Willett-Schuchardt, owner of Felicia Suzanne’s Restaurant, is also good at whetting people’s appetites with hints about her new restaurant.
Willett closed the former Felicia Suzanne’s at 80 Monroe Avenue in 2022. Work has been going on at the new location at 383 and 385 South Main Street.
On October 21st, she posted on Facebook: “Our new sign is officially up and we couldn’t be more excited to share a glimpse with you! Though it’s not lit just yet, it’s already adding some sparkle to 383 South Main.”
“Stay tuned — we’ll flip the switch soon!”
A couple of days before this post, Willett-Schuchardt asked her Facebook friends which china she should select for the new restaurant.
Well, we’re ready for her to flip the switch on the front door and let us in. Then, put some food on those plates. Like her fabulous Sunday Sugo and risotto. We’re hungry!
Tim Quinn, co-owner of Local on Main Street, has put a New Orleans-spin to the menu. (Photos: Michael Donahue)
Local on Main Street celebrated its grand reopening Saturday, October 12th. The restaurant at 95 South Main Street closed late September, but it’s back with a new look and new furnishings, says Tim Quinn, who, along with his wife Tarrah own the restaurant as well as Madison Tavern, formerly Local on the Square, in Overton Square.
And, on October 19th, the Quinns will open a new business in the basement of Local on Main Street, The Other Side, which will carry cannabis-based products.
Quinn, who bought Local on Main Street on January 15, 2021, just felt it was time to overhaul the restaurant, which originally opened about 12 years before they bought it. “I just figured it could use some freshening up. We closed it down and gave it a new paint job, some new furniture, and a new menu. And that’s, hopefully, something that will get the attention of the neighborhood.”
Describing the decor, he says, “We painted some of the wood a whiter color. We brightened it some. It’s been a stained wood for a long time.”
The new butcher block tabletops “are a lighter color.”
And, he says, “It just always had a dimmer atmosphere, so I figured a few bright colors would brighten it up a little bit. And we put up some new pictures. A small change for the clientele, but nothing too crazy. Nothing too drastic.”
The artwork includes pieces by Ron Wood, a photographer who lives Downtown. Wood and his wife Jackie have been regulars since the Quinns took over both places.
The restaurant still seems intimate even though it seats 45 upstairs, 15 at the bar, and 15 outdoors.
As for the food, the new menu has “maybe a New Orleans feel to it. A Jackson Square feel.”
They feature jambalaya, gumbo, and traditional po’ boys on the menu. “A boiled-shrimp-served-cold po’ boy.”
The menu is “mostly Creole New Orleans-type dishes,” but, Quinn says, “We’re keeping our egg rolls on the menu because people are knocking on the door daily — even while we were painting — asking if I have any egg rolls I can fry up.”
They will continue to feature hot wings the menu, but they’ve changed the wing sauce that they’ve “used for 15 years. It was time to get rid of it.”
And, Quinn adds, “If anybody wants the recipe, I’ll give it to them. But they’ve got to come buy a beer.”
Customers can order coffee and tea upstairs and then go downstairs to add a “cannabis accoutrement” to it at The Other Side, but they can’t sit down and order from the Local on Main Street menu. The basement space is where they can buy cannabis-related products. “All legal Tennessee THCA Delta-9, Delta-8, things of that nature. Some edibles, pre-rolls.”
Downstairs will “be strictly a dispensary or an apothecary deal. It’s not going to be a smoking lounge or anything of that nature.”
“We don’t have a cannabis menu at all,” Quinn says, but he plans to offer THCA-infused desserts at the restaurant. “There will be toppings and cannabis desserts and some other things we will be incorporating into the restaurant.
“You can do cheesecake with an infused-caramel topping or brownies added with THCA.”
Local on Main Street will eventually get a new name, but Quinn says, “We’re not really branding it as of right now. Downtown has just seemed, in general, to be in a slump for a lot of people.”
And naming a restaurant isn’t the easiest thing in the world. He thought about naming it after his family. “At first I called it Quinn’s, but I hate to put my name on it. It gives it a different feel when it’s got someone’s name on it. I don’t know if it makes it more approachable or less approachable.”
Plus, Quinn says, “I’m not going to have Irish food.”
Chris McCoy and Laura Jean Hocking (Photos: Michael Donahue)
Will Crislip, 24, was impressed with this year’s Mempho Music Festival, which was held October 4th, 5th, and 6th at the Memphis Botanic Garden.
