Tag: South Point Grocery

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Cover Feature Food & Drink News

Fall Back, Drink Forward

Photos: Chris McCoy

Temperatures roller-coaster dipped into the cool stuff last weekend promising no more 80-degree days until Memphis in May and the exact right conditions to bend an arm under a dark, toasty/roasty fall beer.

For this, Memphians, you are in luck. New beers keep pouring into new Memphis-area taprooms. When Cooper House Project opens in Cooper-Young (hopefully soon!), Memphis will be home to 12 craft breweries. It’ll join Ghost River, Beale Street, Boscos, Crosstown, Grind City, Soul & Spirits, Hampline, High Cotton, Wiseacre, Memphis Made, and Meddlesome. Consider that only two craft breweries — Ghost River and Boscos — operated here nine years ago.

New beers are pouring into Memphis-area stores, too. Craft breweries from other markets are expanding their distribution circles, and new stuff is showing up on our shelves. Think of all the Nashville beers we can get here like Bearded Iris and Southern Grist, Urban South from New Orleans, and Deschutes from Bend, Oregon. This now also includes several non-alcoholic beers from brewers who want craft flavors without the hangover.

Toby Sells (left) with Soul & Spirits owner and master brewer Ryan Allen.

For this year’s fall beer guide, we rounded up a bunch of beers you can find around Memphis. This includes some from other markets and does not include every local brewery. Some breweries just didn’t have anything new that we’ve not written about already. We found our beers at Cash Saver and South Point Grocery (thank you, Taylor James!), both known for their wide selections. But you can find most of the beers in our tasting most anywhere.

Some brewers haven’t liked all of our staff comments in past beer guides. But our crew was asked to be honest. We taste and take notes, not as beer experts, but as typical Memphis craft beer consumers. (I mean, we don’t even have Untappd accounts.)

But we did have expert help. As in years past, we had a guide to help us understand the different styles and pick out flavors. This year, Ryan Allen, co-owner and master brewer at Soul & Spirits, shined a light on our path forward. He joined us in an undisclosed Midtown backyard as a few Flyer staffers drank beers from a cooler and wrote about them for work. Hell yeah.

There are plenty of beers to love on this list — and we did love some. But don’t take our word for it. Go grab a light jacket and a dark beer for yourself. — Toby Sells

Athletic

Athletic Lite, light lager, 0 percent ABV

Ever leave a sixer in a hot car, discover it later, then put it back in the fridge? This reminds me of that — like a flat, forgotten Miller Lite. Not much flavor, but an easy drinker if you like playing pretend. — Shara Clark

It’s a light beer with no alcohol. Which I guess is like chewing on a candy cigarette in a cigar club. But to be fair, some people really like candy cigarettes. — Samuel X. Cicci

A non-alcoholic beverage that seems sort of pointless. Slightly fizzy, like LaCroix water. Yellowish color, like water that’s been, er, used. I’d prefer a LaCroix. — Bruce VanWyngarden

There’s nothing there and I guess that’s the point. It’s barely-beer-flavored fizzy water. — Toby Sells

The recent technological advances that have made decent-tasting NA beer possible are welcome. There’s a lot of good brews out there that won’t mess with your sobriety. Unfortunately, this is not one of them. Why make an NA beer taste like the lite beer designed to make 4.2 percent alcohol content more palatable? This beer makes me long for the bold flavors of tap water. — Chris McCoy

This non-alcoholic beverage is like drinking Holy Water from church, except the wrong fingers have been dipped in the font — fingers that have been in places God doesn’t approve of — so there’s a tinge of something that shouldn’t be there, making you question if this thing that’s supposed to be “good” for you is actually worth the way it goes down so smoothly. — Abigail Morici

Meddlesome

Memphis Style Lager, light lager, 4.5 percent ABV

The can art reminds me of a ’90s-style Mead folder, but the beverage itself gives strong shower beer vibes. Lather up the shampoo, crack one open, and throw it back while the water washes the day away. This one’s a winner. — SC

It’s a nice, lighter malty lager. If you like lagers, go for it. But you’re gonna buy it anyway since the can is so fun with its minty-party-shenanigan-chic aesthetic. — SXC

This 4.5-percenter is right down the middle of my comfort zone. Tastes like beer, friendly and non-aggressive. I could see myself sitting down with a few of these. — BV

It tastes great. Now with that out of the way, let’s talk about the can. To holler at the ’80s Memphis design group on a beer can will delight any who appreciate obscure Memphiana. If you think it looks like Saved by the Bell, well, that’s fun, too. — TS

This beer is what you think you want when you order a domestic light beer. Because of Memphis’ great water, and being fresher than your average corporate beer product, it’s got a sharper and better flavor. — CM

The Memphis Style has the vibe of a crouton. We like croutons. But do we love croutons — that’s the question. — AM

Southern Grist

Parallel Fruited Sour, sour, 0 percent ABV

This is another NA, which is good because you’ve got to be sober to say its name three times fast. Flavor- and texture-wise, this seems like nothing more than a fruit puree — or what you get in one of those bottles of daiquiri mixer. — SC

It’s bursting with passion fruit and raspberry, but not super sour, which I want in my beers. Also, it has no alcohol. Which I guess is like choosing to inhale a fruity candle in a hookah bar. — SXC

