Tag: restaurants

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Southern Comfort at Evergreen Grill

Chef David Todd (Photo: Michael Donahue)

Evergreen Grill will open in spring or earlier at 212 North Evergreen Street, the site of the old Cafe Society.

Chef/owner David Todd describes Evergreen Grill as “a neighborhood bar and grill.” The fare will be “Southern cuisine comfort food.” And, he says, “It’s what I always wanted to do.”

Todd, 45, who was executive chef at Longshot restaurant at Arrive Memphis hotel, as well as owner of Grub Life, a pre-ordered fully-prepared meal service, says, “I worked for a bunch of great chefs and I learned so many things from so many people.”

But, he adds, “Everybody hits that point at some point in their life, where they’re doing what they’re doing and they want to continue doing it.

“I figured out over the years, my strongest creative process and the place where I’m just the best at and happiest at as a chef, is understanding food; it’s about people, and food is about memories.”

And one of those memories involves his mother. “My mom taught me how to cook.

“I can remember being a younger cook and working with people and they’re explaining things to me or showing me this technique.”

He remembers a chef showing him how to cut oranges and grapefruits into segments. But Todd’s mother made fruit segments for him and his sister when they were growing up. “The bedrock of my palate and the way I like to cook things is influenced by my mother’s cooking.”

Food “belongs to everybody. It’s like this universal language.”

But he says, people “filter a lot of pretense into it.”

Describing Evergreen Grill’s fare, Todd says, “We really care about what we’re doing and we do it the right way, but we’re coming from that place of love, not that place of pretense. And I’m not trying to be grandiose.”

There are “unlimited images” out there of what chefs are creating. “I’m not knocking that. But also, in a weird way, it can interrupt the creative process.

“Sometimes I create the clearest when I don’t have an image I’m trying to work towards.”

Many chefs aspire to make it big in New York and California. “So many cool things exist in all those places,” Todd says, “but as chefs we get lost in this comparative culture.”

His goal? “All I’ve ever wanted to be is a Memphis chef.” And he wants the food at Evergreen Grill to reflect that. “One of the best cooks I ever met is my mother. And there’s so much technique there. So much talent there. There’s so much love in the things that she did and a lot of their mothers did. So, why don’t we highlight that?”

Instead of “lofty fine dining food with foams and that kind of stuff,” Todd will serve “approachable food” at Evergreen Grill.

He’s not using his mother’s recipes. “It’s not my mom’s cooking, but it’s leaning into that.”

Todd plans to include items people might get at other places, but not the way he’s going to prepare them.

Like country fried steak. “To me, there’s nothing wrong with putting love in country fried steak. But let’s get a good cut of meat and good breading.”

And, he adds, “I have no problem making one of the best cheeseburgers in town.”

As well as a “killer meatloaf.”

“If you want to get certain stuff now in this day and age it’s going to be premade frozen stuff,” Todd says, adding, “If it’s not of a certain tier, it’s not right to do it right and make it cool.

“We separate food into all these different classes and I just think a lot of it is kind of nonsense. It’s all applicable and it all has its space.”

Chefs can “put love into anything.”

People will know right away his sandwiches are different. “They can tell a few bites in, ‘Oh, hold on.’ Tell them we made the jalapeño jam for that patty melt here. The pastrami I smoked here. The pickled cabbage I made here.

“You can put just as much intent in a sandwich as somebody down the street would in a steak entree. And, to me, that’s a pretty cool moment.”

The Evergreen Grill will include “chicken wings. Nachos. Really good sandwiches. A few salads.”

There also will be “dinner plates,” including short rib plates and salmon plates.

But Todd won’t be serving any of the fare associated with the old Cafe Society. “This is going to be a complete departure from Cafe Society.”

As for the look of Evergreen Grill, Todd’s changes include knocking out a wall “so there would be a flow between the bar and the rest of the place.”

Todd, whose partners in the restaurant are Josh Huckaby and Meredith Brocato, didn’t want a fancy name. And he didn’t want “Grille” with an “e” in the title. Restaurants come up with super kitschy and super cool names nowadays, according to Todd. His thought was, “Let’s just open a restaurant like they did back in the day. And that’s kind of what we’re doing.”

