Tag: Downtown Memphis

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Sweet Cravings at Crave Cheesecakes

Travis Brady and the Crave Cheesecakes crew sell classic cheesecakes with assorted toppings. (Photos: Michael Donahue)

When he arrives at Crave Cheesecakes from his job with the Memphis Grizzlies, owner Travis Brady is wearing a button-down shirt, slacks, and wingtip dress shoes.

He then switches into his bakery mode. “I change my shirt,” he says. “I throw on a Crave Cheesecakes T-shirt. I’ve got one in the car.”

Then he slips off his wingtips, dons a pair of sneakers, and gets to work.

Crave Cheesecakes at 523 South Main Street is “very, very different, certainly,” from his job as premium sales manager with the Grizzlies, says Brady, 31. He wanted to start a business but, he says, “I didn’t necessarily know what. I knew that with help — between my family and close friends — our team would be able to at least create a really cool brand and experience.”

Brady came up with the idea of bringing a cheesecake bakery with the addition of “some premium desserts” to the Downtown area.

He hired chef Tyler Jividen, who makes the cheesecakes and cookies and currently is working on other cream cheese-inspired desserts. Also working at the bakery are Brady’s girlfriend Madeleine Everhardt and his buddy Connor Ryan.

And Brady hired his parents, Peter and Nidya Brady. “My parents are both retired and wanted to do something together.”

His dad, who retired from a manufacturing and logistics business, didn’t want to go back to working a corporate job. And he doesn’t play golf. Now he sells cheesecakes and cookies. “He loves it,” Brady says.

His mother, a retired teacher, works in the kitchen with Jividen. “My mother has never really been a baker, and she’s quite the baker now.”

And Brady bakes — on occasion. “I wouldn’t say that I’m an expert at it. Tyler is very patient with me and he shows me a few techniques along the way.”

Brady likes being in the kitchen with the “crew” filling orders. It’s “all hands on deck” and “making jokes and getting to know each other a little more.”

But, he adds, “I’m a sales guy. I can talk all day. So my passion and my expertise should be more on the customer service side, I think.”

Jividen, who has worked at Comeback Coffee in Memphis and the old P.O. Press Public House & Provisions in Collierville, also worked at Canlis restaurant and Bakery Nouveau in Seattle, Washington. He is “phenomenal,” Brady says. “He’s bringing all these new recipes. The first time I met him he’s like, ‘Hey. What are your thoughts on a Parmesan bacon marmalade caviar cheesecake?’”

For now, they’re selling classic cheesecakes with assorted toppings. “And we are slowly getting into a rotating cheesecake menu.”

They also sell cheesecake cookies. “We fill them with the ingredients you use to make a cheesecake.”

Brady and Jividen like to get feedback from customers. If they don’t like a particular cheesecake flavor, they ask why not. It might just be the addition of some nutmeg. Brady then calls the customer and asks them to try the cheesecake again.

Brady wants Crave to appeal to the people — whether they’re tourists or locals — walking down the street. “We got a great space where you get all walks of life coming in.”

Crave Cheesecakes is Memphis-centric. “I want a painting there,” Brady says, referring to a bare white wall. “Some local artists having their stuff there.”

Brady, who is from Ventura county near Los Angeles, California, moved to Memphis in 2008. “I do love Memphis. I love the simplicity of Memphis,” he says. “I love the area. I’ve made some amazing friends.”

Plus, Crave Bakery literally made Brady and his parents closer. “My parents live in Collierville. I used to see them once a week, and now I see them every day.

“My parents are moving Downtown next week. They’re selling their house in Collierville. They just enjoy it and want to be dedicated to the business.”

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Music Music Blog

Joyce Cobb Kicks Off Sunset Jazz at Court Square

Joyce Cobb (Credit: Taylor Rowell)

Sure, most Memphians have heard of the Sunset Symphony. There will likely be a big turnout for this year’s iteration of the traditional spring concert, centered on the Memphis Symphony Orchestra’s “MSO Big Band,” playing everything from swing to samba. That alone shows there’s a growing audience here that’s hungry for jazz. But not as many music fans know of that other great outdoor experience, Sunset Jazz.