Another non-alcoholic brew that is in no way reminiscent of, well, beer. It’s pleasant tasting, but to me, this is a soda. — BV

This is one of the best NA beers I’ve ever tasted. It’s got the mouthfeel of a regular beer, and the flavors are tasty but not overwhelming. Most importantly, it’s not too sweet. — CM

The best snack when you’re in kindergarten is that cherry chapstick that you sneak a little nibble of, and this drink will take you back to those naughty moments — as if the chapstick-eating folk at Southern Grist melted down the worst chapstick, plastic tube and all, to find a new evil way to capitalize on nostalgia. — AM

Doc’s Cider

Sour Cherry Cider, sour, 6 percent ABV

This tastes like an Alabama Slammer Clubtails (those cheap, gas-station, 10-percent malt beverages) or a Black Cherry Four Loko. And if you’ve got more than two bucks to spend on booze, this is not a good thing. — SC

This sour-cherry concoction tested my gag reflex. Never bring this near my face again. — BV

This is the opposite of thin. It covers your tongue and palate with a sort of cherry medicine film. Do not recommend. — TS

UhhhlllllAAAAHHHHCHHA [yucky sound]! — CM

It’s like drinking the weirdly pink liquid that drips from a teeny tiny hole in a Febreze-scented garbage bag filled with rotting fruit and used Kleenex as you drag it to your garbage bins. — AM

Urban South

Red Nose ReinBeer, fruited wheat, 5.4 percent ABV

The first sip gave me a little “Oh!” — light with a warm, spiced aftertaste. Subsequent sips sorta felt like peeling back the wrapping paper on a Christmas gift then settling into disappointment once you realize it’s just a pair of socks. — SC

Grandma got run over by a reinbeer while walkin’ home from our house on Christmas Eve. The suspect was a fruity wheat, with notes of cranberry, cinnamon, and brown sugar, but witnesses reported that the spices overwhelm any fruity taste. — SXC

I didn’t want to like this. But it’s Christmas in a can, really. Light on the cranberry flavor, heavy on the cinnamon and brown sugar. The taste turns flatter the more you drink, though. — TS

Urban Artifact

Xmas Pickle, sour, 4.3 percent ABV

What’s the dill with all these odd new beer types, eh? It’s a smooth, light, pickle-based gose. Little bit of salt, a nice clean pickle scent, a bit of tartness, but overall it doesn’t go too heavy on any of the strange flavor mixes. — SXC

It’s much like I’d imagine drinking the brine from a pickle jar would be, only with bubbles. It’s got some salt, as well. Might go well with a cheeseburger or something, but I would not drink this sans food. — BV

Ryan [Allen from Soul & Spirits] said pickle beers are on the rise. I ain’t tryna drink this all afternoon, but it’s crazy different and fun to explore. I bet it’s great with fried chicken. — TS

I wasn’t aware of the pickle beer trend before this tasting, and I’m not sure I’m on board with it. This one smells like a pickle more than tastes like one, and it’s by far the saltiest beer I’ve ever had. Bottom line: It’s not as bad as it sounds. — CM

Soul & Spirits

Polk Salad, fresh-hopped IPA, 6.1 percent ABV

The vibe: You’re sitting in a field, breeze blowing against your face, sipping a cold, carbonated herbal tea. Fresh hops here really gave this a crisp, clean drinking experience. Best IPA I’ve ever tried. — SC

This is a better IPA, made from fresh hops (grown in Memphis!) and packed with fresh greens. Not bad. And that’s coming from an IPA-hater. — SXC

This is the freshest beer I’ve ever had. Maybe I would not have described it that way if Ryan hadn’t told us about the fresh-hop process, but dang if I can’t taste it. My notes say “just so fucking good.” — TS

It starts with a great nose. The initial taste is light and crisp, with a bold finish. The fresh hops linger longer and add more complexity than you get with your average West Coast face-melter. This is one of the best IPAs I’ve ever tasted. — CM

Ghost River

Dunkelweizen Ale, Dunkelweizen, 8 percent ABV

It’s got a bit of a clovy taste. A lot of Ghost Rivers have a sameness to their taste, but this one breaks the mold. Kudos to the brewer. — SXC

This has a dark, caramel-ish initial taste. The texture is soft, almost melted buttery. A hint of dough. Not for every taste, but will hit the spot for many. — BV

Ryan de-mystified Dunkels for me, saying they’re basically Hefeweizens with darker malts (and that “Dunkelweizen” literally translates to “dark wheat”). This one has those banana flavors and lots of suds. Fun to drink, and extra points for crop circles on the can! — TS

This new “dark wheat” is one of the better offerings from the venerable Ghost River label. It goes down smooth, but be warned: It’s got an exceptionally high alcohol content. You can get yourself into trouble with this one. — CM

Have you ever licked the cracked side of a plastic Mardi Gras bead that’s lost its shine and sits in a puddle of spilled beer? Well, now, you don’t have to; this drink will do the trick instead. — AM

Wiseacre

Strizzle Bier, IPA, 6.2 percent ABV

Yipes. Bye-bye, taste buds. I think they were burned off by the bitterness. — SC

Wiseacre makes so many good beers that I don’t feel bad saying I don’t like this. It’s a weird fusion of IPA and brown ale, and I’m not sure those two styles ever truly reconcile. — SXC

