Memphis magazine, July 2018

Memphis • THE CITY MAGAZINE • W W W.MEMPHISMAGAZINE.COM

ROCKIN’ GREAT HOMES | NEIGHBORHOOD FESTIVALS | BACKYARD MAKEOVERS | 10 BEST BURGERS!

THE CITY MAGAZINE

VOL XLIII NO 4 | J U LY 2 018

a new

MOOD @

MSO ROBERT

MOODY

BRINGS A NEW TEMPO TO OUR CITY’S ORCHESTRA

USA $4.99

0 7

—1

Robert Moody

8

DISPLAY UNTIL AUGUST 10, 2018

MSO CONDUCTOR

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THE

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T:8”

SUMMER EVENT

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Mercedes-Benz of Memphis 5389 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN (901) 345-6211 www.mbofmemphis.com

Optional equipment shown. *Monthly lease payment is available only to qualified customers through Mercedes-Benz Financial Services at participating dealers through July 31, 2018. Advertised 36 month lease payment based on MSRP of $42,975 less a suggested dealer contribution resulting in a total gross capitalized cost of $40,516. Dealer contribution may vary and could affect your actual lease payment. Includes Destination Charge and Premium 1 Package. Excludes title, taxes, registration, license fees, insurance, dealer prep and additional options. Total monthly payments equal $15,444. Cash due at signing includes $2,989 capitalized cost reduction, $795 acquisition fee and first month’s lease payment of $429. No security deposit required. Total payments equal $19,228. At lease end, lessee pays for any amounts due under the lease, any official fees and taxes related to the scheduled termination, excess wear and use, plus $0.25/mile over 30,000 miles and a $595 vehicle turn-in fee. Purchase option at lease end for $24,066 plus taxes (and any other fees and charges due under the applicable lease agreement) in example shown. Subject to credit approval. Specific vehicles are subject to availability and may have to be ordered. See participating dealer for details. ©2018 Authorized Mercedes-Benz Dealers For more information, call 1-800-344-8736, or visit MBUSA.com.

HEADLINE: 26 pt. • BODY COPY: 8.75 pt.

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T:9.875”

Hold the fireworks.

Cue the Mercedes-Benz Summer Event.

THE WESTIN MEMPHIS BEALE STREET & BLEU HAVE SOME EXCITING HOLIDAY NEWS! We are already celebrating the season with a sleigh full of incentives for holiday party planners.

Book by November 25, 2018 and receive additional incentives!

Holiday revelers are encouraged to book now to secure desired dates.

For more information please call Lorraine Chatman at 901.334.5924 or email Lorraine.chatman@westinmemphis.com The Westin Memphis Beale Street • 170 Lt. George W. Lee Ave., Memphis, TN 38103 • www.westin.com/bealestreet

VOL XLIII NO 4 | JULY 2018

Up Front 12 14 16 18 20

IN THE BEGINNING

Features

22 Next Stage

The Orpheum’s High School Musical Theatre Awards inspire the next generation of Memphis artists and audiences. ~ by chris davis

WE SAW YOU FINE PRINT CITY JOURNAL

26 Funnel Cakes, Football, Films, and More!

Presenting our 2018 guide to neighborhood festivals. ~ by jesse davis

OUT AND ABOUT

32 100 Things You (Possibly) Didn’t Know

About Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare The two hospitals are celebrating 100 years in Memphis.

Here are some highlights from the first century.

~ by michael finger

18

44

As music director, Robert Moody brings a new tempo to our city’s orchestra. ~ by anna traverse GREAT MEMPHIS HOMES

Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On! ~ by anne cunningham o’neill

52 901 HEALTH

Dr. Altha Stewart

76

80

83

26

For the new APA president, helping people has been a lifelong passion. ~ by samuel x. cicci TRAVEL

The Queen City The familiar and the new mingle in Charlotte, North Carolina. ~ by chris mccoy ASK VANCE

Southland Mall Our trivia expert solves local mysteries of who, what, when, where, why, and why not.

52

PHOTOGRAPH BY KAREN PULFER FOCHT

38 A New Mood at the MSO

Jason D. and Jennifer Williams bring good vibrations to Chickasaw Gardens.

22

on the cover MSO Maestro Robert Moody

44

~ by vance lauderdale DINING OUT

Bangin’ Burger Binges Looking for a new summer love? Here’s our list of TOP 10 burgers to embrace. ~ by pamela denney

86 city dining

Tidbits: Tsunami’s 20th; plus the city’s most extensive dining listings.

96

83

LAST STAND

Lois Freeman Always thinking of others before herself.

~ by jackson baker

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Memphis (ISSN 1622-820x) is published monthly for $15 per year by Contemporary Media, Inc., P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101 © 2018. Telephone: 901-521-9000.

For subscription info, please call 901-521-9000. Subscription customer service mailing address is Memphis magazine, P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101. All rights reserved.

• Periodicals Postage Paid at Memphis, TN. Postmasters: send address changes to Memphis, P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101.

JULY 20 18 • MEMPHISMAGA ZINE.COM • 7

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BONUS

Memphis Magazine’s

THE 2018

FACE

In This Issue

OF

ORIENTAL RUGS

REmodel

M

E

M

P

H

I

S

REMODEL MEMPHIS

pages 59-73 Published in collaboration with the Remodelers Council of the West Tennessee Home Builders Association.

Featuring two unique outdoor living projects in the Mid-South.

Your 2018 Guide to Making the Most of Your Space

With summer in full swing, our second installment of Remodel Memphis highlights outdoor living. A patio, a pergola, a pool, or an outdoor kitchen can add just what you’ve needed to better enjoy the space right outside your door.

On the following pages, we feature two such projects — along with before-and-after photos — and talk with the happy homeowners whose dream homes have become reality with the help of local professionals. — by Shara Clark

a special supplement to

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real estate ALL-STARS

RIP HANEY ABR

Real Estate Professional, ABR, SFR

EACH CLIENT has different needs and desires when it comes to property decisions and I customize my business and services directly to your needs. My philosophy about Real Estate is this: I feel that I am a facilitator of information to you, the client. It is my job to educate you on the current market statistics and counsel you as we go along. It is also my job to make sure your transactions go as smoothly and hassle free as possible.

There are a lot of Realtors to choose from, but I don’t feel there is any comparison to my team and my company because we truly care, individually, about your needs, and it shows in our business practice. I have a personal relationship with most of my clients, and my business is based on their referrals. I am their Realtor for life and would like to be yours.

AS A LIFELONG Memphis resident, I’ve gained extensive insight on basically all corners of the Greater Memphis Area.

From Downtown to Fayette County and all points in-between, I’d love to help if you’re thinking about buying or selling. I have a passion for helping my clients realize their dreams! Call me and let’s talk.

JIM HOOD IS a Full Time, Proactive, Real Estate Professional for ReMax Experts, LLC. He is an official “Children’s Miracle Network Agent!”

Please review Jim’s endless list of Testimonials posted on his website. Jim’s success is based on Referrals since he consistently provides Excellent Personal Support! When you hire Jim Hood, you get Him, not a TEAM of Rookies! Jim consistently demonstrates Hard work, Dedication, Tenacity, & Accessibility until the Deal is Done. His tag-line “Call Hood & He’ll Come A’Runnin!” is More than just a phrase..It is His Commitment to All His Clients! Jim contributes a share of all commissions to The Children’s Miracle Network which locally benefits Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.

KAIZEN REALTY LLC

968 Civic Center Drive, Suite 103, Collierville, TN 38017 901.259.8500 (o) 901.619.4023 (c)

901.268.6384 keithdouglashomes@gmail.com keithdouglashomes.com

MARX-BENSDORF REALTORS 901.682.1868 (o) 901.351.2190 (c) rhaney@m-brealtors.com

901.685.6000 (o) 901.461.9711 (c) EFAX: 901.969.1440 jhood8@comcast.net www.jimhood.net

JERRY LUCIUS

ALTA SIMPSON

JENNIFER WILLIAMS

GAY YOUNG

WORKING WITH Mature Savvy Buyers and Empty Nesters to market and sell their existing home in order to downsize or rightsize to a quality one-story home more suitable to their needs. Also represent several builders who specialize in new home construction for the Mature & Market-Savvy Buyers.

ALTA SIMPSON IS one of the most experienced and knowledgeable real estate agents in the Memphis metropolitan area. She is a designated Realtor member of the Memphis Area Association of Realtors and is a member of the Tennessee Association of Realtors.

She is very knowledgeable of the residential housing market in Memphis, Germantown, Collierville, Bartlett, Arlington, Lakeland, and Fayette County.

If you’re looking for market savvy, experience, integrity, and professionalism in a real estate agent, call Alta Simpson.

WITH OVER 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE in Real Estate Sales, Jennifer joined the Hobson Realtor team in 2016. Now a 15-year resident of Memphis, and a transplant from the Washington D.C. area, I could not have found a more perfect city to be a part of. As a restoration hobbyist this city has some of the most fantastic architecture in the country. It’s a privilege to help find the perfect location for a buyer or assist a seller in moving to the next chapter in their life. Whichever role I’m in as a Realtor, all are an equally satisfying experience.

