Tag: Crosstown Concourse

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Curb Market Unveils New Deli and Sandwich Menu

Curb Market introduced its new deli, formerly a butcher, on November 18th. The change includes the introduction of several new sandwich options, each named after streets in Memphis, like Watkins and Cleveland, as well as a selection of meats and cheeses sold by the pound.

“It’s just our way of celebrating this area,” says Robert Humphreys, who has been the general manager of Curb Market since July.

The deli also includes a prepared foods section with items like chicken salad and spinach dip.

“There’s not really a deli around in this area. So that was the biggest change that rolled out,” Humphreys says.

The sandwich menu features several options ranging from a French dip-style roast beef and Swiss cheese sandwich called The Somerset, to The Evergreen, a vegan smoked tofu sandwich with hummus, avocado, veggies, and tzatziki sauce.

Photographs by Lorna Field

There’s no need to curb your enthusiasm for fresh food at Curb Market.

The Garland, a chipotle chicken, bacon, and Swiss sandwich topped with spicy aioli, is the perfect mix of spicy and savory. Served on a fresh, soft ciabatta bun, it’s the ideal option for those who want a little extra kick in their sandwich.

They also offer the option to build your own sandwich or get it as a combo with a side and a drink.

“I came up with the general ideas for all of them,” Humphreys says of the new menu. “We brainstormed and tasted a lot of sandwiches and chose the ones we liked the most.”

Curb Market has been a mainstay of Crosstown Concourse since it opened because it’s the only place in the building for apartment tenants to grab basic grocery items like milk, cheese, and even some produce. It’s also a go-to lunch option for a lot of people who work in the many offices at Crosstown.

There’s a freshly stocked salad bar and a hot bar that serves a rotating menu of soul food, Mexican food, Chinese food, and even some Italian — the lasagna is a personal favorite of mine. In the morning, the hot bar serves a mix of traditional breakfast items like bacon, eggs, biscuits, and more.

“The mac and cheese is the best in the city,” says Humphreys.

Beyond the addition of the deli, Curb Market will remain mostly the same. So for those who, like me, have their own Curb favorites, there’s nothing to fear.

“The biggest change is just that we’re sort of trying to develop the groceries that fit for the area, the people who work here, and also for the people who live here,” says Humphreys. “That’s sort of been our concentration, as far as that area goes. The menu, or hot bar menu, also hasn’t changed significantly.”

Additionally, Curb Market sells a variety of wine, kombucha, local beer, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages like flavored seltzers.

“I really want to refocus on the groceries and just make this a place for not only people at work, but also the people in the neighborhood.”

As Crosstown Concourse prepares for its holiday lighting celebration, Curb Market will also roll out some new sides and special items for the holidays in the coming weeks.

“We’ve got wonderful homemade food,” says Humphreys.

The new deli at Curb Market comes at a special time for them and the concourse at large because business is truly booming. Since the concourse reopened in 2017, more and more businesses, shops, and restaurants have moved to the area, bringing an immense amount of foot traffic as well as visitors from across the country and around the world.

Between the Green Room and Crosstown Theater, events and concerts regularly pull people into the building. As a result, many businesses in Crosstown Concourse, including Curb Market, have experienced tremendous growth in the short time they’ve been open.

“You know, people come from out of town,” Humphreys says. “And they want to take their family to Crosstown.”

Curb Market is located at 1350 Concourse, Suite 163, in the Central Atrium.

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News News Blog

Project Would Transform U of M’s Radio Station

CREDIT: WUMR/Facebook

WUMR/Facebook

The University of Memphis radio station, WUMR FM 91.7, could transform if a deal with the station, The Daily Memphian, and Crosstown Concourse is approved by the university board.

The station would become a new nonprofit radio station, broadcasting from a new home at Crosstown. The tower will remain at the U of M, it would still feature student talent, and it would still be found at 91.7. But the all-jazz outlet would expand its music, culture and news content to have “broad appeal to the U of M student body and the wider Memphis community.”
WUMR/Facebook

The station would have news programming from The Daily Memphian. The station would also have the capability to broadcast concerts from the Green Room at Crosstown Arts, Crosstown Theater, and the U of M’s Scheidt Family Music Center.

The station would also “work with arts, music, and other cultural organizations throughout the city as the station will strive to give voice not just to the three partner entities but to a wide array of people and organizations in Memphis.”