Solid brew with a clean slight bitterness that isn’t off-putting. This one suits the season just right. — BV

IPA bros like myself (self-burn), rejoice! Your fall beer is here. It’s bitter, even a little fruity, and definitely all IPA. — TS

Not much nose, followed by a weird, muddled taste profile. It’s bitterness without context. Strizzle is a rare miss from Wiseacre. — CM

This tastes the way sliding a finger along a freshly Pledged table feels but without the pleasant lemon scent. — AM

High Cotton

Chocolate Rye Porter, porter, 5.5 percent ABV

This is just begging to be made into a beer float. Is that even a thing? Well, it is now. Gimme a mug and a scoop of vanilla, please. — SC

As a kid I used to go to my grandmother’s and attack the bowl of 85-percent Ghirardelli chocolate squares. This beer reminds me of those, a bitter and oh-so-slightly-sweet meld of chocolate flavor swirling softly amidst the dark porter. Truly heavenly, and the perfect fall/winter beer. — SXC

It smells just like coffee as I bring it up for a sip. It tastes like the holidays. If ReinBeer above is the fun, gaudy Christmas party with lil smokies and Dirty Santa, this beer is the classier sit-down, roast beef dinner with your well-to-do cousins. — TS

This is the kind of beer I’m in the mood for when the leaves are falling. It’s well-balanced, not too sweet, with a complex set of flavors. This is one of my favorite beers from a Memphis brewery. — CM

Tailgate

Peanut Butter Milk Stout, sweet/milk stout, 5.8 percent ABV

Yum! Nutter Butters in a cup. This would make a great boozy milkshake. — SC

My notes, verbatim: “Fuck it. I love the shit out of this beer.” I couldn’t help it, even though I don’t usually like these beers and wanted not to like this one. I can’t explain the magic that converted me, but it was there. — TS

It’s got a great nose, it pours like motor oil, and the flavor is deep and satisfying — somewhere between a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and a pecan pie. Those brewers up there in Nashville are making great beer. — CM

Hi-Wire

Chocolate Coconut Bar 10W-40 Imperial Stout, stout, 8 percent ABV

It’s a silky, creamy chocolate imperial stout with a bit of lingering coconut. I expected more of a Mounds bar-esque taste. Not quite as good as the chocolate rye porter, but solid if you’re a stout fan. — SXC

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. The coconut goes way over the top here and turns the candy bar flavor into suntan lotion. — TS

As a fan of stouts, chocolate cake, and coconuts, this sounds like it should be right up my alley. But it’s just chewy and thick and not much else. I’m not sure I even tasted the coconut. Meh. — CM

Soul & Spirits

Smoke Stack, smoked dark lager, 5.7 percent ABV

Ever played musical chairs around a campfire to avoid the smoke blowing in your eyes? But every time you move, it follows, permeating your hair and clothes and your entire respiratory system? That usually sucks, but while this tastes like inhaling a smoke cloud, it’s a bold beer, and I’m here for it. — SC

The smoke hits you right up front, like when the wind from a fire pit wafts your way. It’s meant to emulate Memphis barbecue, and like Memphis barbecue, it’s a slow burn. Not a beer to crush, but could go well with a rack of ribs. — BV

Ever had a beer that’s smoky like a good scotch? Made with Tennessee barley roasted over mixed hardwoods intended to evoke the flavors of Memphis barbecue, this one was a new experience for me. Not sure I could have more than one at a sitting, but this is an excellent beer. — CM

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Reinventing Memphis

Jesus Christ Superstar rocks the Orpheum as the last show of the “pandemic” season.

October 5, 2021 is a day Brett Batterson will never forget. That’s when Come From Away opened at the Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Memphis, marking the return to live performance after 18 months of pandemic shutdown.

“That opening night is one of the greatest nights I’ve ever experienced in my career,” says Batterson, the Orpheum’s president and CEO. “Everybody was so excited to be there, and the audience was just so grateful for Broadway to be back in the Orpheum. The cast was excited to perform for people. It was like a magic stew of emotions that was just wonderful.” 

When Jesus Christ Superstar opened on June 28th, it marked the belated end of the star-crossed season that began in March 2020. “It feels really good to have what we call the pandemic season behind us, and we start our new season in just a few weeks with My Fair Lady, followed by To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Located at the western edge of Beale Street, the century-old theater has witnessed a lot of changes Downtown, but nothing like the last few years. It has been a time of both growth and tragedy. “I think Downtown Memphis is starting to see the resurgence, the coming out of the plague. If you come down here on a Friday or Saturday night, there are people everywhere. I don’t think we’ve seen the return of all the office workers that we need for the restaurants to have a lunch crowd, but on a weekend night, there’s a lot of people down here.”

Batterson sees the crowds as a continuation of positive trends the pandemic interrupted. “When I first arrived in Memphis six and a half years ago, I think Memphis was just at the tail end of the low self-esteem problem that Memphis has suffered from since the assassination of Dr. King. Shortly after I arrived, people started making plans and talking about how great of a city it is. Nashville is a tourist trap while Memphis retains its soul and authenticity. That’s the big change I’ve seen — Memphis is proud of itself again, as it should be.” 

The Orpheum is about to dance into its next season in late July with My Fair Lady, followed by To Kill a Mockingbird.