GAY YOUNG IS one of the most well-respected and sought-after real estate agents in the Memphis and North Mississippi areas for both buying and selling homes. A resident of Collierville, Gay is involved in both community and church activities and is a Realtor resource for the many clients and contacts she calls “friends.” After a successful 20+ year career in the medical field in marketing, management and sales, Gay went to work fulltime in real estate with Keller Williams Realty, the largest real estate company in the World. Earning the Lifetime Member of the Multi-Million Dollar Club designation in record time, Gay works diligently to serve her clients’ best interests in their home purchase or sale. Energetic, professional and a top-notch negotiator with integrity are words to describe Gay’s style of taking care of clients. REAL Trends recognizes Gay as one of the top Realtors in America.

HOBSON REALTORS

930 S White Station, Memphis, TN 38117 901.261.7900 (o) 901.581.6118 (c) www.gayyoungonline.com

Broker

MARX-BENSDORF REALTORS

901.355.3076 (c) 901.682.1868 (o) jerryluciusrealtor.com Jlucius@m-brealtors.com

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Realtor

Associate Broker

COLDWELL BANKER COLLINS-MAURY

5865 Ridgeway Center Pky #105 Memphis, TN 38120 901.484.6040 (c) 901.259.8550 (o) alta.simpson@comcast.net

901.761.1622 • 901.825.0044 jwilliams@hobsonrealtors.com

RE/MAX EXPERTS, LLC

ABR, SFR, MMDC

pages 74-75 Profiles of the leading realtors in the Mid-South.

KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY

Coming In September 2018

appraisals sales color run restoration pet and other stain removals moth damage odor removal storage and much more

for Save forSave Save for Save for a rainy rainy aaarainy rainy year. year. year.

JIM HOOD

SINCE 1993 I have provided professional real estate services to buyers and sellers of fine homes in greater Memphis, including Downtown, Midtown, East Memphis, and Germantown.

Over 25 years in the business, I have gained a deep understanding of the needs of buyers and sellers. My philosophy of always placing my clients’ needs first has led to a history of repeat clients and personal referrals. My clients know I will always operate in their best interests.

I am an Accredited Buyers Representative, a listing specialist, past President and Life Member of the Memphis Area Association of Realtors Multi-Million Dollar Club, and a native Memphian.

I am very proud to have served many relocating employees of local companies such as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, FedEx, Smith & Nephew, International Paper, UPS, and LeBonheur Children’s Hospital.

COLDWELL BANKER COLLINS-MAURY

3554 Park Ave., Memphis, TN • 901.327.5033 • taghavirugs.com • Like us on Facebook

Affiliate Broker / PSA

RE A L E S TAT E A LL-S TA RS SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

KEITH DOUG S

Luxury Property Specialist

STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE SINCE 1950

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

MARINA BRINKLEY

2018 V E S TA HOME SHOW GUIDE

a special publication of Memphis magazine

The official guide to the 2018 Vesta Home Show, October 6th-28th at Piperton Reserve.

Features floor plans, renderings, supplier lists, and builder info for each of the five homes.

Bonus circulation: Overprints of the Vesta Home Show Guide are distributed at the event. sponsored by:

www.vestahomeshow.com

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Coming In October 2018 SUS A N G. KOMEN MEMPHIS-MIDSOU T H R ACE F OR T HE CURE GUIDE The official guide to the 2018 event features event news and information SATURDAY along with a parking map, grant information, community partner resources, and sponsor profiles. Bonus circulation: Overprints of the Race For The Cure Guide are distributed at the event.

OCTOBER 28, 2017

A SPECIAL PUBLICATION OF

Race for the Cure 2017 1

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For more information on advertising or our upcoming special sections, please contact Margie Neal at margie@memphismagazine.com

8 • MEMPHISMAGA ZINE.COM • JULY 20 18

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Memphis THE C IT Y MAGAZ INE

General Excellence Grand Award Winner City and Regional Magazine Association 2007, 2008, 2010, 2014

&7

PUBLISHER/EDITOR kenneth neill EXECUTIVE EDITOR michael finger MANAGING EDITOR frank murtaugh SENIOR EDITOR shara clark ASSOCIATE EDITOR samuel x. cicci ARTS & LIFESTYLE EDITOR anne cunningham o’neill FOOD EDITOR pamela denney CONTRIBUTING EDITORS jackson baker,

john branston, michael donahue, alex greene, tom jones, vance lauderdale, chris mccoy, jon w. sparks EDITORIAL INTERNS julia baker, olivia dewitt

4

CREATIVE DIRECTOR brian groppe PRODUCTION OPERATIONS DIRECTOR margie neal SENIOR ART DIRECTOR carrie beasley ADVERTISING ART DIRECTOR christopher myers GRAPHIC DESIGNERS jeremiah matthews,

bryan rollins PHOTOGRAPHY justin fox burks, michael donahue,

karen pulfer focht, chip pankey ILLUSTRATION chris honeysuckle ellis, anna rose

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SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES joy bateman,

MIDSOUTH MARKETPLACE ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES

- 50,000sq ft - Over 150 Vendors - Live Auctions

- Pinball Arcade - Cafe - Monthly Events

Join a fun team! Accepting quality vendors

sloane patteson taylor ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES kayla white, jacob woloshin ADVERTISING ASSISTANT ruth mcclain

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published by contemporary media, inc. memphis, tn 901-521-9000 p • 901-521-0129 f subscriptions: 901-521-9000

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CONTROLLER ashley haeger DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT jeffrey a. goldberg EDITORIAL DIRECTOR bruce vanwyngarden DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES anna traverse DIGITAL DIRECTOR kevin lipe CIRCULATION MANAGER leila zetchi SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER matthew preston SPECIAL EVENTS DIRECTOR molly willmott EMAIL MARKETING MANAGER britt ervin IT DIRECTOR joseph carey ACCOUNTING ASSISTANT celeste dixon RECEPTIONIST kalena mckinney

&7 july 2018

8323 Hwy 51 N 901-872-0129 Follow Us on

member: City and Regional Magazine Association member: Circulation Verification Council

10 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • J U L Y 2 0 1 8

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IN THE BEGINNING | by jon w. sparks

The Eezo Effect

Words still matter, though they’re not really the best way to communicate.

B

elieve me, I am convinced that language has become an abject failure as a way to communicate. It’s true that I make this statement using words, the very building blocks of lingo, but that just shows how sorry the whole thing is, since there’s nothing to replace how we do it. We need a Plan B for competent communication.

Interested in buying or selling?

Contact me first.

Jeanne Childress D: 901-331-0718 • O: 901-757-2500

Have the latest features sent straight to your inbox.

VISIT MEMPHISMAGAZINE.COM AND SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE WEEKLY EMAIL NEWSLETTERS TODAY!

Not that I haven’t given Plan B a great ef- bothered to improve things. As Lily Tomlin’s fort. My attempts at mind-reading were prom- “Laugh-In” telephone operator Ernestine said ising but the intense staring only creeped out to customers: “We don’t care. We don’t have several former friends who went on to block to. We’re the phone company.”

Those days were quaint. Nowadays oligopme online as well as mentally. Later I tried using emojis exclusively, but it meant nothing to olies are the new monopolies. Just ask Apple, contemporaries and somewhat less to young Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft, people. It’s not the right time for universal the usual suspects topping lists of the most acceptance since there’s no emoji for déjà vu valuable companies in the world. And don’t but there is one for poop. let language get in your way of realizing that There are specialized ways of our all-American oligopolies writing, like music and matheare not the same as Russian olimatics. Those are fine for cergarchies. Oligopolies are run tain things. Nothing conveys by a few people having scads of love as warmly as a tune by Al economic power and wanting Green. Or Weird Al’s “Wanna all your private information.

Oligarchs are a few people B Ur Lovr.” As for math, well, it’s splendid for devising comhaving enormous political and plex Facebook algorithms to economic power and wanting to meddle in elections. pry into your personal life, but And if that doesn’t illustrate it’s hardly practical as a way to how language and speech and teach your kids manners.

Considering how many communication are a mess, words exist, we still have a then I make my final argument.

April 2003 hard time being understood.

Words have become about It helps that there are different tongues to as reliable as cryptocurrency speculation, choose from. English has nothing like the thanks to President Trump. “Believe me,” he snarky German “Schadenfreude,” but then says — a lot. But there’s no percentage in that. again, Americans came up with Google, so His words have no meaning, but they’re not cultures can swap nouns, allusions, and in- at all meaningless. sults freely and interlingually. But we still fail There is, in fact, a scientific term that's practo hear very well. I once witnessed a young tically made to order for describing the void of man working in an ice cream parlor chatting presidential pronunciamentos. “Eezo” — it’s a up a young woman. When done, they chastely real term — stands for “Element Zero,” which hugged and she left. An old man was watch- is defined as “a rare material that releases ing them, so the young guy smiled and said, dark energy which can be manipulated into a “She’s my cousin.” The geezer cackled and said, mass effect field, raising or lowering the mass “You say you’ve got a dozen? Congratulations!” of all objects within that field.”