“The visibility of Crosstown Concourse will be tremendous for our radio station and will provide an even more professional work experience for our students,” said U of M president David Rudd.

The spirit of collaboration and community found at Crosstown and the Memphis community at large will inform the new station, said Dr. Todd Richardson, president of Crosstown Redevelopment Cooperative.

“Three entities come together to create a true Memphis musical and cultural experience,” Richardson said. “At the heart of it will be local DJs bringing their unique and diverse voices to a world-wide audience.

“Crosstown will serve as the hub, while the University of Memphis will extend the organization’s resources to include students, professors and guests. The Daily Memphian will provide regular news, information, and interviews to round out a true community resource for the Memphis area and beyond.”
WUMR/Facebook

Eric Barnes, president and executive editor of The Daily Memphian, said the station “is a natural extension of The Daily Memphian’s partnership with the U of M’s Institute for Public Service Journalism as well as our internship program, which includes students from the U of M’s journalism school getting real-world work experience in our newsroom.”

Pat Mitchell-Worley, executive director of Stax Music Academy, would serve as a board member of the new WUMR.

“It was on the Memphis airwaves that artists from Elvis, B.B. King, and Big Star to the Bar-Kays, Wendy Moten, and Yo Gotti connected with large groups of local fans,” said Mitchell-Worley. “Radio in Memphis has always been about community. With diverse listener-powered programming, the new WUMR will continue the tradition of serving savvy music lovers from local curators exploring how artists and songs relate to one another.

“Expect legacy and new art from diverse genres. Expect to celebrate Memphis sounds alongside independent international music moving the world.”

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News News Blog

Group Calls for Memphians to Record, Share Stories

StoryCorps’ mobile recording booth

Have an interesting story to share with the world?

Well, one New York-based organization is giving Memphians a chance to do just that, beginning next month.

StoryCorps, whose mission is to “preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world,” is partnering with WKNO to record and share stories of Memphis.

StoryCorp’s mobile recording booth will be parked at Crosstown Concourse September 10th through October 9th to gather stories from Memphians.

[pullquote-1]

The goal is to give people from different backgrounds, typically two friends or loved ones at a time, the opportunity to record a meaningful 40-minute conversation or interview with each other. The conversations will then be archived at the Library of Congress in the American Folklife Center. To sign up for a slot, go here.

StoryCorps’ stop in Memphis is a part of its 2019 cross-country, story-collecting mobile tour that also includes stops in Flint, Michigan, Washington D.C., and Yuma, Arizona.

Since StoryCorps launched its mobile tour in 2005, it has recorded nearly 75,000 interviews from more than 150,000 participants across the country. The group calls its tours “one of the largest oral history projects of its kind.”

Watch the video below to learn more about StoryCorps’ work.

Group Calls for Memphians to Record, Share Stories

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Music Music Blog

From Continuum Fest to A Change of Tone, Crosstown Keeps It Edgy

CREDIT: Ben Rednour

Ben Rednour

Jenny Davis plays amplified cacti in John Cage’s ‘Child of Tree’ at the 2018 Continuum Fest

While several cities have renovated former Sears, Roebuck & Company warehouses/retail centers, including Minneapolis, Atlanta and Boston, Memphis’ own Crosstown Concourse may take the cake in terms of grounding such projects in community art projects and concerts. And, far from curating softball ‘pops’ concerts and blockbuster movies, Crosstown Arts, the nonprofit that jump started the local Sears building’s revitalization in 2010, has kept the “urban” in its original vision of a “mixed-used vertical urban village.”

In this context, urban means bringing to Midtown the kind of pioneering music that one might find at world-class halls like the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) or C4 Atlanta’s FUSE Arts Center.  With three venues, an artist fellowship program, a recording studio, a music film series, and other resources for local and international musicians (and other artists), Crosstown Arts has become one of the nation’s premier centers of innovation.

Case in point: the upcoming Continuum Music Festival, now in its third year, which, in hosting events in the Crosstown Theater, the Green Room, and the East Atrium Stage, may make the fullest use yet of all the old retail center’s environs. As a festival of new sounds, from experimental to electronic, classical to multimedia, Continuum is beyond most precedents in the local scene. Headlining is Project Logic, featuring local bass wunderkind MonoNeon, guitar virtuoso Vernon Reid (Living Colour), and drummer Daru Jones. The festival also features Opera Memphis’ staging of the transgender-themed work As One, a chamber opera created by Laura Kaminsky, Mark Campbell, and Kimberly Reed.