Will Nichols, Kassidy Jane, and Austin MillerKelcie Zepatos
“I would say it was the best organized festival I’ve been to in Memphis in terms of space and food and everything,” he says. “A lot of space for everybody.”
Dylan PowellMary Milne, Kayla Mount, and Neano GrimesChristopher Sartain and Julia Baker
He liked the variety of music, too. And he got to hear Jack White for the first time. “Jack White was my favorite. I never listened to his music before and it was awesome.”
Christian and Molly CarmichaelCory Coleman, Ayana “DJ Lola” Cage, and TaMetra Robinson
Ticket sales to the seventh Mempho Music Festival exceeded 20,000 according to a news release, which states, “Set against the backdrop of Radians Amphitheater within the picturesque Memphis Botanic Garden, festival-goers immersed themselves in three unforgettable days of music and celebration, further cementing Mempho’s status as a cornerstone of the live music community.”
Camie Cole and Andrew BallCarrie Carter and David SimpsonSequoia TaylorShelby Cavagnaro and Buck Morris
The event showcased “an unrivaled lineup of musical entertainment, rich culinary endeavors, and a celebration of the vibrant community.”
Tim Bednarksi with "The Three Amigos" at his restaurant, Elwood's Shack (Credit: Michael Donahue)
This recent post from Elwood’s Shack owner Tim Bednarksi caught my eye. Or caught my taste buds: “Of all the subs, pastas, Q’s, specials I ever created, this dish has every ounce of food love I have. It took me two days, back-to-back 11-hour days to create this special of mine. It will be available at both Elwood’s locations all week. Every ingredient, side, sauce, and tamale is one of a kind. Tres Amigos!”
So I had to rush over to the Elwood’s Shack location at 4523 Summer Avenue to try the “Tres Amigos.”
I did. And it’s incredible. So delicious, and different. It’s also available at Elwood’s Shack Park Ave. at 4040 Park Avenue.
It’s called “Tres Amigos,” says Bednarksi, who sat down to talk about the dish a bit. “It’s a pork tamale, a beef tamale, and a chicken tamale, but they’ve all got different sauces on them. Mole’s on the pork tamale, chile ancho is on the beef tamale, and tomatillo salsa is on the chicken tamale.”
The tamales are served with rice and beans. “And even the rice and the beans are super special,” he says. “The red beans and rice that I served at Shells is actually the main component in the beans.”
Tres Amigos at Elwood’s Shack (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Elwood’s Shells was Bednarksi’s Cooper-Young restaurant that closed in 2019.
And, yes, Three Amigos takes a while to make, Bednarski tells me. “It took me 30 hours to make 70 orders. I have 35 orders in each restaurant today. But every ingredient, every sauce, and every tamale, is hand made, and they’ve got really special ingredients. Like the mole has chocolate, peanuts, raisins, chile ancho, chile guajillo, chile de arbol in it. And it takes many hours to make each component.
“I take the mole sauce and actually mix it in with our smoked barbecue pork, and I hand-roll tamales and make them the traditional way. It’s a different tamale. It’s more what you would see in the Southwest, an Arizona and California kind of thing.”
This isn’t a new item for Bednarski. “I’ve been serving it for years, but I haven’t done it in four years because it’s so labor-intensive. I could never justify, with one restaurant, hiring somebody to make tamales for one dish. But now I’m hoping with two restaurants, I’m able — if it’s as successful as it has been in the past — to afford to hire somebody to do it full-time.”
Speaking of Shells, Bednarski might revive some of the items from that restaurant. “I hope to bring back chicken and sausage gumbo, my seafood gumbo, and serve that at Park Avenue.”
And his lobster bisque. “I get numerous requests for my lobster bisque.”
More Elwood’s
Elliot Tracey at Elwood’s Shack (Credit: Michael Donahue)
While I was waiting for Tim Bednarksi to arrive at the Elwood’s Shack on Summer, I overheard Elliot Tracey from North Carolina praising the barbecue he just ate. I had to ask him to elaborate.
Tracey, 34, tells me he stopped in Memphis on his way to visit the Grand Canyon for the first time.
“I had the pulled pork with a side of a half-rack of ribs,” he says. “I had the baked beans, potato salad, and Texas toast.
“Honestly, I lived in North Carolina my whole life. I’ve had barbecue in all different places in eastern North Carolina. And stopping here today just from a Google review, it was the best barbecue I’ve ever had,” he adds. “Everything down to the Texas toast was perfect. There’s no reason to go anywhere else, in my opinion. You know, if I lived here there would be no competition between here and anywhere else.”