Evergreen Grill will eventually be open for lunch and dinner. “We’ll open for dinner first, get our feet under us, and get the rhythm of it. And a few weeks later we’ll open for lunch.”

And when Todd says it’s going to be a “neighborhood” grill, he’s being literal. “This is my neighborhood. I live three-quarters of a mile away from Evergreen Grill.”

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News News Blog News Feature Uncategorized

Tipping is Going Automatic in Many Places, But is It Here to Stay?

Photo by Jessie McCall on Unsplash

Automatic tipping is familiar to any dinner gathering with a large party or, more recently, on checks for servers during the pandemic. But it’s arrived on every check at some restaurants and it may be here to stay.

Tipping is hardwired into the American hospitality industry. So are strong opinions about it. Some diners believe tipping is sport, a lagniappe earned on a server’s hustle. Some diners can’t bring themselves to tip less than 20 percent — no matter what — because servers depend on them as a big part of their salaries.

Even professional opinionistas can’t agree. A 2019 opinion piece in The New York Times claims the tipping system is “immoral.” However, an opinion piece for The Washington Post in 2018, claimed that if you get rid of tips, you’ll “lose your best servers.”

Automatic tipping, usually 20 percent-18 percent on every check, became more widespread during the pandemic. The demand for restaurants was high for diners looking for something familiar, normal. The supply of servers dwindled as many were laid off, quit on health concerns, or looked for new jobs. 

Many restaurant owners made tips automatic. They wanted to retain their valuable, in-demand servers with steady cash, rather than leaving it to the whims of customers to determine their paychecks. This sentiment is said out loud at Margaritas in Cooper-Young. There, a sign in the dining room read recently that automatic tips would be included on all checks in order to keep servers.

“In the wake of the current employee shortage in the restaurant industry, many employers are beginning to understand that they can not maintain quality [front of house] staff at $2.13 [per hour] plus optional tipping,” said Allan Creasy, a political consultant and longtime Memphis bartender. “What I find unsettling is that in any other industry, the solution would be simple: raise the hourly wage.”

This tipping structure, called automatic gratuity, has been around and discussed long enough to need a shorthand, an abbreviated portmanteau. Those in the restaurant industry just call it “autograt.” But it’s not for all.  

I’m opposed to it.

Mike Miller, owner Patrick’s Neighborhood Bar & Patio

“Me and my operation at [Patrick’s Neighborhood Bar & Patio], I’m opposed to it,” said Mike Miller, the restaurant’s owner, past president of the Memphis Restaurant Association, and 2019’s Tennessee Restaurateur of the Year by the Tennessee Hospitality and Tourism Association. “I have never, nor do I have any desire or intent ever to institute an autograt. … I want my staff accountable to their customers. The idea of a gratuity is to ensure proper service.”

Tipping is ingrained in American society, Miller said. But the model is also ingrained in the American restaurant business. 

Profit margins at independent restaurants are thin, Miller said, probably somewhere between 3 percent and 6 percent to the bottom line. Wages for many restaurant’s front-of-house workers — servers, hosts, and bartenders — make up around 5 percent of a restaurant’s expenses. 

Increase current minimum wages (of around $2 per hour) to $10 per hour, Miller said, and those wage expenses would rise to 25 percent of a restaurant’s income. That wipes out the profit margin (of 3 percent-6 percent) and makes the business no longer viable, Miller said.     

Numerous restaurants around Memphis have gone to the autograt system, sometimes quietly. But diners are taking notice. 

Will it last? Miller thinks maybe so. 

“I would say that once you go down this road — it’s kind of like the wheel tax — you never go back,” Miller said. 

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News News Feature

New Knowtice App Connects Businesses, Students

When apportunity knocks, you answer. 