Starting as a pop-up concert in 2018 in that historical downtown gem, Court Square Park, it had become an annual event by the next year at the request of Downtown Memphis, with series curator Deborah Swiney receiving a Downtown Memphis Vision Award that year.

This weekend, the annual free series is upon us once more, and there’s no better artist to champion the city’s jazz heritage than Joyce Cobb, who’ll perform with her band from 6-8 p.m., Sunday, May 14th, as the sun sinks in the west.

Those who attended the Stax Museum of American Soul Music’s Night Train gala on April 29th were treated to a performance by Cobb, and it revealed how her truly eclectic and passionate approach remains firmly rooted in jazz. Indeed, between songs she reeled off a list of the jazz greats who’ve emerged from Memphis — Jimmie Lunceford, George Coleman, Phineas Newborn, Jr., Charles Lloyd, etc. — by way of calling out the need for a Memphis Jazz Museum.

Yet despite her mastery of both the history and the artistry of jazz, she remains as stylistically diverse as ever. That’s only fitting for a singer who first came to Memphis from Nashville in the mid-seventies to record country music for Stax Records. After that fell through amid the label’s financial demise, she stayed here, becoming a Memphis institution in her own right. And she finally did get a Top 40 single, 1979’s “Dig the Gold” on Cream Records, a politically charged jam that borders on Afro-Pop, recorded at the now-legendary Shoe Productions Studio.

Joyce Cobb and band at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music’s Night Train gala (Credit: Michael Donahue)

The same venturesome spirit that led to her genre hopping in the ’70s persists today, as was well in evidence during her Night Train set. Calling out the Miles Davis classic “All Blues,” she gave us a heads up to listen to some lyrics she was adding to the typically instrumental piece. But we had to wait for that, as she proceeded to wail beautifully on the blues harp. Anyone who thought of Cobb as only a singer should certainly take note of this performance. And if you thought of her as strictly a jazz artist, listen to the lyrics that follow.

As an encore, Cobb took to the harp again, this time letting her ace band’s funky flag fly high. Expect more of this vibe, or vibes — from classic jazz to who knows what? — this coming Sunday evening at Court Square Park.

Sunset Jazz at Court Square takes place the second Sunday of each month, May through October, 6-8 p.m. Free.

May 14:  Joyce Cobb
June 11:  Gary Topper
July 9:  Deborah Swiney
August 13:  Paul McKinney
September 10:  Cequita Monique
October 8: Southern Comfort Band  (Univ. of Memphis)

Categories
News News Feature

Abortion Rights Supporters March in Downtown Memphis

Abortion rights supporters march on Beale Street on May 14, 2022. (photo by Chris McCoy)

Hundreds gathered in the hot sun to rally in support of abortion rights on Saturday in Downtown Memphis. The crowd was protesting the anticipated U.S. Supreme Court decision that would reverse the 50-year precedent of Roe v. Wade, the decision which affirmed women’s Constitutional right to abortion via their right to privacy.

A Planned Parenthood of Memphis and North Mississippi official declined to estimate how many attended the Bans Off Tennessee protest, beyond noting more than 1,200 had signed up for the event through the organization’s online organizing portal. The rally crowd spilled out of Ida B. Wells Plaza, dwarfing the dozen or so Proud Boys counter-protesters, who flashed white supremacist hand signs at the line of feminist protestors facing them across Beale Street.

A Proud Boy flashes a white power hand sign at abortion rights protestors. (photo by Chris McCoy)

Among the speakers at the hour-long rally were Tennessee House Representative London Lamar, scientist and Shelby County Democratic Party chairwoman Gabby Salinas, Planned Parenthood organizers Antoine Dandridge and Aerris Newton, Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer, and candidate for Tennessee State Senate Ruby Powell Dennis.

Planned Parenthood organizer Aerris Newton speaks next to the statue of Ida B. Wells. (photo by Chris McCoy)

After the rally, most of the attendees braved the heat to march down Beale Street, where tourists and revelers watched and took pictures of the throng. At one point, a street singer incorporated the marchers’ chant “My body, my choice” into a blues song.

