Tag: Restaurant Iris

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Restaurant Iris is Moving

Michael Donahue (left) with chef Kelly English (photo by Jon W. Sparks)

Restaurant Iris is moving from its Midtown location to the old The Grove Grill restaurant location at 4550 Poplar in Laurelwood in East Memphis, chef/owner Kelly English announces.

“During the pandemic we really talked and thought a lot about the best ways we could take care of our team,” English says.

And, he says, “When it came the right time, we called Laurelwood and started talking about what it would be to move that way.”

It’s a much bigger space than their current location, English says. “The dining room in Laurelwood is bigger than the entire property Iris is on.”

He doesn’t know when the new Restaurant Iris will open. “We don’t have a specific date it in mind.”

But English’s restaurant, The Second Line, will stay where it is, next to the old Restaurant Iris. “We’ll put something new and great where Iris is. Not sure what that is.”

Restaurant Iris will stay open where it is “until we get a better idea of when that move will happen.”

Though the exact date hasn’t been decided, the move will take place in 2021, English says.

The new Restaurant Iris will continue to be a “a classic Creole restaurant with a sense of New American.” 

But, English says, “We’ll be offering more stuff out of that location.”

Restaurant Iris is at 2146 Monroe Avenue.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Humane Society Hosts Paw Prints House PAWty Fundraiser August 22nd

CREDIT: Photo by Flickr user Alan Levine

Photo by Flickr user Alan Levine

The annual Paw Prints fundraiser for Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County (HSMSC) is putting a spin on the gala this year. You can sit, stay, and fetch dinner from home on August 22nd while you support lifesaving services at the Humane Society with the help of three local restaurants, Pete & Sam’s, Restaurant Iris, and Ecco.

This House PAWty is just like ordering takeout. Simply navigate to the order page, select the restaurant and menu of your choice, and order for the number of two-legged creatures in your household. Pick up or receive your food on the night of the event to enjoy with the people in your home. It’s your PAWty. You can do what you want. Hold a family game night, watch a movie, set up a formal dinner, or picnic in the backyard with lawn games.

Food options range from $50-$125 per person, with delivery included for Ecco and Restaurant Iris. Pete & Sam’s can be picked up from their Park Avenue location. Each restaurant is paid for the food and the rest goes to the Humane Society.

“Paw Prints House PAWty is a great way to put our paw print on the Memphis community by supporting local restaurants and the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County at the same time,” says HSMSC director of philanthropy Katherine Russell.

Besides great food from all the restaurants, Restaurant Iris has a vegetarian option and a Strawberry Lemonade Cocktail Kit (sans the alcohol) that is complementary with your meal choice.

Another PAWty perk is the Barks for Bling component. Raffle tickets will be available to purchase for a chance to “shop the case” of selected baubles from Mednikow Jewelers. Items range in value from $575 to $695. Visit mednikow.com to browse.

If you can’t participate but want to support, you can give the gift of a House PAWty pack to a local friend or you can make a donation to the Humane Society outright.

Saturday, August 22nd, memphishumane.org, visit the Humane Society website or Facebook page for full details, $50-$125 per person.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Bring Your Favorite Bar Home During Quarantine

CREDIT: Photographs by Justin Fox Burks

Wooooo boy, ain’t we in the throes of it now? Feels like it was just last week when my assignment was simply to go to a bar and let y’all know that service is good and drinks are delicious. Well, shit’s changed, and frankly, it’s our duty to change with it. So let’s go to a bar, virtual-style.

I’ve not been able to go to an actual bar (because quarantine is the responsible thing to do, son!), so I’ve explored many options, including delivery, curbside service, and controlled irresponsibility, which is a thing you do with Clorox wipes, growlers, and general intelligence.

Unless you have written it off because your best friend from high school is an anti-vaxxer or your in-laws are trying to friend you, Facebook has been an astoundingly solid resource for restaurants and bars doing some cool stuff. Most any restaurant that you call is willing to make you drinks to-go, offer wines at a discount, or at least try to offload their selection of beer. They mostly let their deals be known on Facebook, so ignore the friend request from your mother-in-law and check out a menu.

“I don’t have the Facebook!” Neat. You can still navigate to the page and see their specials, you catastrophic moron.