What sets Elwood’s barbecue apart? “Just flavor,” Tracey says. “Sometimes back home it can get a little dry; a lack of flavor, lack of seasoning. We pride ourselves in the vinegar base, but it kind of falls short sometimes.”
With Elwood’s Shack barbecue, Tracey “found a combination between rub and sauce. So the dry seasoning combined with the red sauce was just endless flavor.”
“Melon Drink”at El Gallo Giro
Jack Simon at El Gallo Giro (Credit: Michael Donahue)
My friend, entrepreneur Jack Simon, raves about the “Melon Drink” at El Gallo Giro at 3991 Lamar Avenue.
“It’s the most refreshing, delicious drink in the universe,” says Simon, who believes he discovered the drink when he was attending University of Memphis.
So we headed to the restaurant and ordered them with delicious barbacoa tacos for lunch.
The Melon Drink was delicious, too. Our server, Rosie Herrera, told us the name is “Agua de Melon” in Spanish. It’s cantaloupe, sugar, and seeds blended together. Ours were served over ice. On a chilly day, this drink put me back a couple of months to something I’d drink on a hot day. It evokes summer.
I love this place. I can’t wait to get back. For one thing, it’s beautiful with all the colorful painted furniture, tables, chairs, and booths.
Stay tuned.
El Gallo Giro (Credit: Michael Donahue)Barbacoa tacos at El Gallo Giro (Credit: Michael Donahue) El Gallo Giro (Credit: Michael Donahue) FOOD NEWS BITES
Emilio Gallegos and Juliana Gallegos (Photos: Michael Donahue)
Jacob Baldwin Barrett participated for the third time in the Pink Palace Crafts Fair, which was held September 28th and 29th at Audubon Park.
He included 16 of his photographs. “It’s wildlife photography and I frame all of my own work with reclaimed or salvaged wood,” says Barrett, 29. “And I include a climate awareness message within each piece and an information plaque as well.”
Jacob Baldwin BarrettErika and Rain CreekmoreBob and Patty Towery
Asked what sets the event apart from other fairs, Barrett says, “I love it because it’s been a part of Memphis for so long. I remember going to it as a kid. So that’s fun.”
Halie Bonds and Brian ShreveBrittany and Sidney Smith
And there are people participating who he remembers being at the fair when he was little. “It’s a really good show.”
Twenty craftspeople participated in this year’s event, which celebrated its 52nd year, says Pink Palace Crafts Fair chair Pam Dickey.
Chris Deming and Sarah BestBeau and Henry Grosvenor
Crafts included broom making, glass blowing, wood turning, knitting, weaving, basket making, rug hooking, soap making, and metalworking.
Events for kids, including a petting zoo, art tent, face painting, and a climbing wall, were also featured.
Tyrone and Melissa Randall (Photos: Michael Donahue)
The Memphis Flyer’s Bacon & Bourbon event should be renamed “Bacon, Bourbon, & the Sunset” when it’s held at the FedEx Event Center at Shelby Farms Park.
“With the sunset over Hyde Lake,” says event producer Molly Willmott, “you do anything there at that time of day and the sun is like part of your event.”
Lee SmithWilliam Walsh and Tom FjordBrent Baggett and Annie Fogelman
The event, which was held September 20th at the FedEx Event Center, drew around 700 people. “We had 10 of Memphis’ best restaurants and caterers showcasing their great tastes. Then we had bourbon and whiskey partners sampling bourbon and whiskeys.”
Some people line danced, but most people appeared to line stand as they waited for their samples.
Alex GuerreroTrenika Matthews and Camille FultonLaura Pate and David Freeman
The fare might be bacon slices, as in the case of Buster’s Butcher, or it might include pork bellies, which was used in the Tekila Mexican Cuisine offering. But all the food “has to have some kind of pork element,” says Willmott.
If you missed Bacon & Bourbon or if you just can’t wait until another Memphis Flyer blowout, mark your calendars for the Flyer’s annual Memphis Tequila Fest, to be held October 25th at The Kent.
Tops’ sloppy chicken sandwich has pineapple and delicious slop sauce. (Photo: Michael Donahue)
Eating at Tops Bar-B-Q & Burgers was a once-or-twice-a-month visit for the Donahue family when I was growing up. We always got barbecue. And my dad always wanted to go to a particular Tops location on Jackson Avenue because he believed we got more barbecue on our sandwiches there.