Abortion rights protestors march down Beale Street. (photo by Chris McCoy)
A spectator applauds the marchers on Beale Street. (photo by Chris McCoy)

The marchers turned onto Main Street, where their chants of “No justice, no peace” echoed through the urban canyons. While taking pictures of the crowd, this reporter almost ran over Congressman Steve Cohen of Memphis, who was cheering on the marchers from the south sidewalk.

Abortion rights protestors march past the Orpheum in Downtown Memphis. (photo by Chris McCoy)

By this time, the tiny counter-protest had melted away. Beyond the occasional thumbs-down along the route, there were few signs of dissent from the marchers message in support of women’s rights to make their own reproductive health decisions.

Abortion rights protestors arrive at the National Civil Rights Museum. (photo by Chris McCoy)

The energized crowd arrived for a second rally at the National Civil Rights Museum, where organizer Newton led chants. Cohen thanked the marchers for braving the heat and told the crowd he was with them “one million percent.” Volunteers handed out water bottles as the protesters mixed about, sharing their stories of experiences with abortion and their personal awakening to the cause. No violence or arrests were observed.

Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) rallies the crowd at the National Civil Rights Museum. (photo by Chris McCoy)
Categories
News News Blog

Caption by Hyatt Debuts This Summer

Caption by Hyatt (Credit: Hyatt Hotels).

Hyatt Hotel Corporation is set to launch a new hotel concept, and Memphis is going to be its first home. Later this summer, the Caption by Hyatt will be the first of its kind when it opens its doors to Memphis as part of the One Beale development at 245 South Front Street.

The 136-room hotel on Beale and Front Streets will be integrated into the William C. Ellis & Sons Ironworks and Machine Shop facade. The Caption by Hyatt concept is designed to be reflective of its host cities, and will look to include local flavors and experiences unique to Memphis.

“The Caption by Hyatt Beale Street Memphis is a first-of-its-kind property that will offer conscientious travelers a true Memphian lifestyle experience,” said Sarah Titus, area general manager, Caption by Hyatt Beale Street Memphis. “With memorable encounters that celebrate the sounds and lifestyle of Beale Street, we are proud to share with visitors and neighbors a taste of all the local culture and cuisine there is to savor.”

Rendering of the Talk Shop lounge area. (Credit: Hyatt Hotels)

A big feature of the Caption by Hyatt is the remixed lobby design known as the Talk Shop, which will also act as a workplace and lounge for guests and locals. The large lounge area gives way to an expansive outdoor patio and beer garden replete with fire pits and exposed brick. Dining options include an all-day menu featuring a variety of local recipes, the Hearth Bar, which serves “freshly baked breads and tasty spreads,” and a locally sourced grab-and-go bar. The hotel will partner with local vendors such as Grit Girl Grits, Bluff City Mushrooms, Joyce Chicken, Home Place Pastures Pork, and Grind City Brewing.

Reservations for the Caption by Hyatt Hotel Beale Street will be open for stays starting July 1st, 2022.

Categories
News News Feature

Shop Local: Downtown

This holiday season, we’re asking readers to support local and consider these and others for their gift-giving needs.

The Broom Closet

For your giftee’s metaphysical needs — gemstones, candles, tarot readings, sage and smudging supplies, and more — visit The Broom Closet. The shop also offers unique trinkets and home decor. We especially love this Astrology Box ($28). Available in-store at 525 S. Main and online at thebroomclosetmemphis.com.

Orpheum Theatre

With a return to live performances, audiences are eager to experience the magic that the Orpheum’s event lineup has to offer. Hamilton, Memphis Jookin’ featuring Lil Buck, and comedian Bert Kreischer are among those gracing the stage this season, and tickets make great gifts! And this 2021 ornament ($25), designed by local artist AnnaMade Designs, would look nice on the holiday tree. Available at orpheum-memphis.com or 225 S. Main.

Hollywood Feed

Don’t forget the furry family members! Hollywood Feed offers more than just quality pet food. Handmade treats from their bakery, toys, cutesy clothes, and more are available for your four-legged friends. Keep them warm with a festive sweater ($11.99)! Available at 2015 Union, other store locations, or hollywoodfeed.com.