Buster’s Liquors & Wines is doing curbside pick-up from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Place an order by 5:30 p.m. and patiently wait outside, and they’ll bring it to you. This is a great option if you haven’t begun drinking yet but plan to before the sun goes down. Shake up some local vodka and a squeeze from a lime you got from the Blue Monkey walk-in cooler. Log into Google Hangouts and play Jackbox with friends.

Photographs by Justin Fox Burks

Wiseacre Brewing Co. is doing delivery. I recommend ordering a couple six-packs of Ananda between 1 and 6 p.m., tipping the person who drops it off, and pressure-washing your driveway with your roommates. If there’s any left over, wipe it down real nice with some industrial wipes you got from Highbar Trading and offer it to the gentleman walking his dog down the street. Afterward, settle down on the couch and have a Zoom conference with all your friends that don’t have a pressure washer. Rub it in their faces.

Justin Fox Burks

Drinking local with hurricanes in pouches from Bayou Bar & Grill.

It sure is nice outside! Use the weather to your advantage and walk to your neighborhood watering hole. Mine is Bayou Bar & Grill, which is doing take-out from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Things you can get include incredibly cheap growler fill-ups (especially if you’re in their Mug Club) and drinks in pouches. Because it’s spring break, I opted for a couple hurricanes in pouches and a growler of a local IPA, which I then drank in my front yard as I yelled about the nuances of flight patterns during a pandemic.

Not to be outdone, Slider Inn is doing car bombs to-go, which include a pouch of Guinness and a ramekin of Jameson and Irish cream liqueur. This is great if you want to find out what it’s like to drop a plastic ramekin into a plastic pouch and drink it as fast as you can while watching 30 Rock for the millionth time and playing Hearts on the computer with the people living with you. You get extra points if you then order curbside delivery of a locally owned restaurant and tip outlandishly. My selections the past few days? Bari, Tamboli’s, Huey’s, Young Avenue Deli, Restaurant Iris, Casablanca, and Little Italy.

You know the best part about being asked to stay at home and stop the spread of a lethal virus? First off, it’s responsible at-home consumption of booze acquired from local restaurants, but the second-best thing is camaraderie. No, I’m not advising having a damn parade with children and spit-covered instruments marching through a neighborhood (get your shit together, Central Gardens!). I’m talking about all of us being in this together. And together, we can support our local establishments and, of course, safely consume booze off-premises and in the comfort of our meticulously clean living rooms and/or porches, or really anywhere you can pour a tall one. Cheers to staying safe, everyone.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Restaurants Shift to Delivery, Curbside Pickup in Coronavirus Wake

CREDIT: Railgarten/Facebook

Railgarten/Facebook

Remember the good, old days of social closeness-ning?

Coronavirus (and the social distancing that has come with it) has put huge strains on local restaurants but many in Memphis are fighting back with curbside service, food delivery, and some help from the city.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said Monday “we strongly encourage you to continue to-go orders and support our local restaurants and their staffs.”

“To help with this, we have decided to provide on-street parking relief exclusively for food delivery vehicles at various restaurant locations Downtown and Midtown where parking meters are installed,” Strickland said in a coronavirus update Monday. “Until further notice, we are relaxing enforcement at metered parking spaces, allowing on-street parking at no charge in front of restaurants. Please note that all restricted parking areas will remain in effect during this time to ensure public safety.”

Chef Kelly English said on Instagram post Monday he’d close the dining rooms of Restaurant Iris, Second Line, and Fino’s from the Hill.

Restaurants Shift to Delivery, Curbside Pickup in Coronavirus Wake

“We have made the decision to shut our dining rooms down,” he said. “We can’t wait to get them back open. We are available for delivery and take out. @finosmemphis will be at the very least available for lunch take out and @secondlinememphis will be available for dinner take out starting tomorrow.

”We are taking tonight to regroup and get a plan. To all of our team: I love you so much, and we will figure this out.”

Napa Cafe announced Monday it would offer family dinner meals for pickup including the choice of soup or salad, an entrée, and choice of one family-style side item and fresh vegetable for $40 per person.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to provide our guests a sense of ease by providing family dinner meals to-go including salads, soups, entrees, family-style sides, and vegetables so that they can enjoy a Napa Café meal in the comfort of their home,” said Glenda Hastings, owner Napa Café.