Well, a lot has changed. I eat at Tops about twice a week on the average. I fell in love with the hamburgers a long time ago. They’re the benchmark when it comes to grilled hamburgers. And I loved the turkey burger when it was introduced. Then the chicken sandwich with white sauce and dill pickles.
I’m happy Tops keeps introducing new items. And now they’ve added even more.
I talked recently with Tops execs Randy Hough and Hunter Brown to discover what’s new at this iconic restaurant that began in Memphis in 1952.
“We are a barbecue company with world-famous cheeseburgers,” Brown says. “That is our core group of what got us to the dance and what will forever be in our blood. When we think of a lot of new items, we try to broaden the audience. But never take our mind off the main date that got us to the dance.”
Listening to their customers, Tops added chicken and turkey. “Some people don’t eat pork or beef, so there’s an option for someone now.”
Regarding the turkey burger, Brown says, “I would put this turkey burger up against any turkey burger in Memphis, hands down.”
Hough discovered that a customer added rib rub to their turkey burger. “What a great combination.”
After noticing customers making additions to their sandwiches, Tops execs thought, “Let’s give a couple of other options for our guests,” Hough said.
They now offer “Smoky,” “Spicy,” and “Sloppy” pulled chicken sandwiches.
“Smoky” is their original pulled chicken sandwich, which they called the “Fire Braised” chicken sandwich. This is the one with the white sauce and dill pickles. It’s permanently on the menu.
“Spicy” is similar to “Smoky” except they substituted thick, spicy hot pickles for the dill pickles. And, Hunter says, “We took our traditional white sauce used for the ‘Smoky’ and blended it with our original Tops hot barbecue sauce.”
Then there’s the “Sloppy,” now one of my all-time favorite sandwiches. The pulled chicken sandwich is paired with “Slop Sauce,” which Brown describes as “a little bit of a tropical barbecue sauce.” The “sweet, light” sauce is “more of a Hawaiian barbecue sauce.”
For the base, they added a grilled pineapple, which is perfect for me because I love sweet and savory.
“Sloppy” and “Spicy” aren’t permanent menu items. “This is a limited time offer,” Brown says. “Get it while it lasts.”
But they might stick around if there’s a high demand. That’s what happened with the “Smoky” when it was introduced two years ago. It was meant to be a three-month special, but, Hough says, “because of the amount of guests that purchased it and the comments we got, we said, ‘We just can’t pull it. We have to leave it here.’”
“What we like to do with some of these different options is to bring them back,” he continues. “Let guests have the opportunity to try new items and then we come back with them later, if they were well-received, and give them another chance to try them.”
That brings us to the newest item at Tops: a hot dog. “There are certain guests that told us they would love for us to have a good, all-beef hot dog,” Hough says.
And they already have flat-top grills at their restaurants.
The hot dog is now available only at the Frayser Tops locations at 2288 Frayser Boulevard and 3023 Thomas Street. Those “are two of our oldest locations and have the voice of the guests that have been customers for years,” Brown says, adding, “It has been received with open arms. It’s been great. It’s been received so well it’s actually opened up options for it to go to other restaurants.”
Tops offers three varieties of hot dogs. One, which comes with a drink and costs $4.99, is “a nice, all-beef grilled hot dog dressed with ketchup and mustard and a big bag of Brim’s chips.”
The “specialty hot dogs” are the “Memphis Slaw Dog,” with coleslaw and original Tops barbecue sauce, and the “BLT dog,” which is dressed with mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, bacon, and melted cheese. Both come with Brim’s chips and a drink.
All the hot dogs are “grilled to order,” which means they aren’t putting the hot dogs on a roller and letting them sit gas station-style, Brown adds.
Finally, I heard a rumor that Tops is going to offer turkeys during the holidays.
“We are verifying the rumor,” Hough says. “It’s in the works.”
It will be a “pit-smoked turkey breast that will feed about 10 people,” he says. They will offer the turkeys from November 1st through the first week in January. It doesn’t come with sides because they feel most people serve their own signature sides. “We’ll smoke the turkey and they do the sides.”
And, Hough says, “This turkey promotion is the first time we’ve ever done anything like this.”
Tops isn’t stopping when it comes to new products. “We never stop working on new ideas,” Hough says. “This is it for right now — a lot going on. Certainly other things, for sure. But nothing we can talk about right now.”
But here’s a hint: One long-time Tops employee created “an amazing cheeseburger salad,” Brown says.