For Kermit Throckmorton, 30 years at the helm of Southern Spray Company gave him an intimate knowledge of the challenges facing companies when trying to communicate with customers. With social media apps like Facebook and Twitter tricky to use when it comes to maximizing a message, he sought a solution: a new app called Knowtice, aimed to bridge the communication gap between businesses and consumers, while also providing a philanthropic boost along the way.

“Communication and marketing are so important for businesses,” says Throckmorton. “And especially during the pandemic. With other tools like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, there are so many other things to navigate. Stuff you might want to see can get lost in the shuffle.”

Throckmorton’s Knowtice app dispenses with many of the distractions you’d find elsewhere. Gone are the sponsored ads, targeted posts, or frivolities. When a user creates an account on Knowtice, they can choose which local businesses to follow, and nothing else will get in the way.

“Normally, on places like Facebook, you’re seeing hundreds of posts from your not-so-close friends,” says Throckmorton. “You have to wade through political posts, pet pictures, recipes, and there are so many moving pieces. When speaking with businesses and chambers of commerce, we found there was just this disconnect with the community sometimes, so we want to fix that.”

For example, when deciding to follow Crosstown Brewing Co. on Knowtice, a user’s page will only show updates from the brewery. That includes items like specials, upcoming events, what they have on tap for the day, and other similar things. If several other establishments are added, the page will again only include updates from those specific businesses. That doesn’t change, unless the user decides to bring more companies into the rotation.

Knowtice founder Kermit Throckmorton

It’s really easy to curate a select group of favorite spots and stay up to date on what might be going on. And for the businesses, it guarantees that people will have eyes on their content, rather than accidentally scrolling past it. Any business that does choose to participate will receive a Knowtice sticker to place in their building. That will let visitors know that they can keep up with their favorite spots on the app.

“We’ve got 24 categories that businesses can choose from,” says Throckmorton, “that can range from Dine, to Schools, to Religious. And creating a profile is free for any business. Business owners should never have to pay money for people who want to follow them.” 

Where Knowtice does make a profit is when a company decides to upgrade to a paid plan, for either $30 a month, or $250 a year. That gives companies a customization suite of 150 extra options for their profiles. Some cool extra perks come with things like coupons, that are assigned on the app. Meanwhile, Knowtice’s calendar will alert a customer when the coupon is set to expire, or if there’s a specific timeframe it needs to be used.

“We wanted to make it affordable,” he continues. “We’ve worked with the Shelby County Chamber Alliance and Arlington Chamber of Commerce to create a good model for what we’re doing.”

While subscriptions are Knowtice’s only revenue stream, the entirety of that money doesn’t go straight back into the app’s coffers. Instead, it will be reinvested into the community. Forty percent of each subscription fee is earmarked to go towards a scholarship fund for students at participating colleges in a company’s home state. When business owners pursue a premium plan, they’ll be asked which school they’d like to have the money go toward. Participating colleges in Tennessee include University of Memphis, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Tennessee State University, and Austin Peay State University. So far, Knowtice has partnered with 39 colleges across 12 states, and is also working to create internship positions for students at those schools. 

Some of the categories that can be found on Knowtice

Interns for Knowtice will reach out to local businesses and explain the benefits of the app. In addition to being compensated for their time, some students have found that their participating university may allow class credit for the work. Interns will also be eligible for scholarship money generated by Knowtice.

“I think it ticks a lot of boxes,” says Throckmorton. “Students are getting compensated; they’re coming right out of the gate with a startup in the technology world, but they’re also learning how to give back to the community. We’ve been receiving a lot of interest from schools and potential interns.

“What it comes down to is that we’re ‘communication with a mission,’ he says. “We have the capability to help others — businesses, schools, students — so, we’d like to see this grow even more.”

Knowtice is available on the Apple App Store or Google Play. knowticeapp.com

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News News Blog

Restaurant Restraints Relaxed

Photo by Drew Beamer on Unsplash
Photo by Drew Beamer on Unsplash

Restraints on restaurants will get even more relaxed under a new health directive that goes into effect Saturday. 

The Shelby County Health Department issued a new health directive Wednesday and goes live at midnight on March 20th. 