Railgarten said it will offer food delivery and discounted gift cards because “we want you to have everything you need before you hunker down.”

“Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitality businesses are being hit hard. We know that as our customers start practicing social distancing, our businesses will suffer. We know the main way consumers can continue to support us is through food delivery and buying gift cards.

“We also know that in this time of economic uncertainty, not everyone wants to purchase gift cards. That is why the Party Memphis group, including Railgarten, wants to make it an easy decision to support our team.

“On Tuesday, March 17th, which is also St. Patrick’s Day, our venues will open at 2 p.m. for those who want to grab a family meal and gift card before you settle in at home. At that time, we will begin our gift card sale.”

The sale will begin at 2 p.m. with $200 cards offered at $100. Cards increase in price every hour. Gift cards can be purchased online. Each purchase made in person, though, comes with a free roll of toilet paper.

“This is our way of thanking you for your support and to remind you that even though things can look bleak, we are going to make it through this thing together,” Railgarten said.

Let It Fly said Monday it will offer family meals (that can feed four to five people) for pickup for $39.99. Each meal comes with a gallon of tea or lemonade. Individual adult meals come with a free kid’s meal.

The Majestic Grill said Monday it will offer curbside pickup starting on Wednesday.

Restaurants Shift to Delivery, Curbside Pickup in Coronavirus Wake (2)

Categories
News News Feature

Holiday Eats: What’s (and Who’s) Cookin’

There’s much to look forward to during the holidays. Warm camaraderie to keep the cold outside at bay. Toasts with family, friends, and coworkers to raise the spirits. A seasonal smorgasbord. Of course, no one looks forward to the extra cooking, shopping, and dishes, though. That’s where we come in. For some ideas on how to help get the holiday gathering started (and avoid the extra cooking), read this special message from our advertisers. 

62 South Front Street

62 S. Front, (941-0784) • 62southfrontstreet.com

Come celebrate with us! Located on Historic Cotton Row, at 62 South Front, you can host your corporate meetings, receptions, and special events in style — with 3,000 square feet and a full kitchen for the caterer of your choice. Free wifi and free use of 20 tables and 40 chairs. Please call us with any questions regarding pricing or history of the venue.

Boscos Squared

2120 Madison, (432-2222) • boscosbeer.com

Looking for a private party room, banquet room, or event space where guests can enjoy local, handcrafted beer while dining on chef-created specialties like Boscos wood-oven shrimp, smoked pork chop, or wood-fired oven pizzas? Boscos Restaurant & Brewing Co. has everything you need to host your holiday party, birthday celebration, banquet, or office party for up to 30 guests. Boscos Restaurant & Brewing Co. can meet all of your private dining needs.

Call us at (901) 432-2222 to create your private dining experience at Boscos.

Char Restaurant

431 S. Highland, #120, (249-3533) • memphis.charrestaurant.com

Bring Char to your holiday table this year! Family-style sides and whole pecan pies are available to order for pick-up for all of your holiday celebrations. Order by November 25th for Thanksgiving and December 20th for Christmas. Call us today to place your order.

The Curb Market

1350 Concourse Ave, Suite 163, (453-6880) • curbmarket901.com

Curb Market makes all hot dishes from scratch, with fresh ingredients, and we cater! Make sure your holiday parties are something to remember, whether at home or at the office. Contact catering@curbmarket901.com today!

El Toro Loco – Mexican Bar & Grill

2809 Kirby, #109 (at Quince), (759-0593)

Now booking holiday parties and special events. With karaoke and DJs every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. For catering and event booking, please call us.

Jack Pirtle’s Chicken

jackpirtleschicken.com

Memphians have enjoyed our delicious fried chicken, steak sandwiches, and all the trimmings since 1957. Come see what keeps the Mid-South coming back for more! It’s down-home delicious. For catering information and pricing call (901) 372-9897 or visit one of our eight Memphis locations.