Other examples of mishearing are abunNewspeople, pols, and the commentariat dant. In Chuck Berry’s “Memphis,” where insist on microanalyzing Trump’s dark energy he sings “With hurry-home drops on her like gold miners peering at their pans for a cheek,” some of you will hear “With hairy glimmer of thought. The world’s mass then moondrops on her cheek.” Or Marc Cohn’s rises and falls according to his utterances, no notorious “Walking in Memphis” refers to matter how covfefe they are.

Believe me.

“W.C. Handy,” a line often heard as “Double you see hind me.”

Because we all have to rely on our worldly Jon W. Sparks is the editor of inside memphis languages to communicate, it’s very much like business, memphis magazine’s sister a monopoly that takes over and no one can be publication.

CORRECTION: In our June “Top Doctors” feature, we incorrectly listed a hospital affiliation for Dr. Michael Nelson. He is an independent physician. We regret the error.

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2

1

we saw you

^6 ^6

with michael donahue Memphis Wine + Food Series

T

his year’s Memphis Wine + Food series fundraiser for Memphis Brooks Museum of Art was a record breaker.

“It was as far as attendance and revenue,” said Lindsey Hedgepeth, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art major gifts officer. “Each event grew.”

The series included Brooks Uncorked, March 23rd; Luncheon with the Masters, May 18th; Grand Artisans’ Dinner, May 18th; and the Grand Auction, May 19th. The luncheon and dinner were sold out.

All events, except the luncheon, which was held at Catherine & Mary’s, took place at the museum.

Hedgepeth said Brooks executive director Emily Ballew Neff had a great quote following the Grand Auction, part of which was held in a tent and drew about 350 people. “She said, ‘Well, we need a bigger boat ’cause our tent has reached maximum capacity.’”

Asked why this year’s series was so successful, Hedgepeth said, “I think it’s the leadership with our co-chairs. And recruiting new-to-the-series wine and food lovers coupled with our 26-year history of excellence.”

David and Sarah Thompson and Emily and Bradley Rice were this year’s co-chairs.

3

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1 Jason and Caitlin Motte and Mayor Jim Strickland at the Grand Auction 2 Malcolm Thomas and Lindsay Doerr at Brooks Uncorked 3 Deborah Craddock and Emily Ballew Neff at Grand Artisans’ Dinner 4 Derek Reijmer, Lauren Wong, and David Hejl at Grand Artisans’ Dinner 5 Trennie Williams and Valerie Jackson at Brooks Uncorked 6 Helen and Charlie Hanavich at the Grand Auction 7 Jason and Meredith Flatt, Evan Diener, and Jennifer and Bubba Ezell at Brooks Uncorked 8 Issac Ramirez, Michael Hudman, Ryan Prewitt, Breanne Kostyk, Tony Galzin, Andy Ticer, and Jesse Houston at Grand Artisans’ Dinner 9 Alex and Lee Yates 10 Brad McCarty and Spencer Coplan at Brooks Uncorked.

11 Thomas Wayne Walker, Rachel Knox, Katelyn Dagen, and Frankie Dakin at the Grand Auction. 12 David and Sarah Thompson and Emily and Bradley Rice at Grand Artisans’ Dinner 13 Richard and Christina Roberts at Grand Artisans’ Dinner 14 Taylor Howell, Andrew Patterson, Billy Quinn, and Russell Harris at Brooks Uncorked 15 Anthony and Jeany Dionne at Brooks Uncorked 16 Kenya and Michael Hooks Jr. at the Grand Auction 17 Cameron and Duncan Howell at Brooks Uncorked

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FINE PRINT

Riverfront Reflections Memorable quotes about development at our city’s doorstep.

by john branston

An overview rendering shows the proposed riverfront development concepts.

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he riverfront is getting a makeover, as happens every decade or so. As a reporter, I covered the opening of Mud Island, the construction and opening of The Pyramid, the closing of The Pyramid, its reopening as Bass Pro, the construction of Tom Lee Park and Beale Street Landing, Harbor Town, the Bluff Walk, the pedestrian bridge, and Van Morrison’s performance at MusicFest, possibly the worst concert I have ever heard.

Some of these things were better than the others, and whatever their shortcomings and cost overruns, they made Memphis a more interesting place. The grand pronouncements and projections were usually wrong, but there was always a truth-teller in the mix if you looked hard enough. Here’s what some of them said, as best I can remember or document: “Attractions based on history are not commercially successful.” It was 1982, and City Councilman J.O. Patterson was planning to run for mayor when he said this about Mud Island in response to my throwaway question at the end of an interview. Patterson, a minister and thoughtful sort,

favored a big amusement park on Mud Island instead. Ferris wheel, roller coaster, the works.

We will never know if that would have worked, but we know what didn’t work.

“Could you say ‘too much space’?”

The county engineer was leading some bigwigs on a tour of the unfinished Pyramid in 1989 when he pointed out that “there’s a lot of space” as if everyone hadn’t noticed. The skeptic was William Ferris, a lawyer, Democratic Party kingpin, and reluctant supporter of the enterprise that put 20,000 seats sloping steeply downward in a building sloping steeply upward. Ferris was not alone.

County Commissioner Vasco

Smith pointed out that the site was “down in a hole” as opposed to up on the South Bluff where idea man John Burton Tigrett had envisioned it. As real estate agents say: location, location, location. While this switcheroo made the South Bluffs development possible it also ensured that The Pyramid would never be a landmark on the order of the St. Louis Arch but might become a white elephant or a Bass Pro superstore.

“I want my crystal skull back.”

Or words to that effect, said Tigrett’s son Isaac in 1991 after county officials found one hidden in a sealed box in the apex of The Pyramid. To make a long story short, the devotee of Indian guru Sri Baba was sore that, among other things, his plan for a Hard Rock Cafe was scrapped. If your beliefs run to the mystical, The Pyramid has been cursed ever since.

‘The real reason South Bluffs and Harbor Town are so good is not because Jack Belz and I are great

“It [Tom Lee Park] is the worst river park in America.” This is the sort of thing a troll or snarky columnist might say. But the critic was Benny Lendermon, head of the celebrity-studded Riverfront Development Corporation (RDC), also known, snarkily, as the Retired Directors Club for its popularity as a landing place for city division directors. Tom Lee Park was expanded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a buffer for Riverside Drive and, as a bonus, extension of a small park.

Only later did it become the site of the music festival and barbecue contest that strip it bare and ugly every May. Sunsets, sod, benches, sidewalks, and accessibility mainly compensate for that.

Planting more trees and putting the squeeze on Memphis in May don’t strike me as especially original or radical ideas, but it beats publicly moaning about the “worst river park in America” when you are vested with the authority to do something about it. That included Beale Street Landing with its restaurant (since closed) and lego-blocks signature building. Never was an organization more deserving of being disbanded, and by the time you read this, Carol Coletta will not only be the new president but may have given it a new name and mission.

RENDERING BY STUDIO GANG | COURTESY RIVERFRONT DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

guys, but because we saw how hard the market was and knew we had to overcompensate.” Developer Henry Turley said this in 1996 when the number of residents on Mud Island was not even half what it is today. But the future of downtown Memphis as a residential and tourism place instead of a business district was already clear.

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6/19/18 3:43 PM

CITY JOURNAL

The Social Entrepreneur by tom jones

Mr. Walter, a Green Leaf Learning Farm volunteer.

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ith my family’s DNA firmly planted in northeast Arkansas farmland, it’s the time of year that summons up my childhood memories of standing in the fields with uncles as their experienced eyes gauged the prospects for the crops in their fields. It was always a time of promise, mixed with the uncertainty that came from how quickly dreams of profit could turn to the reality of loss.

Similar events are playing out thousands of times across the Mid-South, but the most unusual one may be at Green Leaf Learning Farm, located on a three-acre footprint in the Gaston Park neighborhood of South Memphis, off Third Street.

There, it’s about much more than fruits and vegetables. It’s about community development, early childhood development, and nutrition. Most of all, it’s about hope, and that’s the most valuable commodity of all.

After all, a child born into the bottom 20 percent in income in the Memphis metro area has only a 2.6 percent chance of making it to the top 20 percent — the worst odds for any region in the continental U.S. They are likely even worse in Gaston Park, located in the ZIP code with the highest poverty in Memphis and in recent years was included in

any list of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the U.S. Marlon Foster is not one to wring his hands and give up.

Rather, 20 years ago, he founded Knowledge Quest with the goal of creating an after-school program for students, but in recent years, it has centered on an ambitious urban agriculture program attracting national attention, culminating in a grant from the Kresge Foundation to fund an Agritourism Master Plan, to erect a 30- by 72-foot climate-controlled greenhouse, and to hire a project manager.