Here are the key changes:

• Increase in number of people at tables to 8 instead of 6.

• Persons seated together must be of the same family unit or close contact group.

• Bartenders are encouraged to wear a face shield or double mask while serving multiple groups at the bar, but are not required to do so.

• Operating hours for dine-in service ends at 1 a.m. (customers may stay until 1:30 a.m. to complete meal/payment arrangements).

• Two-hour limit for food service is removed.

• Any location that serves beer or alcohol must serve food as required by state law (and have a permit to do so).

• Removes the requirement of maintaining contact tracing records.

The changes come thanks to the improving COVID-19 situation in Shelby County, health officials said, though the virus remains a threat.  

“These revisions are deemed allowable now because our community has experienced reduced transmission of the virus for a period of greater than 14 days,” reads a statement from the health department. “Viral reproductive rate in Shelby County is currently estimated at 0.84 and has remained less than 1.0 since early January. Case numbers have continued to decline since early January. Weekly COVID-19 test positivity rates are the lowest they have been since October.”

The health department also made some changes to the face mask directive. 

Here they are:

• Medical or procedure grade masks are recommended but not required.

• Coverings made of suitable layered fabrics are acceptable but scarves, ski masks, and balaclavas are not substitutes for masks.

• Persons who cannot medically tolerate wearing a face covering are not required to wear a face shield, and no person declining to wear a face covering because of a medical condition is required to produce verifying medical documentation.

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Opinion The Last Word

To Those Who Can’t Stay Home

CREDIT: Courtney Hedger | Unsplash

As I write this from my couch, nearly a year into working from home due to the pandemic, I am experiencing both burnout and gratitude.

On the one hand, working from the confines of my 750-square-foot rental home, I feel — quite literally — boxed in. The days bleed together as I change from one pair of pajamas to another, staring at a laptop, eyes glazed over, with little actual human interaction or external stimuli. Digital documents, emails, Slack exchanges — everything and everyone has morphed into nothing more than words on a screen. If it weren’t for deadlines and production days and the physical calendar on the kitchen wall where I scrawl notes and reminders, I’d likely lose track of which day was which all together. And I’ll admit that I have on more than one occasion in recent weeks.

Courtney Hedger | Unsplash

Outings are minimal. Necessary items can be ordered online for delivery or pickup. Like clockwork, the mailman arrives, my dogs bark loudly to alert of his presence, and the [insert whatever random thing was purchased] is here without me having to get into my car or brush my hair or speak to another person. The only traffic jams I’ve experienced in a year are the pile-ups that often happen in the small hallway where my three dachshunds scurry under foot to race to their food bowls at breakfast and dinner. They help me keep track of the hours with their internal clocks. But what day is it again? When did I last shower? What’s the point?

It starts to feel a little doom-and-gloom when you realize how the days bend into one another, especially in winter. Those neighborhood walks I so enjoyed in warmer weather apparently kept me sane, or at least somewhat content. The sunshine, the sights and sounds … Now it’s gray and wet and cold, and when will it be spring again? What month is it?

Now on to the gratitude. I am hyper-aware of how privileged I am to have had the opportunity to navigate these hazy, dazed work-from-home days, within the virus-free walls of my tiny house. So many — including the delivery drivers who’ve kept our pantries stocked, our gifts en route to their recipients, our non-essential purchases on our porches — have known no such luxury. So many — including my sister, a single mother of two who is working her way toward an assistant manager position at a local grocery store — can not simply stay home and have the world come to them. The kids must go to school or daycare. Bills must be paid, gas in the car, food on the table. The show must go on, the slog continues, and those who have kept the gears in motion on the outside have had to live their lives the same as they did pre-pandemic. Except while wearing masks eight hours a day. Except while potentially exposing themselves to a deadly virus. There’s an entire segment of our population that does not have a choice.