Downtown Delights

The Orpheum was once a movie palace owned by Memphis-based Malco Theatres. Just a short hop down Front Street, Malco’s newest movie palace is the Powerhouse, a seven-screen multiplex built around a historic structure which once provided steam power for next door’s Central Station. On Saturdays, the Powerhouse’s parking lot plays host to the Downtown Memphis Farmers Market. Sergio Brown is one of the dozens of vendors who gather under the T-shaped shelter every week to hawk their locally produced wares. His company, Earthworm Plants, is based across the river in West Memphis. “We just started, so this is our first year here in Memphis,” he says. “The support we’ve gotten from Downtown has been amazing. When people from other states come here, they’re just amazed at what we do.”

Earthworm Plants is part of a wave of new businesses that have opened in the pandemic era. A few blocks to the east is South Point Grocery, the latest venture by Castle Retail’s Rick James, which filled a need created by Downtown’s growing population. But South Point’s biggest draw is the sandwich counter, run by Josh McLane. 

Like many people in Memphis, McLane is a man of many hustles. He’s a well-known comedian and drummer in the punk-folk duo Heels. (Their new album, Pop Songs for a Dying Planet, will be released in October.) His sandwich skills first got attention when he manned the kitchen at the Hi Tone music venue. “Unlike other people, when I’m hammered and make a sandwich at 3 in the morning, I write it down,” he says. 

At lunch time, there’s a steady stream of foot traffic coming through the door for McLane’s creations. “I genuinely get a kick out of being able to say, ‘Come see us for lunch, and I will get you outta here in five minutes, unless we have a giant line — and even then, it’s gonna take 10, tops.’”

McLane says the wave of new businesses was born of necessity. “That first year of Covid, everybody started opening something, either because you had nothing to do or you had no money coming in. And after that first year, everybody who wasn’t good at it or didn’t have a good enough sustaining idea got weeded out and everybody else just kept going.”

Good Fortune Co. is a new eatery that has been earning raves Downtown. Co-owner Sarah Cai lived in Collierville until she was 13, when her father was sent to China to open a new FedEx hub. “I’m from here, and I always wanted to come back,” she says. “We had been paying attention to restaurants in the area and what was popular. There was really nothing like this kind of cuisine, and from what I could tell, there was nobody who could bring the kind of experience that we have had, traveling and working abroad in different places.”

All of the food at Good Fortune Co. is made by hand. “The kimchi is important to me,” Cai says. “It’s something I’ve always made on my own because when you buy it, it just doesn’t taste the same. The whole [restaurant] concept stemmed from scratch-made noodles that have always been a huge part of my food. Dumplings are my food love, my passion. I’ve been making them since I was a kid with my family. They had to be on the menu. I knew I wanted it to be Asian, but influenced by a lot of different regions, not necessarily Chinese or Japanese. My background is really mixed. My mom’s Malaysian and my dad’s Chinese. I’ve traveled all around Southeast Asia, so I’ve been inspired by a lot of different flavors. What I wanted to showcase here is the fusion of those authentic flavors. The food itself is kind of Asian-American — like myself.

“I’ve been able to come back and rediscover the city as an adult. It’s a totally different experience. Memphis is really cool! I’ve lived in China, Austria, Europe. I’ve traveled all around the world, and Memphis is one of the most authentic cities I’ve ever been in. It’s gritty, but it’s all part of the charm — it’s just a genuine place. I’m really happy to be able to be a part of this world now.” 

A larger-than-life Red Queen plays her twisted game of croquet at the Memphis Botanic Garden.

New Growth

She’s 19 feet tall, weighs 15,110 pounds, and her dress is made from 6,507 plants. The Red Queen is the most spectacular creation of “Alice’s Adventures at the Garden,” the larger-than-life new exhibit at the Memphis Botanic Garden. The living statuary of the timeless characters from Alice In Wonderland, like the Cheshire Cat, the Queen’s chessboard full of soldiers, and Alice herself, originated at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

Alice and her companions have made a big splash, says Olivia Wall, MBG’s director of marketing. But the exhibit is just one of the new features at the 96-acre garden. “We have gone through a lot of transformation,” she says. “We are just finishing up a capital campaign that was focused on campus modernizations, so part of that, like the visitor center, was completely redone in 2022. It’s been a lot of change and a lot of transformation for the better. We are always focused on our mission, which is connecting people with plants. How can we best do that?”

The Alice figures are made from steel armatures and given color and shape by plants and flowers. In the summer heat, it can take 90 minutes just to water the Red Queen. Other artists were invited to participate. “We have these renditions of the White Rabbit around the grounds that local artists created,” Wall says.

There are also interactive elements. “It’s classic literature, so we have quotes from the book around to help put it into context. Kids can have their own imaginary tea party. They can pretend to be the March Hare or the Mad Hatter.”

Wall came to Memphis in 2014 to get her master’s degree from Memphis College of Art. The Cooper-Young resident says she’s a “Midtowner through and through.”

Midtown has been the focus of intense development in the pandemic era, with new apartment complexes springing up everywhere. “They’re called ‘five-over-ones,’” says F. Grant Whittle. “They’re the apartment buildings like they’ve got on McLean and Madison. They are built with concrete on the first floor and then stick on the upper floors. They’re easily put up. They’re not hideous, and they’re not beautiful, but just getting apartments in place for people to live is important right now.” 