Only a few years ago, the lot across from Knowledge Quest on Jennette Place was a small community garden, but now there are 30 once-vacant, overgrown lots growing vegetables, a children’s garden, a medicinal garden, and a fruit orchard.

The lot also includes three

abandoned buildings with one agriculture — with its history in being converted into a dormitory the South of African-American where college students will stay exploitation — as the way to while working there. change lives in a positive way A lready, a pav ilion has is not lost on Foster. Turning been funded by the Memphis history on its head, he explains Grizzlies, the Jay Uiberall that Green Leaf Learning Farm Culinary Institute teaches high is about social justice and opschool students the basics of the portunity, teaching children “where food comes from and culinary arts, the family stabilabout good health and nutriity program supports families tion” and acting as a trusted at risk of becoming homeless or displaced, and a Universal partner with the neighborhood.

Parenting Place offers parents As a fourth-generation resways to get help to deal with a ident of Gaston Park, Foster child’s behavioral issues. has the street cred that has alThe master plan for Green Leaf lowed Knowledge Quest proLearning Farm calls for street grams, over 20 years, to respond festivals, an apiary, construction to what its residents say they of the Residences at Green Leaf, need. Back then, with a degree and a distinctive “experiential from LeMoyne-Owen College playground” for children similar in hand, he planned a career as to My Big Backyard at Memphis an entrepreneur in the neighBotanic Garden. borhood, but with an epiphany of seeing So how exactly does the Farm “It’s about bringing dignity the area for the change the lives first time — “I and honor to people and of the children never went to b e d hu n g r y, there? the neighborhood.”

“All of us selfand although I — Marion Foster identif y,” says was next door, Foster. “If your I did n’t have school is undercontext” — he performing, or didn’t start a your neighborb u s i n e s s b ut started a new hood is called the most dangerous, life. what is it doing “My friends psychologically?” said I turned into Foster believes a social worker, it’s all about a but I said I was changed narrastill an entrepretive: “We need neur — a social Children plant seeds people to see us entrepreneur,” at Knowledge Quest’s as we see ourhe says. While Garden Club. selves. We are Knowledge Quest unapologetic. South Memphis has blossomed over the years, not is not a place to come to lose even Foster could have predicted your life. Rather, it is where you that it would have him standing learn, extend your experiencin a USDA-certified organic ures, and where you can live your ban micro-farm. life. It’s about bringing dignity “Some communities are built and honor to people and the around golf courses,” he muses. neighborhood.”

“What if one can be built around urban agriculture?”

The irony of employ ing

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY MARION FOSTER / KNOWLEDGE QUEST

Knowledge Quest founder Marion Foster is turning an empty lot in South Memphis into the Green Leaf Learning farm.

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6/19/18 5:55 PM

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7.21 WEVL 89.9 Blues on the Bluff

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EVL 89.9 hosts its 30th annual Blues on the Bluff on the grounds of the Metal Museum, featuring Lightnin’ Malcolm, The Kenny Brown Band, and Marcella & Her Lovers. Metal Museum, 374 Metal Museum Dr. wevl.org

Blues on the Bluff

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY MIKE KERR

7.4

7.11-7.17

Celebrate our nation’s independence with the Memphis Redbirds vs.

Omaha Storm Chasers, a cookout, and fireworks.

Attendees can purchase ticket packages that include a cookout and a ticket to the game.

Fireworks will begin after the game in center field. Fans can also check out fireworks after every Saturday game and after their July 7th and July 21st games.

Autozone Park, 200 Union Ave. milb.com

Enjoy discounted burgers at participating restaurants in the city as part of the Memphis Flyer’s fourth annual Burger Week. Watch for the Flyer’s July 11th issue for more details.

Various Locations memphisflyerburgerweek.com

Redbirds vs. Omaha

7.6

Def Leppard and Journey

Enjoy fireworks at AutoZone Park after every Redbirds Saturday game.

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What else can we say besides “Pour Some Sugar On Me” and “Don’t Stop Believin”?

FedExForum, 191 Beale St. fedexforum.com

Memphis Flyer’s Burger Week

7.12

7.13

Boy George & Culture Club with the B-52s

Boy George & Culture Club ring out hits like “Karma Chameleon” and “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me,” preceded by the “Love Shack”ers, the B-52s.

Live at the Garden, 750 Cherry Rd. liveatthegarden.com

JD McPherson

Rock-and-roller JD McPherson takes the stage as part of the Levitt Shell’s free summer concert series.

Levitt Shell, 1928 Poplar Ave. levittshell.org

JD McPherson

7.14

Memphis Jerk Festival

Home Run Entertainment, LLC hosts the 3rd Annual Memphis Caribbean Jerk Festival benefiting the Sickle Cell Foundation of

fireworks after every Saturday game and after their July 7th and July 21st games.

6/21/18 1:41 PM

Modest Mouse Tennessee. Attendees will be able to enjoy Caribbean and jerk fare, a domino tournament, and live Caribbean music.

Tiger Lane, 450 Early Maxwell Blvd. memphisjerkfest.com

rematch for the WPBF World Welterweight Title.

FedExForum, 191 Beale St. fedexforum.com

7.14

Modest Mouse

“Float On” over to The Orpheum to check out American indie-rock band Modest Mouse.

Orpheum Theatre, 203 S. Main St. orpheum-memphis.com

7.14

Alison Krauss

Esteemed bluegrasscountry artist Alison Krauss takes the stage at Mud Island Amphitheater.

Mud Island Amphitheater, Island Dr. mudislandamphitheater.com

7.21

The Big Payback Championship Boxing Fight

Six-time World Boxing Champion DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley squares off against former WBA Jr. Welterweight Champion Vivian Harris in a 12-round

7.22

Inaugural Butcher Board Festival

Guests will receive their very own butcher boards and tasting glasses to sample products from various vendors throughout the festival. Vendors include Civil Pour (wines), The Vault (meats and cheeses), and Crosstown Brewing Co. (beers). A portion of ticket sales will benefit Mid-South Food Bank.

South Main Market, 409 S. Main St. butcherboardfestival. com

The Big Payback Championship Boxing Fight J U L Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 21

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6/21/18 1:41 PM

THEATRE

Next Stage The Orpheum Theatre’s High School Musical Theatre Awards inspire the next generation of Memphis artists and audiences.

by chris davis

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Featured and supporting nominees perform “Freak Flag” at the top of Act 2.

f your memories of high-school theater are ones where awkward teens stumble through incoherent productions of Our Town it’s probably time to update your perception. Budgets may be large or small depending on a particular school’s means and priorities but, accounting for the disparities, there’s work being done at the high-school level in Memphis that, in terms of raw talent and creativity, could give our established professional and community playhouses a run for their money.

Nowhere is this transformation more evident than at The Orpheum Theatre’s annual High School Musical Theatre Awards, which just completed its ninth season of celebrating excellence and creating opportunity for young performers and technicians. The HSMTA show is no longer on its way to becoming a venerated Memphis institution; it has arrived.

My first impression of the 2017-18 High School Musical Theatre Awards, held at The Orpheum May 24th, was straightforward: These kids are good and came ready and able to put on a show. Color-enhanced lights came up, wrapping an enormous chorus of dancing teenagers in their purple glow. The orchestra played a funky rhythm. The near-capacity audience erupted in shrill cheers and thunderous applause as the young voices blended and swelled in unison: “They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway. They say there’s always magic in the air …”

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The young men and women on stage represented 29 high school theater programs from across west Tennessee, north Mississippi, and northeastern Arkansas. Before the night was over, more than 300 of them would sing, dance, and collect awards for excellence underneath spotlights that have seen their share of Broadway stars, stalwarts, and gypsy dancers.

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herry Phillians is an educator who heads up the theater program for Wynne High School in Wynne, Arkansas. This year her students won the HSMTA’s People’s Choice award for a production of The Wizard of Oz. Phillians describes her experience with the awards as overwhelmingly positive and compares winning any category at the HSMTAs to the school football team winning a big conference game.

“I don’t know what it means to the Mem-

phis community, because there are so many schools in Memphis,” Phillians explains. “But, in our small rural town, it’s a big deal when your show is being seen by judges for the High School Musical Theater Awards sponsored by the Orpheum Theater.”

Like many educators, administrators, judges, and program alumni surveyed for this story, Phillians compares the friendly if intense competition to an athletic event for students who are differently — or variously — inclined.

Each year around 40 of Wynne High’s approximately 800 students participate in the school’s musical theater program. Soldout shows play to 900 people a night. “It’s a big deal for us,” Phillians says. “And Lindsay Krosnes works so hard to make this happen for the 4,000 students who are involved in theater in the area. It really makes a big difference in their lives.”

Krosnes is The Orpheum’s director of education and community programs, who says, “This program is my heart, and I love it.” She joined the HSMTA team in its second year and set out with the intention “to make it the Super Bowl of high school theater” for participating departments.