CROSSTOWN ARTS PRESENTS: CONTINUUM MUSIC FESTIVAL 2019 from Crosstown Arts on Vimeo.

From Continuum Fest to A Change of Tone, Crosstown Keeps It Edgy

The kick-off show on Thursday, August 15th features the Blueshift Ensemble playing compositions by longtime collaborators from the ICEBERG New Music collective and is to be held at Crosstown Brewing Company.The festival will also feature a Duet for Theremin and Lap Steel, a concert by multi-instrumentalist New Memphis Colorways, and a performance of Sarah Hennies’ ‘The Reinvention of Romance’ by Two Way Street.

Finally, like any good gathering of the tribes, there will be many interactive workshops and talks: Sweet Soul Restorative (Yoga with Live Music); The Quest for the Perfect Pop Song; The Metaphysics of Sound; Sheltering Voices: Impactful Community Storytelling; Breaking Boundaries: The Music of ShoutHouse; and The Sounds of ‘Starry Night:’ Writing Music to Van Gogh’s Masterpiece.

But Continuum is really only among many examples of the cutting edge curation of the Crosstown Concourse space going on now. In addition to last year’s Mellotron Variations or this spring’s Memphis Concrète electronic music festival, more ideas are percolating in the wings. For example, musical artists who are pushing the very boundaries of how concerts are experienced will be featured in next spring’s A Change of Tone concerts.  

Four such shows are planned for April 18th-21st, 2020, but we don’t yet know what we’ll hear. Musicians of any genre are applying to be featured as we go to press, and may do so until September 10th of this year. Click here to submit a proposal.

One thing they all will have in common is thinking outside of the music box, or rather, outside of the venue. Subtitled “In/Out of Sync,” the concerts will be organized around a weirdly specific, yet open ended theme: Musicians will “exhibit” their music for a listening audience over loudspeakers in one venue as they simultaneously perform it in another, creating a non-traditional listening experience.

With a live-feeds between The Green Room music venue and Crosstown Theater, audio from the latter will be piped over to the audience in The Green Room to listen to, as the musicians, out of sight, perform their original work live in the otherwise empty Crosstown Theater auditorium. The second feed will video-capture The Green Room audience for the performing musicians in the theater to see on a screen, so that they may virtually watch their audience as they play. With such technological feats, concert organizers hope the performers “might achieve a vivid and seemingly living omnipresence.” As the organizers further expound:

Similar to the experience of being inside of a haunted house or abandoned building, this spectral approach to auditory perception will be, among other things, a sonic experiment in vulnerability. It will be an attempt to enhance and heighten the audio-sensory experience for the listener, and perhaps will intensify the presence and impact that music can have when our fight-or-flight response is instinctively activated, giving the sounds we hear the power to demand our full attention.

It’s an embarrassment of riches, really, for those hoping to reimagine their sonic art. In fact, the many series at the Concourse may be remaking the musical arts as Crosstown Arts remade the empty shell of an abandoned retail center only a few short years ago. 

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We Recommend We Recommend

Memphis Zine Fest Returns to Crosstown

CREDIT: Crosstown Arts

Erica Qualy, an artist who dabbles in various forms of visual and performing arts, has been making zines since she was in high school.

“My friend and I were at the library, and we saw a book [Zine Scene: The Do It Yourself Guide to Zines by Francesca Lia Block and Hillary Carlip] about how to make zines,” she says. “A lot of the bands I admired growing up made zines. So, it just hit us. We thought, ‘Wow, this is so awesome.'”

The pair went home and created their first zine, complete with word finds, advice columns, and other quirky content fillers.

Crosstown Arts

Erica Qualy, organizer of Memphis Zine Fest V

Fast forward to 2019, and now Qualy is organizing Memphis Zine Fest V at Crosstown Concourse and working on the fourth issue of her zine — Facts, Advice, & Things to think about! — filled with poetry one-liners.

“When I first moved here from Minneapolis to go to Memphis College of Art, I realized there wasn’t really a zine scene here, or, if there was one, I didn’t know where it was,” she says. “So, I wanted to help provide a space where zinesters could come out and share their wares. Mary Jo Karimnia, a fellow Memphis artist, listened to my ideas for this event, and she helped me bring the event to life via Story Booth and Crosstown Arts.”

This year’s Zine Fest will feature the works of several zine makers, including various established zine makers and new makers who attended last week’s Youth Zine-Making Workshop.