Molly’s La Casita

2006 Madison, (726-1873) • mollyslacasita.com

Bring your family to our Molly’s family for some good fun, food, and drinks. Margarita Monday and Taco Tuesday are a good start to your Thanksgiving week. Ask about our party-size dips for your holiday parties.

Mulan Asian Bistro

Mulan offers traditional Chinese and authentic Szechuan cuisine, as well as sushi and hibachi. Mulan provides catering, delivery services, and has a private party room available for special events. Contact us today to start planning your holiday celebrations.

• Mulan Asian Bistro East

4698 Spottswood, (609-8680)

• Mulan Asian Bistro Midtown

2149 Young, (347-3965)

• Mulan Asian Bistro Collierville

2059 Houston Levee, (850-5288)

Pueblo Viejo – Mexican Restaurant & Buffet

3750 Hacks Cross, (751-8896) • puebloviejorestaurantandbuffet.com

Let us host your holiday parties and special events. We have karaoke and DJs every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We offer catering and event space.

Restaurant Iris / Second Line

Place your Iris order for the holidays — herb-brined chicken, $25 (serves 4); roasted honey duck, $35 (serves 4); and sides, which include fettuccine casserole (no veggies), stuffing with sage, sausage, and apples, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, apple cobbler, $20 each (serves 8-10). Book your holiday event for the main room or entire restaurant. Email pgilbert@chefkellyenglish.com for orders or reservations.

• Iris, Etc.

irisetc.com

• Second Line

2144 Monroe, (590-2829) • secondlinememphis.com

• Restaurant Iris

2146 Monroe, (590-2828) • restaurantiris.com

Soccer City 901

5560 Shelby Oaks Drive, (240-1415) • soccercity901.com

Soccer City 901 has you covered for all your holiday festivities. Play soccer in our indoor and outdoor soccer fields. Enjoy food and drinks throughout our spacious restaurant. Watch your favorite games on our many TVs. Our mission is to provide the No. 1 spot in the city where all communities come together to embrace sports, Latin culture, and quality time with their families and friends.

The Guest House at Graceland

3600 Elvis Presley • guesthousegraceland.com

2019 Thanksgiving Day Buffet at Delta’s Kitchen

Celebrate with friends and family and enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving Day feast with all the favorite trimmings at The Guest House at Graceland.We look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with you and your loved ones!

To make reservations, please call (901) 443-3000.

The Vault

124 GE Patterson, (591-8000) • vaultmemphis.com

Give us a call to plan your holiday party needs. We have an upstairs space available that will hold up to 70 people. We can create a menu for you, or you can choose items off our menu. Happy holidays!

Young Avenue Deli

2119 Young, (278-0034) • youngavenuedeli.com

Pick Young Avenue Deli for your holiday parties this season! We have pool tables, games, and great food, and we can accommodate large groups — we will rent out the entire restaurant. Please email tessa@youngavenuedeli.com for details.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Blackberry Farm Brewery is Out of the Cage

No one goes to France for the beer. We all know that there is beer in the Fifth Republic, but the French tourism board doesn’t waste any space on its website about it. So, it would be idiotic for me to recommend Chef Kelly English’s Restaurant Iris, with its wondrous French/Creole food, for its beer.

Sure, Chef English is from Louisiana, and he takes the Creole part of his food seriously. And yes, New Orleans is known for beer — but more for the quantity consumed than the quality brewed. Nevertheless, here I am, being an idiot. Go to Iris and drink the beer.

The beer in question is Blackberry Farm Brewery’s new line of three canned brews: Screaming Cock Pale Ale, TN Times Pilsner, and Coyote Tactics IPA. All three styles were launched this summer and were available in Memphis originally through Iris, but are now available at Andrew Michael as well.

Blackberry Farm is relatively new to the craft beer scene, but they’ve done it right. Back in the late 1970s, the farm opened as a six-room inn snuggled on 4,200 insufferably beautiful acres in Walland, Tennessee. Since then, the brand has out-kicked the title of “luxury resort” to become something of an icon of sleepy-eyed relaxation, farm to table food, and a wine and cocktail menu that seems inexplicably wholesome. Even their website makes me mellow. All of this provokes the question: Can that Smoky Mountain air, free-flowing water, and free-range food be captured in a can? No, not remotely. We’ve all got to go to work in the morning. But it is very good beer.