I want to take a moment to salute every single essential worker. From restaurants to retail, from healthcare to warehouse workers — we see you. I hope with every fiber of my being that each of you stays healthy while you’re out there risking your lives for our Amazon orders and cheeseburgers. I hope that you do not take the virus home to an immune-compromised family member or loved one. I hope that while you’re out there making sure the ships still sail that the people you encounter are showing gratitude and respect. You deserve more recognition than I can give you. The world as we know it could — and likely would — collapse if not for your continued efforts. And I know those efforts are made out of necessity. Thank you for keeping the shelves stocked, preparing food for us, caring for the sick, and delivering whatever it is we think we need while we’re stuck at home.

As I write this, it’s a Thursday afternoon. I’m in a robe and houseshoes. My dogs are piled up around me napping. I am safe. I am healthy. I am grateful.

Shara Clark is managing editor of the Flyer.

Categories
News News Blog

Pay It Forward Campaign Boosts Hospitality Worker Relief Fund

The six-week-long Pay It Forward Mid-South campaign, which raised $473,721 for restaurant, hospitality, and service industry workers, has ended.

The volunteer driven effort sought contributions to the Mid-South COVID-19 Regional Response Fund, hosted by the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis.

All donations from December 21, 2020 through January 31, 2021 went directly to financial assistance for hospitality and service industry workers. The proceeds were split evenly between Welcome to Memphis and the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association.  

The volunteer leaders were Dr. Reginald Coopwood, president and CEO of Regional One Health, and his wife, Erica Stiff-Coopwood. The campaign was supported by 244 individual and company donors. 


Since it was started last March, the Fund has given $4.9 million to 138 distinct organizations for relief, recovery, and resiliency efforts. It continues to take donations for these other efforts. More information is here. 
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News News Blog

Health Department: Restaurants Allowed 50 Percent Capacity

CREDIT: Shelby County Health Department/Facebook

Shelby County Health Department/Facebook

Dr. Judy Martin talks about vaccines in Shelby County during Tuesday’s briefing of the Memphis and Shelby County COVID-19 Task Force.

A new health directive expected this week will loosen restrictions on restaurants as the county’s Safer At Home order expires.

The Shelby County Health Department (SCHD) asked citizens to “remain home as much as possible” in an order that began on December 26th and will expire on Friday. A new health directive issued at the same time reduced capacity at retail stores to 50 percent, gyms to 50 percent, and restaurants to 25 percent.

On Tuesday, Shelby County Health Officer Dr. Bruce Randolph previewed a new order set to take place Saturday, January 23rd. It will allow stores and gyms to remain at 50 percent. But it will allow restaurants to open capacity to 50 percent, or to whatever amount it can and still keep dining tables at least six feet apart. Diners, however, must still wear face masks inside restaurants except when seated and in the process of eating and drinking. Curbside service is still permitted, he said, but restaurants must still close at 10 p.m.

Randolph said live entertainment, like concerts, will be allowed but the performers must be 18 feet from the audience. Band members must be six feet apart from one another and separated by a barrier. No dancing is allowed indoors, Randolph said, but outdoor dancing is permitted if those dancing together are in the same household and are six feet apart.

Indoor smoking, vaping, or smoking hookahs are not permitted indoors, Randolph said. Face masks are still mandated at all times in gyms, even when working out, he said.

The loosening of these restrictions come as the holiday surge of virus cases begin to ease in Shelby County. Randolph thanked residents for this and said virus number in the county have “plateaued and actually showing a downward trend.”

SCHD director Alisa Haushalter said the county is now experiencing a bit more than 500 new cases per day, which is a decrease over post-holiday figures. She said she was “very, very proud to acknowledge that as a community, our reproduction rate was at .89 percent,” meaning virus transmission the county is beginning to slow.

Shelby County Health Department/Facebook

Shelby County Health Department director Alisa Haushalter speaks at Tuesday’s briefing.

Randolph and Haushalter applauded the work of county residents in bending the virus-case curve back down after the holidays. However, Randolph urged continue vigilance to social distancing, mask wearing, and hand washing. Haushalter said “there is much work ahead of us and we have a long way to go before the pandemic is over.”

