“As openings go, it was a low-key affair. Rubberneckers lined the
curbsides of Beale and Second (holding signs like ‘Brad Pitt is my
Elvis’ and ‘Elvis was a Jedi Knight’), but, despite the intense
early-evening heat, there were neither streakers nor fainting
victims.
“Advance rumors notwithstanding, such high-powered celebs as Pitt,
Billy Joel, and Elton John were no-shows. And so were John Travolta and
Tom Cruise — both members of the Church of Scientology, like
presiding eminences Lisa Marie Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu Presley.
Juliette Lewis, affecting a spiked blond haircut, was on hand, though,
one of some 20 ‘friends’ brought to town to help the two Presleys
— daughter and ex-wife, respectively, to the late King of Rock
and Roll — open Elvis Presley’s Memphis Thursday night.
Lisa Marie and Priscilla Presley
“The new Beale Street club will serve as flagship for an operation
which Elvis Presley Enterprises hopes to expand to at least 20 clubs
over the next two decades — with Las Vegas and Honolulu as the
next proposed venues, and with various foreign glamor-capitals under
active consideration. Something on the scale of Hard Rock Cafe or
Planet Hollywood seemed to be the idea, but first reviews of EPM’s
culinary offerings were mixed.”
So wrote Jackson Baker and Mark Jordon in the July 31, 1997, issue
of the Flyer.
Five years later, Elvis Presley’s Memphis closed and was reopened by
Jimmy Ishii as EP – Delta Kitchen and Bar in 2006. Original plans for
EP included a recording studio and two art galleries.
EP closed in late 2008 and is currently being converted into
Republic Nightclub and Restaurant, which is billing itself as “Memphis’
First Celebrity Driven Mega-Club!” You can follow them on Twitter at
twitter.com.republicmemphis.