Given the culinary level at which Blackberry Farm has been operating for 40 years, their move into the craft beer space isn’t surprising. Nothing will bring down a fine meal a peg or two like a bad wine or a bland beer. Nor is it surprising that BFB has produced some award-winning craft brews — including taking the gold in the World Beer Cup for its Classic Saison last year. Blackberry Farm beers are typically sold in “cork & cage” bottles, because they are literally corked like champagne. Beautiful, to be sure, but not the sort of thing that travels well. And they just don’t make that much of it. They can’t. “Craft” isn’t even the right word. As much as “artisanal” is overused, it’s the only one that will do here.

Admittedly, the lowly can o’ beer lacks the style we’ve come to expect from Blackberry Farm, or from Kelly English, for that matter. Sure, the labels are designed by Tennessee artists because, well, of course they are. In the end, though, we aren’t buying the packaging.

So on to the beer. The Screaming Cock Pale Ale is a great, crisp pale ale, and if you prefer the lager style, the TN Times Pilsner is another great choice that won’t wrestle with your dinner. The Coyote Tactics IPA is a little hoppier than the pale ale, but you still get the feeling that these are brewed to pair well with good food. And at a place like Iris, you really don’t want anything wrestling with the moulard breast.

Which is not to say that these beers aren’t interesting. In fact, it’s exactly that quality that makes them stand out. The craft beer circus seems to be getting more extreme and in-your-face every season, as opposed to getting better. I’ve tried a lot of far-out brews in my time, and I’ve enjoyed most of them. Sometimes, though, you aren’t in the mood to pull a sour face or suck your own tongue just to get closure on something as simple as a beer. That is what makes Blackberry Farm’s subtle approach so refreshing.

Is that reason enough alone to head to Iris? Maybe, maybe not. But that grilled lamb loin certainly is. So go.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Tunde Wey’s 44: A Table for Forty-Four at Iris

CREDIT: Moyo Oyelola

despite the popular sentiment, we’re not currently living in a unique moment in race relations in america, but rather a prolonged moment that started with america’s founding and stretches to now. let us not mistake the evolution of racism, from overt bigotry to covert dispossession, as progress. instead let us examine the myriad ways it manifests in contemporary life. to complete a tragic full circle, even that veneer of cordiality has been scratched off as shown by police shootings, white supremacy marches, muslim bans, anti-immigration legislation … join us in memphis for a day of food and honest conversations about where and who we are. — fromlagos.com

Moyo Oyelola

Tunde Wey

Tunde Wey is a Nigerian-born chef who’d been traveling the country putting on pop-up restaurants for a few years when, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, he sharpened his focus. At his Blackness in America dinners, frank discussions about race were on the menu.

On October 9th, Wey will bring 4: A Table for Four and 44: A Table for Forty-four to Memphis. Wey is teaming up with Southern Foodways Alliance (SFA) director John T. Edge, Rhodes professor Zandria Robinson, and chef Kelly English. The event, held by happenstance on Columbus Day, will be at Restaurant Iris.

The “4” and “44” in the title of the event are a nod to Jay Z’s 4:44 album.

“I’ve just been listening a lot of rap, and the Jay Z album has been one of my favorites,” says Wey. “The themes that he strikes are very relevant to discuss, whether you agree with them or not. Even in disagreement, we can create a rigorous examination on what it means to be black and also what it means to be white.”

The event will begin with four lunches for four from noon to 4 p.m. The cost is $44.

“The idea is that four people come together and we’re going to be eating and there’s going to be conversation,” Wey says. “We’ll be talking to them and serving them food and we’ll be listening to them, what it is they are saying and thinking about.”

The plan is to focus on four ingredients from Western Africa and the South. Wey would like all the dishes to be black. What he envisions is a black bean bisque, plantain gnocchi and catfish with black garlic, a cassava pudding …

Later, starting at 6 p.m., there will be a dinner for 44. There will be readings by Wey, Robinson, and Edge. There will be West African lullabies and Southern spirituals. Robinson will serve as curator for the discussion, using Eduardo Bonilla-Silva’s Racism Without Racists as a guide.