Dr. Judy Martin, the health department’s chief of nursing and its vaccine lead, said 13,355 doses had been administered in the county as of Saturday. She expected the number of those vaccinated should begin to “pick up quite a bit.”

Haushalter said she expects vaccination deliveries to become larger and more predictable as President-Elect Joe Biden takes office. While hard numbers and timelines for this weren’t known, she said, she expects to see a change in our vaccine deliveries here in a couple of weeks. The health department is in the process of securing more locations for vaccinations.

Haushalter also said details for those needing the second dose of the vaccine should come out this week. The health department has enough, she said, to vaccinate the 9,500 people who already received the first dose.

Categories
News News Blog

Six Restaurants Closed on COVID-19 Violations

CREDIT: MIchael Donahue

MIchael Donahue

Carolina Watershed was one of six restaurants closed this weekend by the Shelby County Health Department.

The Shelby County Health Department closed six more restaurants over the weekend for violations of COVID-19 rules.

The restaurants will each be closed 14 days, “due to multiple documented violations of requirements and provisions” of restrictions in the most-recent health directive.

“This is based on enforcement inspections conducted Friday, December 11th and Saturday, December 12th,” the health department said in a statement. “The locations may petition to reopen by submitting plans for coming into compliance with the health directive.”

Health department officials said it would provide “additional comments in terms of specifics but all of the businesses are aware of those reasons.”

The restaurants closed were:

• Chardonnay Bistro – 4205 Hacks Cross (Memphis)

• El Corral – 3870 Macon Road (Memphis)

• Agavos – 2924 Walnut Grove (Memphis)

• Carolina Watershed – 141 E. Carolina Avenue (Memphis)

• Legacy Bar & Grill – 11695 US 70 (Arlington)

• Smoker’s Abbey – 2382 N. Germantown Parkway (Cordova)

Categories
News News Blog

UPDATE: More Restaurants Closed on COVID-19 Violations

CREDIT: Tin Roof Memphis/Facebook

Tin Roof Memphis/Facebook

UPDATE: The Shelby County Health Department announced the closure of three more restaurants/bars Monday afternoon following site inspections on Sunday.

Here they are:

The Blac Betty — 1331 Thomas Street

Statuz Club — 4672 American Way

Tin Roof — 315 Beale Street

T.J. Mulligan’s/Facebook

ORIGINAL POST: Six restaurants were closed over the weekend by the Shelby County Health Department for violations of COVID-19 restrictions.

The closures came after Friday inspections of the locations by health department officials. The locations were ordered to be closed on Saturday, December 5th. They will be closed for “14 days each due to multiple documented violations of requirements and provisions of health directive 15.”

The businesses can petition to reopen after December 19th by submitting plans for coming into compliance with the health directive and each establishment was given instructions on how to submit their plans.

Those closed were:

Brinson’s – 341 Madison Avenue

E2 Ultra Lounge – 1675 Barcrest Road

Menu Club – 6616 Winchester

Tex’s Roadhouse – 4396 Old Raleigh-LaGrange Road

TJ Mulligan’s – 2821 N. Houston Levee Road

TJ Mulligan’s – 8071 Trinity Road

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Pyramid Opens Eateries From Top to Bottom

Two restaurants are serving again at the Pyramid.

Big Cypress Lodge has opened the new Fishbowl at the Pyramid restaurant on ground level and reopened The Lookout restaurant at the top of the Pyramid.

The Fishbowl is in the former Uncle Buck’s restaurant space and is under new management. Breakfast will be available daily from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Dishes include the spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich, Catfish & Chips, Grilled Catfish Sandwich, Gator Bites, Beignets, and the Fishbowl cocktail. Hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

The Lookout, which requires a ride up the country’s tallest freestanding elevator, offers birds-eye views of the Mississippi River and socially distanced meals atop the Pyramid. Menu highlights include Cornmeal Fried Oysters, Blackened Redfish with Parmesan Chive Grits, the White River Catfish Plate, Gooey Butter Cake with Brown Sugar Ice Cream, and the Memphis Mule’shine cocktail with peach moonshine. The Lookout is open Friday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.