While she has largely achieved that goal, Krosnes is also somewhat bothered by the result.

“I hate that it’s an awards program,” she says. “Is it an amazing thing in our community? Yes it is. I just hate the fact that we have to present awards. But that’s just the nature of it.

Especially in the South, that’s the nature of it.”

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he HSMTAs aren’t just a Southern thing, however. The Orpheum’s competition is one of 40 regional events feeding a national program run by the Broadway League. The top male and female performer from each region go to New York to perform a one-night show on Broadway and compete for a $10,000 scholarship.

The HSMTAs were born during a time when The Orpheum, a longtime Broadway presenting house, was actively looking for ways to tap into its professional resources to nurture, recognize, and celebrate theater and the perennially threatened performing arts in Memphis area schools.

“I think we were approaching it like, ‘We have all these sports events, why can’t we PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF THE ORPHEUM THEATRE

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Students take part in the opening number.

have something these theater students can look forward to and strive for?’” Krosnes says.

Julie Reinbold, the sole theater-education teacher at Ridgeway High School, believes the awards have raised the bar for student performance. “It’s not like we need awards to do good work, but I think it has a lot to do with these students seeing the work other schools are doing, the fact that they’re being challenged.”

“Every school is at a different point in their journey,” Krosnes says, explaining how the award judges value thoughtfulness, creativity, and commitment over a school’s access or economic resources, taking into account the fact that different programs will always be funded and staffed at different levels. “There are schools that have had theater programs forever, and they are well-oiled machines,” she says. “Then you have some schools who thought six years ago, ‘Hey, let’s get our theater program going!’

“We’re passionate about nurturing students and my task is to remind the judges that they aren’t comparing schools to each other,” she continues. “They’re evaluating each school with the resources they have. What have they done with what they’ve been given? This is a community where we’re really about lifting people up.”

Lead Actor nominee Kaleb Davis from Lausanne Collegiate School.

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andy Kozik is no stranger to tors like Barry Fuller and Barbara Cason perMemphis stages, although his apform at the old Front Street Theater,” Kozik pearances are few and far between. says. “So being a judge is like a dream job.

He’s a trained clown and gifted comic perEspecially because you get to see these kids grow so much through the years. former with a professional background in arts administration and education. He’s “I look at it from an arts-education value also a founding HSMTA judge who’s parstandpoint,” Kozik continues, describing his ticipated every year and, with few excepapproach to the work. “When I watch a show, tions, tries to see every show produced by I ask if the staff or teachers really made conparticipating schools. nections to whatever piece they’re doing. If “I really don’t want to see it’s Grease you’d think they The young men and Seussical ever again,” he conmay have done some kind women on stage of schooling about life in fesses, describing how the popularity of some shows America in the 1950s. Or the represented 29 can be taxing on a judge. But 1920s, if they’re doing Th orhigh school theater with that one caveat, Kozik oughly Modern Millie.” programs from across couldn’t be more bullish While a show’s size can about the gig. be impressive, Kozik doesn’t west Tennessee, “I always feel like I’m the think that matters very north Mississippi, and ‘Man in Chair,’” Kozik says, much. referencing the narrator “There are two kinds of northeastern Arkansas. from a majestic meta-musical schools,” he explains. “First, called The Drowsy Chaperone. Man in Chair is there are the schools where they’ve always a curmudgeon whose general disregard for had a theater department and they’ve always contemporary theater isn’t rooted in despair, done a piece of musical theater, and everybut an unwavering faith in human imaginabody wants to be in it, so they cast as many tion and good old-fashioned razzle-dazzle. people as possible and none of them have “I’m not a musical theater actor per se. But anything to do except for standing in a row.

I’ve been going to shows since I was 7 years And half of them don’t really want to be there, old, and my mother would take me to see acbut there are, like, five that are really into it J U L Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 23

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FUEL THE FREE PRESS

F R E Q U E NT F LYE R S H E LP K E E P TH E F R E E PR E S S F R E E .

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Flyer is your source for the best in local news and information. Now we want to expand and enhance our work. That’s why we’re asking you to join us as a Frequent Flyer member. You’ll get membership perks while helping us continue to deliver the kind of independent journalism you’ve come to expect.

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and you can spot those five.”

The other kind, he says, make amazing art out of old refrigerator boxes. “And at the end of the day all these shows build community,” Kozik concludes. “They bring people from church or from their homes on Sunday afternoon to see this high school musical. A lot of whom might never have gone to the theater otherwise.”

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ommunity-building is a happy by-product and something Krosnes hadn’t counted on. “We have to put on a professional-quality show in a week’s time, so the rehearsal process is intense,” Krosnes explains. “Over the course of that week, 300 students who might not have met each other otherwise come together, so you have kids from White Station and Central High meeting kids from Corinth, Mississippi, and Wynne, Arkansas. So a network forms out of this program and all these kids stay in touch. It’s something we never anticipated, but it has been the greatest development, and something I am very happy about.”

“We try to take a group to see at least one of the other school’s shows every year now, and those are the times where I think our students grow the most,” Phillians says. “It helps some see that while they might think they’re really good, there are other really good actors and singers out there. It gives them a standard. And sometimes it’s the other way around, and they’re critical so you ask what they had or didn’t have to work with or, ‘What was the director’s vision?’”

“The thing I love is that even though it’s a competition the kids make friends from other schools,” Reinbold from Ridgeway says, describing one way the HSMTAs have changed the community. “They are very supportive of each other,” she says. “They go see each other’s shows.”

Another fortuitous and unforeseen result of this new connectivity is the fact that every year more and more alumni contact Krosnes, and ask how they can help make the awards show better. In addition to presenters and volunteers, this year’s event was stage managed, assistant stage managed, and choreographed

by HSMTA alumni.

“I have this dream where someday alumni are running the whole thing,” Krosnes says.

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pencer Germany tells a familiar story. Germany’s one of the alumni who’s come back to The Orpheum to participate as an awards presenter.

Today he’s a rising sophomore music-education major at Middle Tennessee State University. He started out life as a jock. “I played football all through middle school and even the first few years of high school,” he says.

Things started changing for Germany when, as a freshman, he was cast in the musical comedy She Loves Me.

THE OSTRANDERS The 2017-18 High School Musical Theatre Awards are in the books but award season in Memphis isn’t over yet. The Ostrander Awards are still on the horizon.

Named for beloved community performer Jim Ostrander, and recognizing excellence in Memphis’ community, professional, college, and university theater, the Ostranders are held each year in August at The Orpheum.

In addition to honoring the top shows of the past season, the Ostranders are also an opportunity to celebrate annual recipients of the Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award, named for director, producer, and motorless-flight enthusiast Eugart Yerian. This year’s honoree is Tony Isbell, a veteran actor and director and co-founder of Memphis’ Quark Theatre, dedicated to producing “small, essential” work. Isbell most recently directed Death of a Streetcar Named Virginia Woolf at Circuit Playhouse.

The 2017-18 Ostrander awards will be held Sunday, August 26th at The Orpheum Theatre.

Cocktails are at 6 p.m. The awards presentation begins at 7 p.m.

The CBHS graduate knew right away that he’d found the place where he was most comfortable. “I started doing honors choirs where music education happened right in front of me,” he says. “It made me realize that a career in music was the only thing in the world for me.”

While rehearsing the opening and closing numbers with the High School Musical Theatre Awards’ chorus, Germany had an opportunity to watch all the leading-actor nominees work through their medley with the music director.

“The second I saw that, I knew I wanted to be on stage in that medley,” he says. “I didn’t care if I won or not, I just wanted to sing at

The experience of staging an

You Know She’s Worth It

extravaganza like the High School Musical Theatre Awards in only a week gives students a glimpse of the professional experience. that capacity and to tell my story with seven other characters that wouldn’t normally be on stage together.”

Germany went to work, absorbing soundtracks and learning everything he could about musical theater. The very next year he got his wish, winning the local competition and going on to New York to perform at the Minskoff Theatre and compete in the Broadway League’s Jimmy Awards, named for Broadway theater owner and producer Jimmy Nederlander.

The experience of staging an extravaganza like the High School Musical Theatre Awards in only a week gives students a glimpse of the professional experience. Ridgeway graduate Breyannah Tillman makes it plain that the grueling experience was nothing compared to preparing for the Jimmy Awards in New York.

“I had just enough time to drop my bags and change into my workout clothes before I had to be in rehearsal,” Tillman says of a process that only got more intense when she learned she’d finished third and would be performing a solo rendition of “Lot’s Wife/ Salty Teardrops” from the musical drama Caroline or Change.

“The best part was I got to come up out of the floor,” Tillman says, describing her dramatic entrance on a lift. “And the Minskoff is full and everybody bursts into applause.”

Tillman has continued to pursue a life in show business, working primarily with recording artists as a supporting vocalist. Currently, she stars in the pivotal role of Effie in Dreamgirls at Playhouse on the Square through July 15th.