Memphis Zine Fest V, Crosstown Concourse – Central Atrium, Friday, July 19th, 5-8 p.m., Free.

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Memphis Gaydar News

LGBTQ Job Fair Headed to Crosstown Next Week

CREDIT: OUTMemphis/Facebook

OUTMemphis/Facebook

OUTMemphis is hosting an LGBTQ youth job fair next week at Crosstown Concourse.

If you’re LGTBQ between the ages of 18 and 25, get your resume and yourself to the second floor of the atrium on Tuesday, June 25th from noon to 5 p.m.
[pullquote-1] “We will have plenty of LGBTQ-affirming employers ready to talk to you about joining their teams,” OUTMemphis said. “This is a safe space for LGBTQ youth seeking employment opportunities, and as such all employers will be seeking skilled and hard-working folks regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other identifying factors.

For more information on attending or becoming a vendor, send an email to youth@outmemphis.org or check out the Facebook event.

The event is co-sponsored by the city of Memphis and its Division of Housing and Community Development.

What: LGBTQ Youth Job Fair
When: Tuesday, June 25th, noon-5:00 p.m.
Where: Crosstown Concourse, Second Floor Atrium
Who: LGBTQ job seekers 18-25

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Curb Market Hires New Manager

Robert Humphreys began his new stint as the manager of Curb Market, the locally owned grocery store inside of the Crosstown Concourse, last week.

Humphreys has a background in markets. His last job was at Whole Foods.

He took some time to answer some questions.

Tell us about yourself.
I’ve been with Whole Foods for a really long time, but I’m proud to be working at a locally owned business now. I’m especially excited to be working Crosstown. My grandfather worked there. And it’s blocks from my house.

What is your role as manager?
I just started Monday [of last week], so, honestly I’m just listening right now — to what the employees and the customers would hope to have.

Do you have marching orders?
I have a few changes in the future, but nothing like marching orders. We may replace the butcher counter with a made-to-order deli or expand opening hours. Some things like that.

You worked at Whole Foods. Was there something that you studied to work in grocery stores?
I was a newspaper major.

I just sort of fell into it. My wife worked at Whole Foods, and she really enjoyed that sort of business, so I checked it out and enjoyed it. I have a really strong passion for the industry.

Is there a difference between working at a corporation and a small business?
Most definitely. It’s more of a community [at Curb]. You learn a lot working for a corporation. I had great mentors [at Whole Foods].

But, yeah, it’s more of a community, a smaller feel. It suits me better.

How important is it to have a store such as Curb in that community?
We’re just striving to be a healthy, convenient place for the people who work there. Being able to shop where you live or where you work, it can’t be anything but beneficial. So it’s really important to us to make it the very best that we can.

Are there any plans to expand your local brands?
We’re open to hear from any local vendors who might read this.

One criticism of Curb is that it’s a little pricey.
We’ll be looking at food suppliers and maybe we can make some adjustments. It’s always an issue for small businesses. You can’t buy stuff at the same cost as the really big people.

There’s really great discounts on the hot bar. It’s 25 percent off after 4 p.m. And we have the Curb-a-vore program, where members get 5 percent off the entire store, except alcohol. So there are ways to save money.

I can’t say we can compete with Kroger and their pricing, but what we can give you is a service, someone who’s going to listen to you, and try to get you the things that you need. 

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Pop-a-Roo’s Introduces Gas Station Nachos!

Pop-a-Roo’s recently introduced its Gas Station Nachos at its Crosstown Concourse stand.

“People in the Concourse asked us would we consider it, and I told them no,” says Ephie Johnson, Pop-a-Roo’s owner.

But then she thought about it and decided what the heck? It fit in well with Pop-a-Roo’s concession stand aesthetic.

Pop-a-Roo’s sells (the best) gourmet popcorn, hot dogs, icy drinks, and Kool-ickles (pickles made with Kool-Aid).

The stand opened in the Concourse in March.

Johnson says the nachos — chips and stadium-style cheese, with additions of barbecue chicken, and jalapeños if requested — are a perfect snack for those who are not ready for a meal but want a heavier snack. The nachos mimic what you might find in a gas station. They not good for you, for sure, but worth every bite.

Nachos run from $3 to $4. They are available Wednesdays and Fridays only.

Johnson says she’s working on expanding her business and has a deal brewing that could be a potential game-changer.

Right now she’s focused on keeping her customers happy. “We’re trying to strive and learn and make it right,” she says. 