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Flavors of the Delta at King & Union Bar Grocery

At the corner of B.B. King Blvd. & Union Ave., the site of the former TGI Friday’s now offers something that feels a little closer to home. King & Union Bar Grocery, the new restaurant connected to the DoubleTree by Hilton and situated just across the street from AutoZone Park, recently joined the Downtown dining scene with an authentic take on food and recipes from around the Mid-South.

King & Union Bar Grocery’s Charcuterie Board sits in front of the KU Burger

“The Friday’s model was an extremely successful restaurant model for decades,” says DoubleTree general manager David Rossman, “but tastes change, and habits change. When the pandemic hit, we reevaluated our strategy and decided to pursue something that’s more authentic to where we are.”

King & Union, which opened July 20th, has a menu which offers plenty of staples that people who grew up in the Delta would recognize. Glenn Brown, director of food & beverage, grew up in Grenada, Mississippi, and uses his history and experience to inform the restaurant’s offerings. “We’ve got classic Southern cuisine,” explains Brown, “but with a little bit of a twist, too. And that’s what makes it so good, just that extra little bit of creativity.”

And Brown’s outside-the-box thinking is on full display with King & Union’s new Thanksgiving special. A holiday twist on the classic chicken & waffles concept is flipped into turkey & waffles. “The waffle is made out of cornbread dressing,” he says. “We’ve got thick, oven-roasted turkey on top, with gravy and a bacon cranberry chutney. And we’ll serve that over mashed potatoes and green beans.”

King & Union Bar Grocery

Turkey & Waffles Thanksgiving Special

That inventiveness is on display throughout the whole menu, with each plate serving a pretty generous helping. The KU Burger sticks two all-beef patties with the regular fixings, as well as pimento cheese, fried green tomatoes, and the restaurant’s comeback sauce, which Brown describes as a “jazzed-up remoulade.”

“Or a bluesy remoulade,” offers Rossman.

But the X-factor that really catches the eye, and the taste buds, is the pimento cheese, which appears all over King & Union’s menu. It settles nicely on the KU Burger; centers the charcuterie plate alongside kielbasa, deviled eggs, pickled smokra (okra pickled with smokey paprika); and, crucially, anchors its own sandwich. The “Mama Rue” combines sourdough bread, bacon, pimento cheese, and tomatoes, and is a tribute to an important figure in Brown’s life.

“Mama Rue was my grandmother,” he recollects. “But the thing is, she did not cook. The only thing in her house when I was growing up was store-bought pimento cheese, which was horrible! But I thought of her when I was trying to come up with new recipes, so I put all these ingredients together, threw it on the grill, and it’s one of the best sandwiches you’ll ever have.”

And King & Union’s pimento cheese truly does pop. Made in-house, the recipe mixes in firecracker peppers to give it a little extra oomph and a lovely reddish hue, reminiscent of the sunsets over the Mississippi River.

(l to r) David Rossman and Glenn Brown

For the intrepid diners, those keen to try out new things or in search of something unlisted, there’s the “secret menu,” where King & Union tests out potential new recipes. And the experiments are usually right on the mark. Brown initially trialed the King Cristo this way, a breakfast sandwich with “grilled ham, raspberry compote, Dijon mustard, powdered sugar, Swiss cheese, and the whole thing fried just like French toast.” That item proved so popular, it worked its way onto the full menu. As for finding the secret menu, well, you’ll just have to visit King & Union a few times and puzzle that one out for yourself (and never forget to keep an eye on the social feeds).

Underpinning every good food experience, of course, is a loaded cocktail menu, and King & Union delivers. The restaurant retained much of the staff from Friday’s, and longtime bartender Sean Hart has spent years coming up with new drinks to try, all using local liquor.


I went with the Ginger Basil Smash, based around Old Dominick Bourbon and accentuated with a strong dose of ginger, sugar, basil leaves, and lemon juice. The Muddy Waters also merits attention, another bourbon concoction with a coffee-infused caffeine kick, accompanied by Madagascar vanilla and sugar.

