Zinnie’s, which will reopen October 3rd, is not your father’s Zinnie’s.
But, then again, it still is.
The iconic Midtown dining and drinking spot, which opened in 1973 at 1688 Madison Avenue, now has a baby grand piano as well as a new menu and new decor, says Tony Westmoreland, who, along with his wife Stephanie, runs Tandem Restaurant Group, which owns Zinnie’s.
And, he says, patrons can no longer smoke inside Zinnie’s.
But Zinnie’s still feels like Zinnie’s, Westmoreland says. “Zinnie’s has always just been a cool hangout space,” he says.
Zinnie’s previously closed in December 2018, but after a facelift it reopened on Halloween of 2019.
A lot had to be done to the place at that time, Westmoreland says. They added a new jukebox, new ceiling fans, new toilets, a new ice maker, more beer taps behind the bar, and a lock to the women’s bathroom door.
Zinnie’s closed again last spring because of a liquor license renewal issue. “Like other people are experiencing now.”
The reopened Zinnie’s is “going to be a little different, for sure. We’re wanting to put more of a focus on the cocktails and the food.”
Zinnie’s “needed to be a little bit cleaned up and modernized. We didn’t do a whole lot. Just painting, cleaning up, getting some smell out, which took a long time. We are taking smoking away from Zinnie’s. I just feel like it’s time now. People are trending away from smoking. And a lot of people don’t appreciate the aroma.”
As for the look, Westmoreland says, “We changed the floor plan up completely.”
The bar remains the same, but they’ve added half-moon and circular booths. “We painted a little bit just to help cover some smell, but it’s still the burgundy. And we put some grays in it, and a little cream color to kind of brighten it up a little bit. When you dim the lights, turn them down, it looks really good.”
Also, he says, “Some old decor is back on the walls with some new stuff.”
They added memorabilia about Zinnie’s history to go along with “a lot of Memphis memorabilia, liquor tins, beer tins.”
And, he says, “We added some bull horns over the jukebox.”
They also added the piano. “The baby grand is going to be there for patrons and some musicians to come in.”
Win Bonner donated the George Steck baby grand piano, which belonged to his bother, the late Lex Bonner, a professional pianist who played around town.
They’ve also added two dart boards, a Golden Tee golf game, and three big screen TVs “for watching all the Grizzlies and Tigers games.”
Zinnie’s food is changing, too, Westmoreland says. A lot of the changes they made to the menu after they reopened in 2019 “didn’t do too well. We didn’t have a lot of food sales.”
Most items, including the thick-cut barbecued bologna sandwich known as the “Zinnieloney,” are gone. “That’s retired.”
The new food concept focuses on Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. “Really good authentic Phillies with shaved steak and Cheese Whiz.”
They’re starting off with the Steak Philly, Chicken Philly, and the Veggie Philly. The “Philly-based” menu, which was created by chef Duncan Aiken, also includes Philly cheese fries, and, possibly, Philly cheese nachos. “It’s a simple menu. We’re trying to just make it simple and good.”
And “Phillies” practically rhymes with “Zinnie’s,” Westmoreland adds with a laugh.
The idea behind their craft cocktail bar is “just to add something different to what’s around town.”
But their craft cocktails aren’t “crazy craft cocktails. We want to keep the speed and efficiency at the bar.”
The “Zinnierita,” which is their take on the margarita, is a cherry margarita made with Luxardo cherries. (This reporter suggested adding a “Zinnitini” to the list, an idea Westmoreland liked.)
But, again, Zinnie’s is still Zinnie’s, Westmoreland says. “One of the things we tried to keep was the nostalgia of Zinnie’s. … So, initially, we just tried to keep it the same.”
Zinnie’s is “not too nice, but nicer than it was before.”
Westmoreland, who doesn’t know the meaning of or why the place was called “Zinne’s,” refers to it as a “restaurant dive bar.” They’re keeping their little cherub logo with the Zinnie’s slogan: “Best Neighborhood Bar in the Universe.”
Zinnie’s always “seemed calmer and quieter than the nightclubs that were more prominent back in the late ’90s and early 2000s,” Westmoreland says.
As for the newly reopened Zinnie’s, Westmoreland says, “The feel in the bar hasn’t changed. I don’t think it needs to change. There’s a nice atmosphere in the bar.”
But, he says, “It doesn’t smell like an ashtray any more. So, that’s good.”