Tony Westmoreland has added a baby grand piano and a menu focused on Philly cheesesteaks. (Photos: Michael Donahue)
Zinnie’s, which will reopen October 3rd, is not your father’s Zinnie’s.
But, then again, it still is.
The iconic Midtown dining and drinking spot, which opened in 1973 at 1688 Madison Avenue, now has a baby grand piano as well as a new menu and new decor, says Tony Westmoreland, who, along with his wife Stephanie, runs Tandem Restaurant Group, which owns Zinnie’s.
And, he says, patrons can no longer smoke inside Zinnie’s.
But Zinnie’s still feels like Zinnie’s, Westmoreland says. “Zinnie’s has always just been a cool hangout space,” he says.
Zinnie’s previously closed in December 2018, but after a facelift it reopened on Halloween of 2019.
A lot had to be done to the place at that time, Westmoreland says. They added a new jukebox, new ceiling fans, new toilets, a new ice maker, more beer taps behind the bar, and a lock to the women’s bathroom door.
Zinnie’s closed again last spring because of a liquor license renewal issue. “Like other people are experiencing now.”
The reopened Zinnie’s is “going to be a little different, for sure. We’re wanting to put more of a focus on the cocktails and the food.”
Zinnie’s “needed to be a little bit cleaned up and modernized. We didn’t do a whole lot. Just painting, cleaning up, getting some smell out, which took a long time. We are taking smoking away from Zinnie’s. I just feel like it’s time now. People are trending away from smoking. And a lot of people don’t appreciate the aroma.”
As for the look, Westmoreland says, “We changed the floor plan up completely.”
The bar remains the same, but they’ve added half-moon and circular booths. “We painted a little bit just to help cover some smell, but it’s still the burgundy. And we put some grays in it, and a little cream color to kind of brighten it up a little bit. When you dim the lights, turn them down, it looks really good.”
Also, he says, “Some old decor is back on the walls with some new stuff.”
They added memorabilia about Zinnie’s history to go along with “a lot of Memphis memorabilia, liquor tins, beer tins.”
And, he says, “We added some bull horns over the jukebox.”
They also added the piano. “The baby grand is going to be there for patrons and some musicians to come in.”
Win Bonner donated the George Steck baby grand piano, which belonged to his bother, the late Lex Bonner, a professional pianist who played around town.
They’ve also added two dart boards, a Golden Tee golf game, and three big screen TVs “for watching all the Grizzlies and Tigers games.”
Zinnie’s food is changing, too, Westmoreland says. A lot of the changes they made to the menu after they reopened in 2019 “didn’t do too well. We didn’t have a lot of food sales.”
Most items, including the thick-cut barbecued bologna sandwich known as the “Zinnieloney,” are gone. “That’s retired.”
The new food concept focuses on Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. “Really good authentic Phillies with shaved steak and Cheese Whiz.”
They’re starting off with the Steak Philly, Chicken Philly, and the Veggie Philly. The “Philly-based” menu, which was created by chef Duncan Aiken, also includes Philly cheese fries, and, possibly, Philly cheese nachos. “It’s a simple menu. We’re trying to just make it simple and good.”
And “Phillies” practically rhymes with “Zinnie’s,” Westmoreland adds with a laugh.
The idea behind their craft cocktail bar is “just to add something different to what’s around town.”
But their craft cocktails aren’t “crazy craft cocktails. We want to keep the speed and efficiency at the bar.”
The “Zinnierita,” which is their take on the margarita, is a cherry margarita made with Luxardo cherries. (This reporter suggested adding a “Zinnitini” to the list, an idea Westmoreland liked.)
But, again, Zinnie’s is still Zinnie’s, Westmoreland says. “One of the things we tried to keep was the nostalgia of Zinnie’s. … So, initially, we just tried to keep it the same.”
Zinnie’s is “not too nice, but nicer than it was before.”
Westmoreland, who doesn’t know the meaning of or why the place was called “Zinne’s,” refers to it as a “restaurant dive bar.” They’re keeping their little cherub logo with the Zinnie’s slogan: “Best Neighborhood Bar in the Universe.”
Zinnie’s always “seemed calmer and quieter than the nightclubs that were more prominent back in the late ’90s and early 2000s,” Westmoreland says.
As for the newly reopened Zinnie’s, Westmoreland says, “The feel in the bar hasn’t changed. I don’t think it needs to change. There’s a nice atmosphere in the bar.”
But, he says, “It doesn’t smell like an ashtray any more. So, that’s good.”
