Memphians Kwame and Kcbena Cash formed their grocery-delivery business K+K Deliveries almost a year ago but didn’t put their business plan into action until last fall. “We’ve toyed with the idea for a long time,” says Kwame, who gave up his career as employee benefit adviser at the U.S. Department of Labor to dedicate all his time and energy to the business. “You don’t walk away from a great job on a notion,” Kwame says. “We envied some of the great metropolitan cities that offer and can support a grocery-delivery service, and we just knew that Memphis can do the same. We wanted this city to be up there with those other cities.”
Although the brothers think of their shopping and delivery service as a lifestyle solution, the wealthy, too-busy-to-shop market wasn’t the first one they thought about when developing their business.
“My brother is a Memphis police officer, and he patrols in South and North Memphis,” Kwame says. “One day, when he passed a bus stop, he noticed people loaded down with bags full of groceries. We took that cue to make sure our service is affordable enough to reach people for whom grocery shopping is a difficult task, like the elderly or people who typically take the bus and therefore can only get limited amounts of groceries.”
Currently, K+K Deliveries has working agreements with several local grocery stores, and the business is still young enough that special requests are often granted. Orders have to be placed by 10 p.m. either by phone or via e-mail to be ready for delivery the following day at 8 a.m. Standard deliveries are $15 and discounted deliveries are $10.
“We typically walk our customers through a basic grocery list to make sure they don’t forget anything,” Kwame explains. “Once we have a customer in our database, the whole process becomes a little easier. We have fairly accurate amounts for all the grocery items so our customers know how much they’ll spend before we fill the order.”
The next step for the Cashes is to create a Web site for online grocery shopping.
K+K Deliveries, e-mail address: kkdelivery@midsouth.rr.com (473-1595)
Mark your calendar for two special 
Jeffrey Dunham
events at The Grove Grille. Chef/owner Jeffrey Dunham and Scott Smith of The Wine Market will offer a wine luncheon on Saturday, February 3rd. The three-course meal starts with dry chili and roast tomato tortilla soup. Spinach, pine nut, and pancetta-stuffed flounder with sweet potato purée, braised leeks, and lemon cream is followed by pear tart Tatin with cinnamon simple syrup. The price with wine pairing is $25 per person, plus tax and gratuity.
On February 7th, Dunham invites diners to the chef’s table for a “Dinner in the Kitchen.” The six-course meal includes wine pairings and dishes such as Maine lobster spring roll, sautéed Atlantic bass with black Thai rice and ponzu beurre blanc, and warm chocolate cake with vanilla anglaise and fresh raspberries. The price for the dinner is $75 per person, plus tax and gratuity.
The wine luncheon and “Dinner in the Kitchen” occur every two weeks. Reservations are required. For more information, call the Grove Grill at 818-9951.
The Grove Grill, 4550 Poplar
Chez Philippe at The Peabody hotel celebrates its 25th anniversary with a special dinner menu this week. During its 25 years, Chez Philippe has only seen three chefs — Michael Harper, Jose Gutierrez, and now Reinaldo Alfonso.
The six-course menu was created by Alfonso with the help of Harper. Dishes include seared scallops with roasted garlic purée, basil coulis, and Chablis reduction; rainbow trout en papillote with porcini mushrooms, roasted root vegetables, French tarragon, and Sauvignon Blanc; and veal tenderloin with seared goose foie gras, black truffle/potato purée, and Tennessee whiskey mushroom jus.
Chez Philippe opened in January 1982, just a few months after The Peabody reopened by Belz Enterprises. The hotel’s marching ducks extend their influence to Chez Philippe’s menu. In 1981, Gary Belz wrote a note to general manager Charles Rosemann regarding a duck dish proposed for the restaurant’s menu. “I’m extremely sensitive to the serving of duck from this menu,” Belz noted. Rosemann’s reply: “There will be no dead ducks at The Peabody!” And today, Chez Philippe might be the only French restaurant that doesn’t serve duck.
The 25th anniversary dinner is available through February 3rd. Cost for the six-course dinner is $80 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Wine pairing is available for $46 per person.
Chez Philippe at The Peabody, 149 Union (529-4188)