Although it is part of a national program, Memphis’ HSMTAs are unique. “Nobody else in the country serves three states,” Krosnes says. “I’m very happy about what we’re doing, and I think The Orpheum is too.”

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by jesse davis

t may seem that there is scant reason to be festive these days. Scandals erupt with alarming frequency, and pundits argue that we are in a post-truth world. But the truth of our interconnectivity seems as real and promising a reality to hang our hopes on as any. Whether h eld as celebrations or commemorations, festivals, at held their root, are about coming together — about laying aside differences to acknowledge what we share. As we celebrate our neighborhoods and our diverse cultures, as we remember historical figures of great import, as we mark the passing of the seasons, we exemplify the truth of our togetherness. And that, to this writer, seems as good a reason to celebrate as any.

So, though festival season in Memphis may already be halfway over, only including the festivals from July to December gives readers plenty of options. From quaint neighborhood festivals to decades-old film festivals, Memphis has more to offer than just blues and barbecue. So from the dog days of summer through the lighting of the Christmas tree at The Peabody, here’s our 2018 guide to local fairs and festivals.

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Seasonal/Ongoing Levitt Shell Concert Series

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his summer marks the 10th anniversary of the remodeled Levitt Shell’s free concert series. The Shell has put on more than 500 free, family-friendly concerts in the heart of Overton Park, giving families a chance to spread out a blanket on the grass and relax, or run up to the stage with the kids to dance to the eclectic mix of music the Shell brings to town every year. Performers this year will include Memphis’ own Harlan T. Bobo, the Blind Boys of Alabama, and North Mississippi Allstars.

This year’s series will include three ticketed “Stars at the Shell” concerts, and if prior “Stars” shows are anything to go by (Mavis Staples! Emmylou Harris!), these won’t be events to sleep on. Levitt Shell. May 31st through July 15th; and September 6th through October 21st. 7:30 p.m. in the summer, 7 p.m. in the fall.

of so-bad-they’re-great B-movie cult classics in August. Summer Drive-in.

Monthly through December.

July Memphis Flyer’s Burger Week

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he Memphis Flyer, this magazine’s sister publication, brings back one of its most savory events: Burger Week, a week of tasty hamburger specials. During this weeklong, citywide celebration of America’s classic, participating restaurants will offer specialty burgers for special prices. Please remember to tip, because great service and one-of-a-kind burger creations are worth it. Various locations.

Memphis Caribbean Jerk Festival

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enefitting the Sickle Cell Foundation of Tennessee, Home Run Entertainment presents its third annual family-fun day with a variety of jerk and Caribbean food options, musical performances, and even a domino tournament. Tiger Lane, 450 Early Maxwell.

July 14th, 12 noon-10 p.m.

jecting their thoughts wide, handmade zines served as the primary method of communication for enthusiasts, fans, and members of various subcultures. In the 1980s and ’90s, underground comic book artists, radical feminists, and poets collaged and Xeroxed and stapled their own amateur magazines and manifestos.

Zines exemplify a do-it-yourself ethos and an appreciation for the immediacy and intimacy that come from small-run, physical media — a well-made zine can feel like a secret whispered among friends. Memphis Zine Fest celebrates the spirit of zine-making and zine appreciation. Makers gather at Crosstown to display their creations and celebrate the power of print media. Crosstown Arts.

Details to be announced.

August Music Placement Symposium

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ntroducing the Music Placement Symposium, an all-day event at the Stax Music Academy geared toward educating artists about licensing songs for use in films and other mediums. Stax Music Academy. August 4th.

WEVL Blues on the Bluff

M Levitt Shell Concert Series PHOTOGRAPH BY BG

Time Warp Drive-In

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here are fewer than 350 drive-in movie theaters still operating in the U.S., down from around 4,000 at their peak in the 1950s. While Nashville is addressing that lack in its own way — namely by building an indoor “drive-in theater” — Memphians are still driving out to the Malco Summer Drive-In to support one of America’s last real drive-ins. And for the fifth year running, Malco has partnered with Black Lodge Video to bring Memphians the Time Warp Drive-In. A series of dusk-tilldawn throwback, themed movie nights, the Time Warp offers a chance to see classics of the underground cinema on the big screen. This year’s lineup includes “Strange Christmas Five” night with Die Hard and Batman Returns in December, and “Worst Movies Ever,” a celebration

emphis’ most eclectic radio station, WEVL has operated on a shoestring budget and with a small team of devoted volunteers for 42 years.

And every July, as the summer heat builds to a sweltering crescendo, WEVL holds its Blues on the Bluff fundraiser along the cool banks of the Mississippi.

With the picturesque views of the bluffs, the thumping bass of some familiar soul song thrumming through the air, and food and beer vendors on hand, Blues on the Bluff is the Platonic ideal of a summer party. It’s loud, sweaty, and sweet as a soul serenade, as barbecue sauce dribbles down fingers.

(Full disclosure: I host the My Morning Mixtape program for WEVL.) Even better, as a fundraiser for the independent, member-supported radio station, it’s a party for a good cause. WEVL is all about keeping the rich musical heritage of the South alive, and Blues on the Bluff is about supporting the station — and about dancing all night down by the river. Metal Museum, 374 Metal Museum Drive. July 22nd, 6 p.m.

Memphis Zine Fest

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efore the internet gave everyone with a service provider and a voice a tool for magnifying and pro-

Elvis Week

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very year, true believers come from the world over to experience Memphis. They come to take the tour at Sun Studios, to window-shop at Lansky Brothers, chow down on a peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich at the Arcade Restaurant downtown, or just to walk down the same Southern streets once crossed by a king, Elvis Aaron Presley himself. They come for Elvis Week. Marking the 41st anniversary of Elvis’ death, this celebration honors the musical legacy — from Sun to RCA — of one of Memphis’ most successful pioneers and includes highlights from his extensive musical catalogue, his films, performances by tribute artists, and, of

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course, the Candlelight Vigil at Graceland.

Various locations. August 11-19th.

Ostrander Awards

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t seems the theater scene in Memphis just keeps growing. From Playhouse to Hattiloo to Theatre Memphis to The Orpheum for touring performances, theater lovers in Memphis are spoiled for choice and could be forgiven for sometimes forgetting that not all cities of Memphis’ size have so much programming to boast of. And the Ostrander Awards (sponsored by ArtsMemphis and Memphis magazine) are all about taking a moment to appreciate the theater talent on hand in the Bluff City. The annual awards ceremony honors excellence in the Memphis theater community and celebrates the best work of the previous year’s season. The Orpheum Theatre.

August 26th.

Germantown International Festival

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ith authentic food, live music, and presentations representing cultures from all over the world, the Germantown International Festival is one of Memphis’ most colorful events. Where else can you find giant paper Chinese dragons alongside Panamanian paintings? Agricenter International. Saturday, August 18th.

Germantown International Festival PHOTOGRAPH BY BG

September Delta Fair & Music Festival

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ides, lights, stuffed animals hung in bunches like giant, fuzzy bananas. Corn dogs, funnel cakes, and ice cream. What is more American than a fair? With live music, craft displays, games, livestock shows, tractor pulls, and lawn mower races, the Delta Fair truly is everyone’s fair. Whether you’re competing, overdosing on fair food, or strolling through and taking it

all in, this fair promises a delightful sensory overload. Past performers include Keith Sykes, trop-rock troubadour and the new manager of Ardent Studios.

Agricenter International. September 1st-10th.

Memphis Music and Heritage Festival PHOTOGRAPH BY BG

Memphis Music and Heritage Festival

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he nonprofit Center for Southern Folklore presents performances by artists of all stripes — musicians, dancers, poets — celebrating the unique cultural heritage of the MidSouth. There are blues, folk, and jazz performances, and that hardly scratches the surface, as two blocks downtown along South Main are transformed into a celebration of the culture and the rhythms of the South. South Main Street.

September 1st-2nd.

admission ticket includes 10 servings of garden-infused drinks featuring vodka, gin, whiskey, rum, and more. Food items from local restaurants are also offered along with live entertainment. One of the more exciting changes to the event is the newly introduced color theme.

Everything will be decked out in contrasting shades of green. Attendees are invited to join in by dressing to match the color theme. The Dixon Gallery and Gardens. Friday, September 7th.

International Goat Days Festival

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he 29th annual Goat Days Festival kicks off Friday night with the World’s Greatest Goat Parade.

Featuring the increasingly popular livestock-meets-exercise trend, goat yoga, the festivities also include an antique tractor show, a battle of the bands, the KCBS Championship BBQ Contest, and a pancake breakfast on Saturday. U.S.A. Stadium, Millington. September 7th-8th.