Want something that’s not on the menu? The bartenders are more than happy to try anything. “We have a lot of drinks named after longtime regulars,” says bar manager Katie Bowles. “And if you ask for something we haven’t done before, well, we’ll probably name a drink after you, too.” On tap, there are 14 beers, 10 of which are local (Rossman concedes that they need to have Bud Light available).

And King & Union has a perfect atmosphere to kick back and relax in with a cocktail. When establishments are able to fully and safely reopen, it’s easy to see spending a few hours in the entry lounge area, or closer to the comfortable bar area, after a Grizzlies or 901 FC game. Right now, a few skeletal decorations are still hanging around, leftover from Halloween decorations. But instead of taking them down, King & Union has a few seated at tables (dressed in pilgrim hats and other Thanksgiving finery for the upcoming holiday) to demarcate social distancing guidelines.

Bar manager Katie Bowles poses with one of the bar’s leftover Halloween decorations.

But as an extension of the DoubleTree hotel, Rossman wants the restaurant to be memorable for not just locals, but tourists. “We want to be a departure from your typical hotel restaurant,” he says. “A lot of them are forgettable, but we want to create an experience where people coming in from out of town can try something authentic to the area, and mix with people from Memphis.”

An exciting component, and the second half of the “Bar Grocery” moniker, is the store selling locally made, pure 901 goods. Think sweet and savory snacks, like Makeda’s Cookies, Shotwell candies, Wolf River Popcorn, or Vice & Virtue Coffee. Rossman wants to expand the grocery offerings over the next few months to offer standard household items like bread, milk, eggs, cheese, and pasta. “There’s not a lot of places to get actual groceries Downtown,” says Rossman. “So we want to create a space where people come in, grab some essentials, and maybe some pimento cheese or some sliced meats. That’s the next thing we’re looking at probably starting next year.”

While it’s been tough on both the restaurant and hospitality industries due to COVID-19, Rossman has seen a good reception Downtown. “We have a lot of people coming in, and guests are eating here multiple times during a stay,” he says. “And that’s what we wanted: both people from Memphis and folks who are visiting coming in and getting a taste of classic Southern cuisine.”


King & Union Bar Grocery is open for dine-in and takeout breakfast (all day), lunch, and dinner 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 6:30 a.m.-midnight Friday; and 7 a.m.-midnight Saturday and Sunday. 185 Union Ave., 523-8500. Social media: @KingandUnionBarGrocery

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Slide on In: A Visit to the Downtown Slider Inn

When it comes to building restaurants that are the embodiment of a guy in a baseball cap with a rescue dog, no one does it better than Aldo Dean, who has taken eye-rolling double entendres and clap-back food descriptions on menus and elevated the concepts to become some of Memphis’ most beloved dining and drinking establishments. Some of his best work is on display at the second location of Slider Inn, located Downtown at 363 Mulberry.

Dean, the man behind Bardog Tavern, Aldo’s Pizza Pies, and others, went grandiose with the new Slider, taking everything that works at the Midtown location and amplifying it into an indoor-outdoor playground of Jameson slushies, dog-friendliness, and ample bar offerings. One hardly knows where to start the journey through the Downtown Slider, but I’ll start at the downstairs bar.

Photographs by Justin Fox Burks

The bar in the downstairs portion of the main building is Slider’s largest and, on the rainy night I visit, still full and being tended by Rondi McNeal. The main downstairs dining area has massive garage doors that can and will open to the outside on nicer days. Above it lurks the “Lift,” more of a private dining option for parties who want to get weird on its sprawling leather couches.

Next door to the main building, accessible via covered walkway, is the “Garage,” which houses yet another bar, more TVs, and, like its sister bar nearby, the ability to open to the elements. Finally, there’s “Slider Out,” an outdoor area featuring the Tapbox, Slider’s mobile beer cart, and the Slider Rider, their food truck.

Emboldened by the massive amount of space they now have to sling food and beverages, Slider’s Downtown menu is also larger. It features lobster popcorn, made of tempura-fried chunks of lobster served over popcorn, and vegan buffalo wings made of tofu and cauliflower, among several other new menu items.

Though Slider has a new, additional location and new menu items, the Jameson stays the same. As it should.