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News News Blog

Crosstown Gym Opens; Pool, Community Garden to Come

CREDIT: Crosstown Concourse

Crosstown Concourse

Crosstown High’s new gym

A gym at Crosstown Concourse is set to open Friday (today), ahead of the opening of a pool and community garden slated to debut in the coming months.

As the end of Crosstown High School’s inaugural school year nears, its gymnasium opened Friday, Crosstown Concourse announced via Twitter.

The gym, located next to the Crosstown Theater, houses a college-level basketball court that will also be used for volleyball, physical education classes, and practice space for other sports.

Named the Ice Box after the school’s Yeti mascot, the gym is able to hold up to 750 people.

The gym shares locker rooms with the Church Health YMCA pool which is slated to open mid- to late-summer. The new outdoor pool will be accessible to Crosstown students, as well as YMCA members.

LRK

Rendering five-lane swimming pool

Equipped with five lap lanes and a splash area, the pool is designed to be “as multi-functional as possible,” Shauna Bateman, Church Health YMCA’s district executive director, said.

It will be open during the YMCA outdoor pool season from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Both the pool and gym were constructed by Grinder Taber Grinder and designed by the firm Looney Ricks Kiss, which worked with Crosstown Arts to develop the concept for the entire Crosstown Concourse project.

Also slated to open this spring is the Crosstown Concourse community garden, a project led by Church Health in partnership with Crosstown High, Memphis Garden Club, and Big Green, a national nonprofit that builds learning gardens in low-income schools.

Designed by landscape architect Ritchie Smith, the garden will be located near Crosstown Brewing Co., housing raised beds for Crosstown students to maintain through the school’s partnership with Big Green.

Crosstown Concourse

Community garden located near Crosstown Brewing Co.

In addition to being a learning space, Ann Langston, senior director of strategic partnerships and opportunities at Church Health, said the garden will provide “a place of tranquility” on the campus.

A fountain designed by artist Betsy Damon, as well as six sculptures created by artist Brian Russell which were previously located at Church Health’s former space will also be added to the garden. Langston said each sculpture represents one of the virtues that Church Health tries to builds its culture around.

Langston adds that the garden will serve as a place where Church Health rehab patients can practice walking on different levels and types of ground, as well as a space for yoga and other meditation classes.

Anyone in the community who is interested in gardening is invited to help with planting and maintenance of the garden, Langston said.

This story has been updated from a previous version stating the pool would open on Memorial Day weekend. Church Health officials have since informed the Flyer the pool will open mid- to late- summer due to weather delays.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Mama Gaia Closed in Crosstown

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Justin Fox Burks

Mama Gaia announced today it closed its Crosstown location.

The restaurant, which serves all-organic vegetarian fare, was one of the first businesses to open in the Crosstown Concourse.

It will now focus on its Ballet Memphis location.

From the press release:

Mama Gaia (pronounced ma-ma \ˈgī-ə\), a fast-casual dining experience offering organic vegetarian menu options announced that it will shift focus to its location inside Ballet Memphis and close its Crosstown Concourse location Tuesday, Sept. 4.

Mama Gaia’s successful catering business will continue serving its fresh, organic menu to customers around the Mid-South. The restaurant will still offer delivery through UberEats, among others as well. Crosstown Concourse leadership has already secured a new restaurant concept to occupy the space, which will open this month.

Co-founders Philipp and Cru von Holtzendorff-Fehling set out to offer Memphians a new dining experience that served delicious dishes that were both good for patrons’ health and the planet, and opened the doors in Crosstown in March 2017.

“We believe wholeheartedly in this concept, but we need to make this strategic shift,” said Philipp, CEO and co-founder of Mama Gaia. “Crosstown is home to 265 apartments, a high school and more than 40 other tenants,” Philipp said. “An estimated 3,000 people visit the building every day. We absolutely love the vertical village and what it has accomplished as a whole. Unfortunately, there has simply not been enough interest in organic vegetarian food to sustain business. As we move forward, we’re concentrating on the Ballet Memphis location, catering, delivery and are certainly looking at other ways to expand the concept.”

“We really love Mama Gaia, and appreciate all of Philipp’s and Cru’s hard work the past year,” said Dr. Todd Richardson, co-leader of the Crosstown Concourse development. “The Crosstown neighborhood can look forward to a new restaurant moving into the space in September.”

We’ll keep you posted on what’s going in the new location.