Whittle and his husband Jimmy Hoxie recently opened The Ginger’s Bread & Co. on Union Avenue. “Jimmy was working at City & State making pastries, and they didn’t need him anymore because they didn’t have many customers. At the same time, a man moved out of a duplex we owned and I said, ‘Jimmy, why don’t you go over there and start baking? We can sell your stuff online.’ And so, that’s what we’ve been doing since the beginning of the pandemic. Then, I was let go from my job. I needed something to do. So we sold the duplex, and we used the money to open this place.”

Since they opened earlier this summer, bread, cookies, and cheesecake have been flying off the shelves. “I think that this little part of Union is ripe for renewal and regrowth,” Whittle says. “I really like Cameo, which is a bar that just opened at Union and McLean. I can walk there in five minutes. They’re still getting their sea legs. They’re trying to do a good product there, and the food is not too bad.”

Midtown remains a cultural center. The history of Memphis music is enshrined on Beale, but the present and future lives in places like The Lamplighter, B-Side, and Hi Tone. The reopened Minglewood Hall is once again hosting national touring acts. In the Crosstown Concourse, the Green Room offers intimate live music experiences, and the 400-seat Crosstown Theater recently put on a blockbuster show by electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk. Not far from the towering Concourse is Black Lodge. 

The movie mecca began life more than two decades ago as a tiny Cooper-Young video store. Now, it not only boasts one of the largest DVD and Blu-ray collections in America, but also a state-of-the-art sound system and multiple projection screens. “We’re proud to be serving a full menu of food as well as a full bar,” says Lodge founder Matt Martin. “Come in and check out some of our signature cocktails and dishes designed by our chef and co-owner James Blair. We are pleased to finally offer a full nightclub experience to Midtown Memphis. We’ve got great EDM shows, great bands, movie screenings, burlesque and drag shows, comedy, and video game tournaments — and our AC is amazing!”

Jessica Hunt tends bar at the artsy and new Inkwell.

Another Midtown dream realized is Inkwell. The popular Edge District bar was founded by Memphis artist Ben Colar. “The concept was to create a super dope cocktail bar where people could just kind of be themselves,” says bartender Jessica Hunt. “It’s Black-owned, so Ben wanted to show the city that there are Black bartenders that can do really good craft cocktails.”

The relaxed vibe is maintained via cocktails like the Sir Isaac Washington, a complex, rum-based, summery drink. “It’s always a breath of fresh air to come in here and work around people I love,” says Hunt. “Plus, I get to meet so many cool, artsy people!” 

Yola, Oliva DeJonge, Baz Luhrmann, Tom Hanks, Alton Mason, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Jerry Schilling, Pricilla Presley, Riley Keough, and Lisa Marie Presley at the Graceland premiere of Elvis.

Music for the Masses

“Memphis’ identity is its musical history,” says the Orpheum’s Batterson. “Our tourism is music tourism. There may be some Broadway fans, or the timing may be right so that we’ve got Bonnie Raitt or Bob Dylan at the Orpheum, but most of the tourists are music people who want to hang out on Beale Street, go to Graceland, go to the Stax Museum, go to Sun Studio.

“I think we have some real gems in our museum system, from the National Civil Rights Museum to the Brooks and the Dixon and MoSH. An hour at Sun Studio is probably one of the most important hours you can spend in Memphis — that and going to Stax and seeing Isaac Hayes’ gold-plated car!

“I am shocked at how many Memphians have told me they’ve never been to Graceland. To me, you’ve got to go once. If you never go back, that’s up to you. But you’ve got to go once. How could you have this huge, international tourist attraction in your city and not ever go? I don’t get that.”

With Elvis, the spectacular new biopic from Australian director Baz Luhrmann, the King of Rock-and-Roll is once again topping the box office. After earning a 12-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival, Luhrmann and his stars, including Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, made their American debut at the Guest House at Graceland. “It’s something that younger people don’t understand,” said Luhrmann to a packed house. “They know they’re very interested in this film because they’re very interested in instant fame. You can get on TikTok and have 20 million followers the next day, and you’re famous. But when Elvis came along, the teenager had just been invented. The idea of young people with money was a new idea. There was no precedent for someone driving a truck one minute and being a millionaire and the most famous man on the planet the next.”

As he stood on stage with Elvis’ wife Priscilla Presley, daughter Lisa Marie, and granddaughter, actor/director Riley Keough, Hanks, who plays Elvis’ infamous manager Col. Tom Parker, recounted the welcome they had received. “We visited the home of the King last night. It is a place that is, I think, as hallowed as any president’s home, as any museum dedicated to a particular type of art. What’s unique about it is, it is so firmly stamped with the name Presley, and it would not have existed were it not for the city of Memphis and the genius of a one-of-a-kind artist who, more than anybody else in music or any sort of presentational art, deserves the moniker of the singular word ‘King.’” 

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Sweet Magnolia Gelato Co. Coming to Crosstown Concourse

Hugh Balthrop (Photo: Donald “Don Gelato” Sutton)

Hugh Balthrop is opening a new Sweet Magnolia Gelato Co. location in April in Crosstown Concourse.

“I’m taking the space that was Area 51 [Ice Cream] next to French Truck Coffee,” Balthrop says.

He’s also working on a children’s book about gelato. Adults might want to read it, too. “When I first got into this business [I had to] and to this day, I still explain to people what gelato is.”