“The overall theme is structural racism, which is one of the themes Jay-Z touches on in the album,” Robinson says. “But the album is more of a jumping off point to push and challenge and broaden the scope of that conversation by telling a history of racism and resistance across these four tables. The dinner is the evening reckoning with that history.”

Wey will already be in the area for SFA’s annual symposium. Wey and Edge have a history. Wey called for Edge to be fired for appropriating black Southern food for his own good. He and Edge now consider each other colleagues, according to Wey, and it was Edge who suggested Memphis and Restaurant Iris for Wey’s next project.

This year’s symposium will focus on ethnicity and identity. The 4 dinner serves as an extension of the symposium, of sorts.

“Memphis has long been a site of of contention and resistance,” Edge says. “A Columbus Day dinner, convented by Tunde, contributes beautifully to that ongoing narrative.

“Restaurants — not diners, not cafes, not lunch counters — have long been place of comfort, bunkers where diners have come to escape discord,” Edge says. What happens when restaurants, if only for the night, become places where discourse and discord are intentional?”

Wey says he lets the time and place set the tone at each of the dinners he hosts. And, yes, sometimes the conversations get intense.

“The idea isn’t to make people feel uncomfortable. It’s just part of the process,” Wey says. “You don’t go to the gym to feel pain. You got to the gym to work out and if you work out, well, you know, you’ll feel sore.

“I let it be what it’s going to be. Just like real life, there’s some contentiousness, some laughter. It’s honest and cordial in a way, but still very forthright.”

To buy tickets or for more information, go to fromlagos.com.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Celebrating at Restaurant Iris

Ever since I moved to Memphis almost three years ago, everyone has been telling me to make my way to Restaurant Iris. I finally went for my anniversary. I was ready to see what all the hype was about.

I started with rod bailey’s raviolo with brown butter and mushrooms ($18). The vegetables were soft and perfectly cooked. The brown butter sauce is like a red wine sauce that melts in your mouth and there’s several flavors to it. It was so good that I can’t even describe it and kept getting more bread to dip into the sauce. The raviolo is house-made and didn’t disappoint either, along with the braised short rib meat that’s inside.

[jump]

For my entrée, it was strongly suggested that I get the “surf and turf” of New York strip stuffed with fried oysters and blue cheese ($39). So that’s what I did, minus the “surf.” That’s another great thing I want to note about Restaurant Iris. I have a fish and peanut allergy and they accommodated me with such ease.

The steak is rich and a little fatty, very juicy. The blue cheese that’s in the dish hits you immediately. The steak is topped with a béarnaise and hollandaise sauce. This is by far the most flavors I’ve met on a plate. The sauces added to the richness of the dish. The magic happens here.

The “surf and turf” comes with potatoes and bacon. The potatoes are crispy and browned just right with a hint of pepper. The bacon is chewy and salty. I must warn you, the meal is a hearty portion, something I didn’t expect. You can easily share this entrée with two people. I had to pack half of it to go!

For dessert, I went with the homemade cookies and ice cream. You get three cookies; I chose sugar and cinnamon. The cookies were soft, crumbled in your mouth and are simple. For the ice cream, I got strawberry, vanilla and then asked for a surprise when it came to the last flavor. The ice cream was thick and rich. The strawberry ice cream stood out though because it tasted light and refreshing, almost as if I were eating real strawberries. For under ten dollars, this dessert was worth it!

I paired the dessert with a drink, their Brandy Milk Punch ($8.50). This drink could stand on its own as a dessert. It’s an alcoholic beverage with characteristics of a milkshake to it. The flavor of the brandy is strong. Restaurant Iris didn’t go light on the alcohol. You also get a mix of a marshmallow taste and a fluffy texture in your mouth. It’s topped with whipped cream, which helped balance everything out. The brandy milk punch is cold when it hits your lips, and warm going down. This baby is a milkshake with a zing!

Dare I say it… this is the best meal I’ve had in Memphis. Chef Kelly English even came out to make sure we enjoyed the meal. What a personal touch! My response, “thank you for an amazing meal.”

Categories
News The Fly-By

The Latest on Parking, Permits, and Sidewalks

CREDIT: Brandon Dill

Here’s an update on some of the stories that we began covering in 2014 and will continue to follow in the New Year.