Not to be outdone, the slushie machine is also larger to accommodate for the popularity of their Jameson slushies. “It’s bigger, and we’re still constantly filling it up,” assistant manager Ariana Geneva says with the confidence of a woman in charge of a larger slushie machine.

The new Slider will also feature a chilaquiles bar, opening in the spring, where the weekend brunch crowd can pay a set amount and build custom chilaquiles.

Beyond the name recognition, it’s the location’s décor that gives it away as one of Dean’s thoughtfully planned restaurants. The Downtown Slider has an industrial feel owing to its former existence as the Kisber truck garage. Marketing manager Eric Bourgeois points out that it’s a great example of adaptive reuse, and I agree because, any second, I’m afraid that Rammstein will come out and play a set.

All its restrooms are unisex, lit by dangling mannequin hands clutching bulbs. The theme is wrought iron, the window treatments are Jameson bottles, and the thoughtful details can best be described as toolbox-chic.

Slider Out is its most notable game-changer, as it will operate as its own entity once the weather warms, the South Mainers descend from their loft spaces, and Memphis in May plunges the city into chaos and beer.

Food will be handled by the Slider Rider and beers by the Tapbox, freeing up the indoor bars and kitchen to cater to a separate set of masses. Tabs will not translate between the outdoor and indoor spaces; outdoor tabs will be handled via a different payment platform. Soon Slider Out will morph into its own event space with a stage for music and screenings.

Much remains the same when sliding out of Midtown and into Downtown, though. Happy hour still includes $1 off select drafts, domestic bottles, well booze, and house wines from 5 to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. The bar caters to its canines with an outdoor dog water fountain and dog biscuits available.

And the staff of Aldo Dean’s bar empire, over 200 strong now, is still content to lube up the city with a Jameson slushie or five as we rapidly approach Patio Season 2020.

Slider Inn Downtown is located at 363 Mulberry Street.

Categories
Letter From The Editor Opinion

Letter From the Editor: Take Me to the PILOT

CREDIT: Raymond James

Remember when you were, say, in your early twenties, and you needed to move out of your crappy apartment because the landlord was a jerk and wouldn’t fix the water heater and the back-door lock was always broken? You’d call up a bunch of friends and say, “Hey, come over and help me move on Saturday. I’ll buy the beer!”

Amazingly, this actually worked sometimes. Your pals would drop by, help you stuff your worldly belongings into boxes, schlep your crappy couch and chest of drawers and floppy mattress onto a truck and unload it all at your new crappy apartment. All for the price of a case or two of Natty Light.

Raymond James

It’s kind of like what’s happening between brokerage firm Raymond James and the city of Memphis’ Economic Development and Growth Engine (EDGE). You see, Raymond James, a national company with 2018 revenues of $7.2 billion, needs a little help with its move from its current Downtown headquarters to a couple of buildings out in East Memphis. So it asked EDGE to cut them a break on taxes, you know, like friends do.

Raymond James has been in a dispute with its landlord at its namesake building at 50 North Front for a couple of years, mostly over the structure’s elevators. They break down sometimes, stranding employees and clients. The building’s landlord says they’re fixing the problem, but it takes time and it’s expensive and they need Raymond James to sign a lease so they can commit to that expense. Raymond James says, nah, we’re moving out east. Oh, and we’d like a little help from the city with moving expenses.

As The Commercial Appeal reported last week: “Because of the deterioration of its Downtown facility, Raymond James has recently signed two leases to relocate its operations into 250,000 square feet in two buildings located in East Memphis,” the Florida-based company said in an application for a tax break. The application further stated: “These leases are contingent on EDGE’s approval of our PILOT application.”

Enter EDGE and its friendly PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) program, which is considering the Raymond James company’s request for a $3.2 million tax break to help offset its moving costs.

That’s a lot of Natty Light.

EDGE has released documents that appear to financially justify the granting of the PILOT, citing the fact that Raymond James is promising to create 100 new jobs that will pay around $64,000 on average. EDGE also noted the positive tax-revenue impact of the $23 million Raymond James says it will spend to renovate and refurbish the buildings in East Memphis. The company added that many of the new employees will be relocated to Memphis from the Raymond James’ national headquarters in Tampa, where there is some concern that global warming will impact its operations.