Gelato is “just ice cream; but it’s denser because it has less air/overrun than traditional American ice cream.”

When he decided to open a business in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Balthrop didn’t want to get into an oversaturated market like coffee or breweries. He wanted to take “the road less traveled.”

Balthrop, who now lives in Oxford, Mississippi, features more than 500 Sweet Magnolia Gelato Co. flavors. He currently is offering an old favorite, Lotus, which is based on the gelato served at the old Justine’s restaurant. He discovered it years ago in a newspaper article. “My relationship with Memphis — it’s my other home … I started talking to some folks, particularly older folks that are familiar with Justine’s. They thought it was a great idea, so I recreated it.”

Lotus, which is only available in Memphis at South Point Grocery, is “lemon-based with a little lemon zest. And toasted almonds. It has almond essence as well. It’s a unique taste.”

Balthrop originally owned First World Gallery, which he opened in 1995 in Washington, D.C. “It was art from the African diaspora.” He closed his gallery, and he and his wife, Dr. Erica Balthrop, moved to Chicago, where she could finish her residency. They then moved to Clarksdale, where his wife, as a child, spent summers with her grandparents.

Balthrop became a “stay-at-home dad” and did the cooking for their three children. “My tradition was to wake them up with mango, pineapple — tropical fruit. They liked it.”

Around 2011, Balthrop, who “always had this entrepreneurial spirit,” enrolled in the annual Penn State Ice Cream Short Course, where he studied ice cream and the science of ice cream. He also studied under a gelato master at The French Pastry School in Chicago.

Balthrop opened his first gelato business in a 2,000-square-foot industrial building in Clarksdale. He got the idea for his business name while holding hands with his daughter on a walk. “It was a breezy day. We had a bunch of magnolia trees, and at some point I just got a whiff of the magnolia flower.” Everything came together. “It hit me like a ton of bricks.”

Balthrop began creating flavors. He wanted “something Southern, either banana pudding or watermelon or blueberry.” He used “local ingredients from local farmers. Anything I could get my hands on … honey, sorghum, pecans.”

Balthrop then began selling. “Initially, what I did was start knocking on restaurant doors. I was like, ‘Take these samples, just give me an honest opinion. That’s all I require.’” If they didn’t like a flavor, Balthrop “went back to the drawing board. That’s what we did and what we do to this day.”

When the Clarksdale building was sold, Balthrop and his family moved to Oxford, where the manufacturing business and his other retail store are now located.

Karen Carrier, whose restaurants include The Beauty Shop Restaurant, recently sent Balthrop an order for 20 gelatos. She came up with most of the flavors, including Cinnamon Mexican Chocolate Chili Chunk and Jamaican Rum and Mango Vanilla. He got the order on a Monday and he delivered the gelato, some of which he’d never made before, on Friday.

Balthrop’s gelato is also available for shipping, and as for more retail stores, he says, “We might have another Downtown presence.”

And Balthrop does have a nickname. “The Gelato Man,” he says, with a laugh.

Sweet Magnolia Gelato Co. is at 1350 Concourse; (662) 313-6551.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink Food Reviews

Josh McLane Brings his Sandwich Skills to South Point Grocery

Josh McLane (Photo: Courtesy Josh McLane)

If John Montagu was the Earl of Sandwich in the 1700s, Josh McLane could be the Sammie King in 2022.

McLane created all except one of the sandwiches at South Point Kitchen in the new South Point Grocery. These include The HEELS, named after the rock band featuring McLane and Brennan Whalen.

The sandwiches are selling like hotcakes. Since the store opened March 10th, they’ve been “slammed,” McLane says. “It’s turning out very well right out of the gate.”

McLane, who describes himself as “the menu-maker and prep guy,” says the current menu features nine sandwiches, as well as garlic bread. “I kept it small and moderately simple, so I knew we could put out a good-quality product every time. … I don’t swing too hard for the fences and set myself up to fail.”

McLane, who opened the Hi Tone kitchen, credits that venue and its owner Brian “Skinny” McCabe “for pulling any of this off.”

Patrick Kickham works with McLane at South Point Kitchen. “I got Patrick from the Hi Tone. That’s how I knew he was good. It’s as close to us going to the same college as I could get.”

In addition to The HEELS, made with spicy peanut butter, jalapeño strawberry jam, bacon, and provolone cheese, the menu includes Me Spinach, which features fresh spinach with garlic butter, provolone, French onions, and tomatoes. “It’s done on a griddle like a grilled cheese sandwich. We’ve been selling those like they’re going out of style.”

The Grinder, McLane’s go-to sandwich, includes salami, banana peppers, pesto, and coppa, which is “like salt-cured ham with a little bit of a bite to it.”

The Club is the sandwich McLane didn’t create. “I totally ripped off Subway,” he says. “They stopped making The Club, so I was like, ‘Well, that was one of my favorite sandwiches, so I’m going to make it.’ Turkey, roast beef, bacon, tomato, and Swiss. I covered it. It’s just a damn cover song.”

Everything except The Grinder and The Club were staples at the Hi Tone.

Asked how he created his sandwiches, McLane says, “I made lunch for me.”

His wife, Cara, a vegetarian, taste-tested his vegetarian sandwiches, and friends tried out the others. “I would make them for wrestling pay-per-views for my buddies.”