• Overflow parking for the Memphis Zoo will continue on the Greensward at Overton Park for a period that could stretch until 2019.

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton said while his “clear preference” was not to use the space for parking, the experience of this past summer made it clear to him that the Greensward “will be an important relief for zoo parking until such time as a viable alternative is realized.” 

The news came in a letter from Wharton to Tina Sullivan, Overton Park Conservancy executive director, on Wednesday, December 31st. The sentiment is a complete departure from a Wharton letter in May that said the city was committed to eliminating Greensward parking by the end of 2014.

“We were very surprised and disappointed to receive this letter from the city a few hours ago,” read a Facebook post from Get Off Our Lawn, a group organized to fight Greensward parking. “The fight for a car-free Greensward continues.”

Going forward, Wharton wants zoo and park stakeholders to work together to develop a viable plan for parking that does not include the Greensward. 

He called Overton Park a “great treasure” and called the zoo a “tremendous asset.” Wharton wrote, “The city will allow parking on the Greensward, as may be absolutely essential to zoo operations, until a plan is implemented, [or] Jan. 1, 2019, whichever comes first.”

Brandon Dill

Naomi Van Tol and Stacey Greenberg protest Greensward parking.

• Special parking permits will be issued to some residents who live around the Overton Square entertainment district but not as many as originally thought. 

The move to start a special parking permit program there surfaced in April. Residents complained to Memphis City Council Chairman Jim Strickland that Overton Square visitors were blocking their driveways and alleys with their cars and sometimes even parking in their yards. 

The program was approved by the council in August. Petitions were sent to neighbors in the proposed new parking district, an area bound by Cox Street on the east, Morrison Street on the west, Union Avenue on the south, and Jefferson Avenue on the north. A section of Lee Place North was also included. 

If at least 75 percents of residents on the individual streets approve permit parking for their street, they would be placed in the special parking district and permits would be issued to them. 

In all, only 10 permits will be issued to residents on a section of Monroe Avenue between Cooper and Cox. The council approved those permits on an unannounced agenda item during its last meeting of 2014.  

“Basically, [Restaurant] Iris agreed to pay for half of the first-year of permits for 10 permitees who live on the street,” said councilmember Kemp Conrad. “The neighbors … and Iris have agreed to basically split the north side of Monroe in the middle of the street.”

• The moratorium on forcing residents to fix their sidewalks was extended in late December.

City officials began enforcing a long-standing rule last year to make homeowners either fix their sidewalks or be hauled into Environmental Court. 

The council passed a two-month moratorium on the enforcement of the rule in May. Once that expired, a six-month moratorium was approved. 

The council approved its latest moratorium to last either six months or until the Wharton administration officials could propose a viable alternative. City engineer John Cameron said he and his office are working on the project and should present an alternative to the council in the first two months of 2015.

Categories
Memphis Gaydar News

Cocktails for Equality

Restaurant Iris

  • Restaurant Iris

Chef Kelly English is hosting a cocktail party at Restaurant Iris to raise money for the Tennessee Equality Project’s Political Action Committee on Sunday, May 18th from 5 to 7 p.m.

English will prepare hors d’oeuvres, and the bartenders will create special cocktails for the event. Funds raised will go to help TEP support candidates who support LGBT equality and safe school legislation to prevent bullying of LGBT students.

Tickets are $50 per person or $90 per couple and may be purchased at the door.

Kelly has been an outspoken supporter of LGBT equality. He’s also headlining at the Big Gay Mississippi Welcome Table Dinner in New York City on June 13th, along with chefs John Currence of Oxford’s City Grocery and Art Smith, who owns restaurants from Chicago to Atlanta. The chefs are joining forces to oppose Mississippi’s version of the “Turn the Gays Away” bill, which would enable businesses and individuals to refuse services to LGBT citizens on the grounds of religious freedom. Read more about that dinner on Hungry Memphis.

A similar bill was killed in committee in Tennessee earlier this year. Senator Brian Kelsey introduced the bill (and later withdrew his sponsorship), and at the time, English made headlines when he put a message on Facebook offering to host a fund-raiser dinner for anyone who would run against Kelsey in the next election.