Huh.

EDGE says Raymond James’ investment in the two buildings and the impact of 100 new employees moving to Memphis will bring in roughly $5.8 million in “tax benefits” to the local economy. So, granting a tax break of $3.2 million will mean the city comes out ahead in this deal by about $2.6 million. Theoretically.

Here’s a crazy thought: Why not let a $7.2-billion-dollar corporation suck it up and pay for its own move? That $3.2 million is chump change for Raymond James. And it would be a lot more expensive for them to leave town and move their 863 current employees somewhere else. They’re moving people out of Tampa, anyway. And here’s the kicker: After Raymond James moves out east, Memphis will be left with another big, empty building in the city’s core. Why would we want to incentivize a company to do that?

I can understand (sometimes) why PILOTs are given to attract companies to town or to spur investment in a blighted or neglected area, but I don’t understand why we would give a tax break to a multi-billion-dollar company just because it’s in a squabble with its landlord and wants to move to another part of the city. East Memphis isn’t exactly blighted or lacking in development. That $3.2 million in foregone tax dollars could be better spent, in my humble (but distinctly non-expert) opinion.

Maybe we ought to save that PILOT money and use it to lure a potential tenant into that distinctive but soon-to-be-empty Downtown building with lovely river views.

Or use it to fix the elevators.

Bruce VanWyngarden

brucev@memphisflyer.com

Categories
Letter From The Editor Opinion

Flat City

A story came out in The Commercial Appeal this week that caused some chatter around local social media networks. The story was about a report from the Census Bureau that said the nine-county Memphis metro area gained a grand total of 888 people in the past year. That’s “growth,” but an intimate kind of growth, the kind where we could invite all the newcomers down to Loflin Yard for drinks or something.

But it’s important to remember that’s not just Memphis, that’s nine counties, our entire metro area. Also relevant is the fact that, nationally, the growth rate for all major metro areas was .8 percent. Sure, there are still cities with higher-than-average growth rates, but the trend, at least lately, has been flat population growth for most American statistical metro areas.

So how does that flat population number square with the boom in development in downtown and Midtown Memphis? People are moving in, obviously, or all these new apartments and condos and old buildings being built out for reuse wouldn’t be happening; all these new restaurants and entertainment districts wouldn’t be getting built. But that growth appears to be, at least for now, a function of these core areas gaining local residents at the expense of other local neighborhoods that are losing them.

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As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, the areas that are beginning to show decline are the vast suburban tracts that were created as a result of the area’s suburban sprawl — the housing and development boom in Memphis’ outer reaches that marked the 1990s and early 2000s. It was seen as “growth” when it was happening, but it wasn’t. We got less dense, population-wise, but we weren’t gaining residents; we were just spreading our chips on the table, instead of stacking them. We built new schools, we got new malls, but it was mostly at the expense of Midtown and downtown Memphis, which lost residents. The growth trend now is back toward the urban core, as mall culture is dying and people are seeking community again.

How do we avoid making the same mistake in reverse: building up some areas while leaving other areas fallow and decaying? It will require first recognizing and accepting that we literally have spread ourselves too thin. We don’t have enough people living here to fill all the space in the metro area that we’ve built out and developed. We need to think creatively about how we recreate the inner core, making sure we avoid the mistakes made in developing our outer ring: overbuilt housing, cheap, transitory architecture, and automobile-centric design. And we need to get serious about de-annexing areas that have been complaining for years about having to be part of the city. Let ’em go. See you at the next Grizzlies game.

Development in the Memphis core must be smart, with an eye toward permanence and architectural cohesiveness. We need to be vigilant against overbuilding neighborhoods around entertainment districts or city parks — “pop-up” projects that appear destined to become obsolete in the coming years.

To that end, the proposed apartments at Sam Cooper and East Parkway are a good case study. The developers seem aware of the need to build something that is architecturally in sync with the neighborhood, but concerns have been raised about increased traffic at an already busy and complex intersection, one that serves as the primary gateway to the city from the east. The development’s proximity to the thoughtfully crafted and artistically welcoming eastern entrance to Overton Park is also a matter for consideration.