The sandwich shop will be doing specials in the future. “The best part about having a talented crew is letting them come up with specials,” McLane says. “If you have people full of creativity, you’d be stupid to not let them show that. My crew is awesome, and they’re all very talented.”

McLane began creating sandwiches as a child. “I made one. I thought I created it, but I was kind of ripping off other people. I did a Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich with dressing and turkey and cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes.”

Describing his sandwich-making process, McLane says, “I open the fridge and see what I have. My sandwich creating is very much like if you’re buzzed at 11 p.m. after you’ve been out and you’re hungry.”

But, “That’s not exactly how I do it.”

As for future items, McLane says. “I want to do a breakfast sandwich and call it Green Eggs and Ham.” That will feature pesto, two fried eggs, and country ham. “And it’s gangbusters, dude.”

A “lot of different specials” are in the works, but, McLane says, “I like paying attention to the present instead of worrying about the future.”

A stand-up comedian, McLane recorded an upcoming comedy album, Even If It’s Nothing. And he and Whalen recorded a new HEELS album, Pop Songs for a Dying Planet, which will be released later this year.

Whalen hasn’t yet visited South Point sandwich shop, McLane says. “Brennan is a good friend and is waiting until we’ve been open a week or two. Until we have our sea legs. He’s being nice.”

South Point Grocery is at 136 Webster Avenue; (901) 672-8225.

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VIDEO: Getting Back Out There: South Point Grocery

Credit: Toby Sells/YouTube

The folks at Castle Retail Group, who brought you Cash Saver and the new High Point Grocery, unveil their new Downtown grocery store — South Point Grocery — on Thursday.

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Supply Chain Issues Delay South Point Grocery Open Date

Credit: Toby Sells

Work continues on South Point Grocery, a new grocery store on South Main, but Covid has pushed the opening schedule back to early 2022, its owners said. 

Castle Retail Group, parent company of Cash Saver and High Point Grocery stores, will bring a new store to South Main at 136 Webster sometime early next year. The store, to be called South Point Grocery, is sandwiched between Central Station on the west and the U.S. Postal Service facility on the east. 

Work began on the store in late spring this year and, at the time, owners believed they could open the store this year. Construction labor has not been an issue on the build; crews have worked on the store even through holidays, company officials said. But Covid has disrupted supply chains, delayed the delivery of supplies and equipment, and that has pushed back the store’s opening. 

“Any job of this magnitude, you come onto stumbling blocks,” said Rick James, owner and CEO of Castle Retail Group. “Covid introduced a different set of stumbling blocks and that was time factors of getting equipment and getting supplies.”

Still, James said “we’re trying like heck” to get the store open in early 2022. 

The once dusty, dark space has already been transformed since April. Bright, clean light illuminates the store’s 9,000 square feet of retail space. Floors are even and clean. Sleek coolers line the walls and floor freezers outline what will be some of South Point’s aisles. The store is taking shape. 

Credit: Toby Sells

Paul Young, president and CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission, walked the store’s floor last week and met with James and others with the company. Young said Downtowners have been talking about the need for a new grocery store since he began work in planning in 2003 and he’s sure that conversation goes back further than that.

For many Downtowners, Young said, Danny Thomas Avenue forms a sort of “soft boundary where Downtown stops.”

“[That idea] just comes from conversations with Downtowners about where they would like to see the type of amenities they want to access,” Young said. “They want to access [amenities] in the heart of Downtown and Danny Thomas feels like a soft boundary for where Downtown stops.”

Community response to South Point Grocery has been overwhelmingly positive, James said. It might also serve as a major building block to further development. He said grocery stores are anchors and they’re usually first on the list for suburban shopping-center developers establishing new sites. 

“So, it’s kind of like you’ve got Downtown as its own little city and it’s never had that anchor, and we’re going to provide that,” James said. “For those Downtown residents who’ve been here a long time, it’s been a long time coming. Then, you’ve got new Downtown residents who’ve come and realized there’s no place to buy groceries. They’re excited about it, too.” 

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Hungry Memphis

Josh McLane to Open Sandwich Shop

Josh McLane of stand-up comedy, music, and culinary fame, will open a sandwich shop at the upcoming South Point Grocery. (Credit: Josh McLane)

Josh McLane — of stand-up comedy, music, and culinary fame — will open a sandwich shop this winter in the upcoming South Point Grocery Store.

Taylor James, son of Cash Saver and High Point Grocery owner Rick James, approached him about opening a sandwich shop, according to McLane, 41. “They’re opening another grocery store downtown, South Point Grocery Store,” he says.  “And inside there I’m going to be opening a sandwich shop. They called me. And said they had an idea. They wanted to put a small, no BS, something-different-kind-of-sandwich place in it. And my name got thrown in the hat.”

McLane, who will run the sandwich shop himself, says James knew him from when he worked at the Hi Tone kitchen. “I was running the kitchen at the old location. I had six or seven sandwiches in that. I got known for pulling stuff out of thin air.”

Like vegetarian sandwiches. “My wife is a vegetarian. I got creative after eight weeks of doing that. I wanted to make sure she had a decent variety of things to eat. By proxy, I had a decent vegetarian menu.”

His HEELS sandwich, named after the band consisting of himself and Brennan Whalen, is how he “got known as a sandwich guy.”