Southern Heritage Classic Cultural Celebration

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he Southern Heritage Classic centers around the football game — and the rivalry — between Jackson State and Tennessee State, but it’s much more than just a sporting event. It’s a game, a regional gathering, a tailgate party, and a celebration of music, fun, and football all rolled up into a cultural event that plays out over a weekend. Held at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium and generating somewhere in the neighborhood of $21 million for the Memphis economy, the Southern Heritage Classic brings Memphians and out-of-town fans to the neighborhoods around the stadium for a weekend of football-related revelry. Each year, upward of 45,000 fans descend on Memphis for the game, a tailgate party, and a weekend of music, fun, and football. Liberty Bowl and other venues.

September 6th-8th.

Art on the Rocks

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he Dixon Gallery and Gardens has expanded the concept of its successful Art on Tap outdoor event.

This year’s event, Art on the Rocks, will include both botanical cocktails and frosé along with the mainstay small batch and high-gravity beers. Each

Germantown Festival PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMIE HARMON

Outflix Film Festival

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very year, the Outflix Film Festival presents a film program diverse in themes and genre. One of the many excellent examples of Memphis’ growing film community, Outflix is a program of OUTMemphis, an organization that empowers, connects, educates, and advocates for the LGBTQ community of the Mid-South. Malco’s Ridgeway Cinema Grill. September 7th-13th.

Germantown Festival

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ot only is the Germantown Festival one of the longest, continuously run festivals in the Memphis area, it may be the only one to offer an auto show, live entertainment, and most importantly, the Running of the Weenies dachshund race. The 47th annual Germantown Festival provides a free, family-friendly weekend. 7745 Poplar Pike, Germantown. Saturday, J U L Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 29

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September 8th, 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, September 9th, noon-6 p.m.

Cooper-Young Festival

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y mid-September in Memphis, summer has loosened its stranglehold on the city, but it’s not quite fall yet. There’s a lack of humidity that heralds the onset of autumn, especially in the shade, as the giant neighborhood trees spread their branches above where Young meets Meda — and where a stage is always set up marking one of the borders of the Cooper-Young Festival.

Held in Memphis’ largest historic district and featuring live music, art vendors, handcrafted goods, and food and beer vendors on every corner, Cooper-Young Fest is Midtown’s yearly reunion.

Photography prints, handmade ceramics, leather goods, an Elvis-themed comic book by local film auteur Mike McCarthy — it has a little of everything on offer.

The festivities kick off with the Friday Four-Miler race the night before the official shindig, and the main event on Saturday offers food, artwork, and live music until sunset. Cooper-Young neighborhood. September 15th, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

Mid-South Pride Festival PHOTOGRAPH BY BLAKE BILLINGS | DREAMSTIME

Carriage Crossing Brewfest

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he third annual Brewfest comes to Collierville for this 21-and-up event. Guests can sample a wide variety of craft beers from local and regional breweries as well as taste what the home-brew teams have on offer.

There will also be a game zone, live music, and free food samples from the many Carriage Crossing restaurants. Carriage Crossing. Saturday, September 22nd.

Mid-South Pride Festival

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eld downtown between FedExForum and the historic Clayborn Temple, the Mid-South Pride Festival is one of the largest celebrations of LGBTQ culture, inclusivity, and diversity in Memphis. The festival takes over downtown with live music, talent shows, vendors, information booths about different organizations, and a parade. September 28th-30th.

October Mid-South Fair PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMIE HARMON

Mid-South Fair

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he Mid-South Fair is a century-old tradition. It’s a candy-coated, deep-fried Southern confection, familiar and refreshing as a watermelon slice on a sultry summer afternoon. This annual festival is over 160 years old and is one of the few festivals that features both a horticulture show and carnival rides. And we haven’t even mentioned the historic talent contest (whose previous contestants included a young Elvis Presley) or the stunt dog show or the concerts. Landers Center, Southaven. September 20th-30th.

Mempho Music Festival PHOTOGRAPH BY BG

MEMPHO Music Festival

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eld in Shelby Farms in October, MEMPHO is the Bluff City’s newest music festival. This year’s lineup was recently released and is sure to make Memphis music fans happy. Performers

will include Beck, Post Malone (who brought huge crowds to this year’s Beale Street Music Festival), French indie rockers Phoenix, Janelle Monáe, and local rap heroes Juicy J and Project Pat. Shelby Farms. October 6th-7th.

Pink Palace Crafts Fair

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ctober calls to mind crisp, cool mornings, perfect weather for an ambling stroll in the park. And if that park is Audubon Park, and white tents have sprouted like a crop of mysterious fungi after a night of heavy autumnal rain, so much the better. Because then the Pink Palace Crafts Fair has arrived, as suddenly as Ray Bradbury’s carnival of legend, but nothing near as wicked.

For in those white tents are stalls packed with handcrafted wares, a stage with live music, a kids’ area with a train and petting zoo, and friendly volunteers manning information booths. There are blacksmiths and carpenters staging demonstrations, and Pink Palace staff on hand to enlighten curious attendees about upcoming events at the museum.

An entire section of the park is given over to local food vendors, with tables of honey, candy, popcorn, and fruits and veggies all calling out that they would make the perfect gift. As a first — or thousandth — date idea, the Crafts Fair could hardly be beat. And as a celebration of artisan food and craft vendors, and as an educational opportunity, the Crafts Fair is the quintessential fall festival. Audubon Park. October 12th-14th, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday. $9 for adults, $7 for seniors/military, and $3 for children.

Metal Museum Repair Days

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he annual fundraiser for the Metal Museum, Repair Days offers four days of family-friendly activities, hands-on workshops, demon-

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strations, and, of course, metal repairs.

The Metal Museum brings over 200 metalsmiths to the museum on the bluffs to display their handiwork and raise funds for the only ornamental metal museum in the United States. Metal Museum.

October 18th-21st.

Memphis Tequila Festival

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ast year brought Memphians the inaugural tequila-tasting event, the Memphis Tequila Festival. The sold-out gathering included more than 50 tequila labels on hand to sample, food from Babalu, and Day of the Deadstyle face-painting. If tequila is your thing, this is your festival. Made from the blue agave plant, which grows primarily in the highlands of the Mexican state Jalisco, tequila is the fiery drink of outlaws and troublemakers, and this festival is all about celebrating it. Proceeds benefit Volunteer Memphis. Overton Square Courtyard. Friday, October 19th.

Blvd., Millington. October 13th-14th and 20th-21st.

Dia de Los Muertos

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he Brooks Museum’s annual event is held again this year to honor ancestors and celebrate the cycle of life and death. The parade will begin at the Tower Courtyard in Overton Square and wind its way to the museum, where the celebration will continue with art-making activities, face painting, music, costumed performers, and dance performances. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Saturday, October 27th.

RiverArtsFest

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rowth is good, and this festival has a new home on Riverside Drive between Jefferson and Union.

RiverArtsFest has grown to become the largest outdoor juried artist market and urban street festival in the Mid-South.

Every year, this family-friendly festival offers local music, fine-art exhibits, hands-on art activities, and live artist demonstrations. Riverside Drive between Jefferson and Union. October 27th-28th.

November Indie Memphis Film Festival

T Cooper-Young Beerfest PHOTOGRAPH BY BG

Cooper-Young Beerfest

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n its ninth year, the Cooper-Young Beerfest is an open-air neighborhood party and a celebration of the best of regional beer. Every brewery featured in the festival is within a day’s drive of the Bluff City. How’s that for drinking local? All proceeds from the event go to benefit the Cooper-Young Community Association. 795 S. Cooper. October 20th.

Mid-South Renaissance Faire

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ant all the fun trappings of Ye Olde Days without any of the feudalism, lack of hygiene, or other inconveniences? Well, for two weekends in October, you can enjoy all the really intricate gowns, jousting, turkey legs, mead, and hierarchical social structures you can handle at this family-friendly festival. 4351 Babe Howard

he Bluff City’s biggest film festival has grown since its inception in 1997. It now encompasses film screenings, discussion panels, and live music performances at theaters in Midtown and East Memphis and at the Halloran Center downtown. Last year, Indie Memphis celebrated its 20th year — and brought The Office’s Rainn Wilson to town, along with dozens of independent shorts and documentaries (such as Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me and The Invaders, a long-awaited documentary about the Memphis-based grassroots civil rights group of the same name).

The talent on display in the Hometown Shorts alone was staggering. Every year the festival brings industry professionals and films to Memphis that local film buffs would have no other opportunity to see on the big screen. Multiple locations. November 1st-5th.

local brewing scene has been growing rampantly as well. So a festival celebrating local art and locally brewed beer seems only natural. The Memphis Flyer presents the fourth annual Crafts and Drafts at the newly remodeled Crosstown Concourse, where attendees can browse art selections from more than 80 local vendors, sample lip-smackingly delicious local brews in the beer garden, or take the little ones to the kids’ area hosted

by Memphis Parent. Vendor applications for the 2018 festivities are now open, so hurry and sign up, local artists! Crosstown Concourse. November 10th.

December Memphis Maker Market

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he Memphis Maker Market, also called the Indie Holiday Market, is a carefully curated competitive annual market showcasing local makers whose creations highlight the Memphis brand. It’s a long-running local tradition and a great destination for holiday shopping. Muddy’s Bake Shop — Midtown.