But controlling ambitious development in the urban core is a good problem for a city to have; certainly better than the alternative. Sometimes, flat is good.

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

The “G” Word

Sears Crosstown rendering

Last week was a busy one for Midtown news. To recap: Parkway Grill and those delicious chicken pitas are history, hopefully not for good. YoLo is moving west to make room for a restaurant at the southeast corner of Madison and Cooper. Crosstown Concourse’s apartment units, the “Parcels,” are available for pre-lease and will be ready in December. And the Greensward debate might finally be settled? I’ll believe that one when I see it.

More changes are on the way. Some seem exciting, others just “ehhhh.” I’m not sure all of them are good ideas, but I’m willing to wait and see. I’ve heard reactions to the Overton Square and Crosstown news that were far less measured, with terms like “overpriced” and “bullshit” and even the dreaded “G word” bandied about.

Whoa there. I had no idea y’all were so passionate about your frozen yogurt. You’d think Pho Binh was being replaced with an artisan mayonnaise boutique or something, the way some people were carrying on. Now THAT would be a crisis.

Let’s not conflate revitalization with gentrification. Not while we’re trying to compensate for a half-century of population loss and alleviate poverty in the poorest metro in the country.

We need Midtown, and Memphis as a whole, to thrive. Yes, authenticity is important. We strive to support and uplift local businesses. We also need safety and good schools and other public goods that cost money. These needs are hard to fulfill in a city that’s full of renters but relies on property taxes. Memphis the metropolitan area spans three states, but Memphis the city only collects sales taxes in one of them (Think about that when you drive to the outlet mall).

I digress. Go to smartcitymemphis.com — they explain this stuff better than I can.

I used to think Midtown was so much more fun when I was in my 20s. Really, my nostalgia was more for the plot of my 20s than the setting. I do miss Square Foods, when it was in the space the Bayou now occupies. I miss the old Hi-Tone. I miss seeing bands at the Deli. I miss the Republic Coffee that was on Madison. Everything else I loved is still around, though. Some things have moved or improved. Some are harder to get to, but that’s because the empty and abandoned places have been replaced by other nice things for all kinds of people to enjoy. Yes, “all kinds” should — and does — include people who live outside of zip code 38104.

Rent was $500, split two ways, for the 2BR/1BA duplex near the Piggly Wiggly (better known to y’all new-to-town folks as “Cash Saver”) where I used to live in the early 2000s. It was much bigger than the entry-level Crosstown Parcel, which is $874. Unlike a Crosstown Parcel, it didn’t include wifi or a washer and dryer or a gym membership or a functioning stove. Like most things that are cheap, it was that way for a reason. The place was falling apart. Literally crumbling. What it lacked in amenities, it made up in “quirks” and experiences that would hopefully inspire a novel or at least an interesting chapter or two in my memoir.

Nearly every element of old-house charm had been painted over or sealed off to exempt the landlord from having to maintain it. I had to screw plywood boards to my window air conditioning unit so it would fit in the one window that opened. The hardwood floors were probably gorgeous at some point, before they were painted black.

The downstairs neighbors were a family of four hearing-impaired insomniacs who hated each other’s guts. Their favorite activities were yelling at each other and watching network television at top volume; often they did both at once. Vonage was running that commercial with The 5.6.7.8‘s “Woo Hoo,” and I swear it aired 100 times a day, double that on my days off. To this day I clench my teeth and fists whenever I hear that song.

The house was boarded up not long after we moved out. It’s still there, probably waiting for a fire or perhaps a strong gust of wind to put it out of its misery.

The character of Midtown hasn’t changed much, but little improvements like “not letting that entertainment district wither away completely” and “finally doing something about that dormant 1.5 million square foot building” seem to be working out OK so far. Housing demand is increasing as more people want to move in than to leave. New apartments are being built for the first time in years, and the market will decide whether the prices are right. Meanwhile, let’s hold off on throwing around words like “gentrification” — at least until the mayonnaise store opens.

Jen Clarke is an unapologetic Memphian and a digital marketing specialist.