The HEELS sandwich is composed of spicy peanut butter, jalapeño strawberry jam, bacon, and provolone cheese. “Something I’ve eaten my whole life. Being a blue collar kid, I’ve eaten PBJ forever. You’d add another fancier element to it. When I was at Fino’s [on the Hill] I started taking provolone home. That’s how that came together.”

McLane began cooking when he was a child. “It was very important for both of my parents that I knew how to cook a meal for myself. They’re both big cooks themselves. My mom was showing me her spaghetti sauce when I was like 5 years old. And, to this day, that’s how I make my spaghetti sauce. My dad is a life-long hunter, so I knew how to do that stuff.

“I went to culinary school instead of college. A place not here any more. It was more like a course. This was like 2005, at a house over on Central and Peabody. I did the usual Domino’s when I was in my twenties. I’ve been cooking my whole life. I cooked when I was at the P&H, Fino’s, and, after I left Fino’s, I opened the Hi Tone kitchen. That was all me. [Brian] Skinny [McCabe] helped me come up with things on the menu, but that was my whole deal, my business to run. And then I was the prep guy at Little Italy Downtown for a year.”

Recently, McLane has been a “stay-at-home dad” to his and his wife, Cara’s, eight-month-old son, Gideon.

McLane describes himself as a “whatever’s in the fridge” type of chef. “A lot of chefs are good at taking an expensive piece of meat and elevating it into something and not messing it up.”

McLane can take whatever he already has around “and make it awesome. I am going to blow your minds with what we have in the fridge.”

As for sandwiches at the upcoming shop, McLane says, “We’ll definitely have a Reuben on it. Plan on having my garlic bread, pesto garlic butter, and mozzarella cheese. I’m sure a club sandwich with deli meats. And a good vegetarian one that I had at the Hi Tone — the Care Package — with olive tapenade, lettuce, tomato, two kinds of cheese, and marinated mushrooms.”

He plans to call the sandwich shop “South Point Kitchen.” “‘Cause I don’t do fancy names. I think they were expecting something clever. That’s what you get when I do music and stand up. When I work-work it’s very easy, simple. I don’t like coming up with wacky titles like people expect.”

McLane named that sandwich HEELS “to market the band at the same time.”

He will have his own “little area at the side of this grocery store. We’ll have a deli counter, too, with all kinds of meats. A little refrigerated section next to the deli with all kinds of local foods.”

McLane usually wears a suit and tie when doing stand up and jeans and T-shirts when he’s doing music.

So, what will he wear at the sandwich shop? “Who knows, man. Probably a chef’s coat. Basketball shorts.”

Stay tuned.

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South Point Grocery Store Headed to South Main

From left: Vera Stanfield and Tom Archer of Archer Custom Builders and Taylor James and Rick James of Castle Retail Group.

Fresh foods will be the focal point of a new grocery store planned for Downtown Memphis. 

Castle Retail Group, parent company of Cash Saver and High Point Grocery stores, will bring a new store to South Main at 136 Webster sometime this year. The store, to be called South Point Grocery, is sandwiched between Central Station on the west and the U.S. Postal Service facility on the east. 

Tom Archer, owner and president of Archer Custom Builders, bought the building in 2017 with visions to bring a grocery store to Downtown Memphis. The store will be small — with a sales floor of about 8,000 square feet — compared to other stores. Its size and the neighborhood pushed the focus on fresh foods, said Rick James, owner and CEO of Castle Retail Group. 

“We know in a space of this size, we’re not going to have 48-roll toilet paper; it just won’t work,” James said. “But we can handle high-end, fresh produce, deli, bakery, and a butcher shop. Quality and freshness would be two of the key words.”

We can handle high-end, fresh produce, deli, bakery, and a butcher shop. Quality and freshness would be two of the key words.

Rick James, owner and CEO Castle Retail Group

Another grocery store has been on the Downtown to-do list for more than a decade, as some have said Miss Cordelia’s feels far away and disconnected from Downtown’s Central Business District. For years, Downtowners have have told surveyors that another grocery store is a missing gap for the neighborhood. James said many now drive five miles to Midtown stores, like Cash Saver or Kroger, to stores in West Memphis, Arkansas, or to big-box stores like Costco on Germantown Parkway. 

South Point Grocery will fulfill a years-long desire Downtowners have had for another grocery store.

James and Archer said South Point Grocery makes sense now with Downtown’s new population density. Nearly 26,000 people lived Downtown last year, according to the latest numbers from the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC), up slightly from the nearly 25,000 people who lived there in 2010.  DMC data says nearly 88,000 occupy Downtown during the day.

“We’ve been down here all these years and South Main has been kind of on the edge of busting wide open,” said Archer, whose company is headquartered on South Main. “We wanted to get ahead of that but it beat us. It’s been crazy down here the last couple of years. So, this is perfect timing.”

South Point Grocery was, in part, inspired by Castle’s success at High Point Grocery. James said before buying the beloved community grocery store, his company had not really done a small-format store. Without it, “we wouldn’t have had the confidence that we can” run a smaller store Downtown. Archer said he’d been looking for a partner for his Downtown grocery building, saw James talking about High Point Grocery on the news, and walked away impressed when he went to see it for himself.  

The building features a parking deck on the east side with plenty of public parking available on Webster. A covered patio with ceiling fans front the street, which James said will be used for dining and, perhaps, live music.