Dates and times to be released later.

Saturday, December 9th.

Enchanted Forest Festival of Trees

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or more than 50 years, this display has been a part of the Memphis holiday season. The Enchanted Forest Festival of Trees is an annual fundraiser for Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. The Bodine Hall of the Pink Palace fills with model trains, animatronic woodland characters, and decorated trees, all in celebration of the holiday spirit. Memphis Pink Palace Museum.

November 17th-December 31st.

The Memphis Flyer’s Crafts and Drafts

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or a city of its size, Memphis enjoys a truly diverse and vibrant art culture. The Bluff City exists at the intersection of two beautiful art museums, a nationally recognized art college, and a folk-art tradition impressive in its own right. And in recent years, the

Memphis Flyer’s Crafts and Drafts PHOTOGRAPH BY BG

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M ethodist Le Bonheur Healthcare can

trace its origins to one person — and he wasn’t even a doctor. John H. Sherard Sr., a wealthy cotton planter from Mississippi, journeyed to Memphis in 1899 to visit his ailing pastor. He was dismayed to find the cleric in a charity ward, and that was the impetus for his lifelong dream. A devout Methodist, he wondered, “Why doesn’t Memphis have a Methodist hospital?”

Things You (Possibly) Didn’t Know about Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare The two hospitals are celebrating 100 years in Memphis. Here are highlights from the first century.

Sherard visited church groups, pushing his idea for a new hospital. It took five years before he gained his first endorsement, when the Women’s Missionary Society of the North Mississippi Methodist Conference “voiced support for the proposed hospital and joined Sherard in his appeal to other groups.”

by michael finger

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n June 23rd, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare had quite a birthday. The combined

hospital system was officially 100 years old. As part of the celebration, Contemporary Media — publishers of this magazine — produced The Power of One: Methodist Le Bonheur Healhcare: Our First Century, tracing the full history of the organization that has had such an impact on the quality of life throughout the Mid-South. Over the years, the two hospitals, which merged in 1995, have experienced important events and “firsts.” On these pages, we present a century’s worth of highlights.

John H. Sherard Sr.

F ive years passed, and in 1909 a

commission studied the feasibility of a Methodist hospital. On November 18, 1910, the Memphis Conference Journal reported that Methodist conferences in the Mid-South “agreed to build a hospital in the City of Memphis, to cost not less than $250,000, and the work to begin when $75,000 is secured.”

A lthough most Memphians associate Methodist Hospital with Union Avenue, the committee chose an eight-acre site on Lamar, owned by a former Confederate officer, W.B. Mallory, a successful dry-goods merchant after the Civil War. They would erect a brick building and

also use the Mallory mansion “for hospital purposes.” The new site was “met with universal appeal.”

The building was to be called the TriState Hospital. The name was changed to Methodist Hospital in 1913, while construction was still under way.

A citywide “Hospital Rally Day” was set aside for January 28, 1912. “On this day,

let every Sunday School, every Epworth League, every Woman’s Home Missionary Society, as well as every congregation, hold appropriate services and make liberal offerings for the hospital.”

The architect for the first Methodist Hospital wasn’t a Memphian. Instead, the building committee hired Samuel Hannaford & Son of Cincinnati as designer and architect, with the instructions to “get busy and break ground as soon as possible.”

In the early 1900s, successful businessman Hu L. Brinkley donated $80,000 to erect the Lucy Brinkley Hospital at 855 Union Avenue. Named in honor of his wife, this was one of the first women’s hospitals in the region. In 1918, this small facility was given to Methodist Hospital, and the date of this gift — June 23, 1918 — is considered the “birthday” of the present-day Methodist Hospital system.

The new hospital on Lamar would have a unique feature “that will commend itself to every sympathetic soul having the mind of Christ.” Patients unable to pay for medical care would receive the same treatment as paying patients, but their rooms “would be scattered throughout the hospital and there will be nothing to indicate the fact that they are charity patients.” Even the nurses didn’t know who those patients were.

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In the 1920s, Methodist acquired other properties nearby. In 1921, the hospital purchased the Crisler Clinic, a private surgical clinic operated by James A. Crisler Sr. and James A. Crisler Jr. They were obviously a close-knit family; in the 1930s, father and son purchased homes practically side by side in the brand-new subdivision of Chickasaw Gardens.

E lizabeth Gilliland’s brother was treated at the Crippled Children’s Hospital for polio, and she persuaded the Le Bonheur Club to make clothes and dolls for patients there, as well as the children at Leath. “As a result,” writes Dale Berryhill in the hospital history, Whatever It Takes, “the club began working with sick children from its earliest days.”

The Lucy Brinkley Hospital on Union Avenue

The first patient was admitted to the “magnificent new” Methodist Hospital on Lamar on November 2, 1921. Others quickly followed.

M ethodist used the brand-new facility

on Lamar only briefly. After Armistice Day, November 11, 1921, the property was deeded to the U.S. government as a veterans hospital for soldiers injured during World War I. Methodist doctors, nurses, and the rest of the staff reluctantly moved back to the only facility they had — the tiny Lucy Brinkley Hospital on Union, which held only 65 beds.

Yet again, a building committee was

formed, and the members quickly selected the former Watkins Overton property on Union, several blocks to the east of the Brinkley Hospital, and in 1923 began construction of an all-new Methodist Hospital, along with a Nurses Home.

The new four-story hospital opened

in 1924, with 125 beds. The Lucy Brinkley Hospital closed, and the building was converted to the Blackstone Hotel. It became the George Vincent Hotel before being demolished for the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry.

By the end of Methodist’s first full year

on Union, the hospital had treated 3,438 patients and had delivered 280 babies

Elizabeth Gilliland

The new Methodist Hospital under construction in 1924

— this accomplished with a staff of 57 physicians and only 10 graduate nurses and some 60 student nurses.

In 1925, the sewing club began “adopting” individual children “with extraordinary needs” and placing some of them in homes of members. One of those girls was Mollie Milligan, whom the club assisted for most of her life, and even raised funds to send her to college.

pital can trace its beginnings to a sewing club. In the early 1920s, volunteers were distressed at the conditions they found at Leath Orphanage and gathered friends together to sew and mend clothing and linens for the children there.

The Le Bonheur Club, composed of “young ladies prominent in Memphis society,” attained such status that members were initially asked to sponsor the Children’s Bureau, which coordinated the needs of underprivileged boys and girls across the country. They were so successful they were presented the Community Fund Silver Cup for several years in a row.

One member of the sewing circle, Elizabeth Gilliland, gave the group its distinctive name, calling it the Le Bonheur Club, literally translated as “the good hour” club.

In 1926, the first Methodist Hospital support group was formed, known as the Golden Cross Society, “as a practical demonstration of how Christianity could meet the needs of humanity.”

M eanwhile, Le Bonheur Children’s Hos-

280 babies were delivered in Methodist’s first year.

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Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare

Held at the Mid-South Fairgrounds, the horse shows attracted entries from across the country, and by its third year, the 1943 event was declared the number-one horse show in the United States.

The night before the 1943 show, the grandstand burned to the ground, but volunteers using donated lumber rebuilt the entire grandstand overnight. By 1948, Encyclopedia Americana declared it the top horse show in the world. The last show was held in 1951.

Dr. Henry Hedden

A 1927 report revealed the extent of

supplies used by the hospital throughout the year. Among them: 40,000 loaves of bread, 10,000 pounds of butter, 600 bushels of potatoes, 70,000 quarts of milk, and 10,000 pounds of sugar.

In 1930, the Le Bonheur Club opened a

toy store at 1543 Union Avenue called the Doll House, with “profits used to care for needy children.” The store remained in business as an important fundraiser until 1937. The building has survived; today it is home to the Donati law firm.

During the Depression, Methodist

Hospital offered one of the nation’s first health insurance plans. Conceived by longtime supervisor Dr. Henry Hedden, the plan required members to pay less than a dollar a month, which would cover all hospital expenses except for the doctor’s fee.

C ontributions to Methodist’s building fund sometimes came from unlikely sources. In 1931, the hospital received a $5,000 gift from the Rev. W.C. Sellers of Martin, Tennessee, at age 85 the oldest active minister in the Methodist Conference, in memory of his wife.

A tragedy was behind the formation of

the hospital’s largest and longestsurviving support group. Mrs. Casa Collier, the wife of a Methodist physician, had encountered a patient who had given birth to triplets. The babies died, and the family couldn’t afford the funeral costs. Collier met with friends who arranged to have the children buried and then formed the Methodist Hospital Auxiliary “as an ongoing means for providing aid to patients in need.”

The new hospital focused on innovations that enhanced the safety and well-being of its patients. New safety lights were installed in operating rooms, with mercury switches replacing the older arc-type units, which could spark an explosion from the flammable anesthesia gases used at the time.

M ethodist became one of the few pub-

lic buildings in Memphis (others being the downtown movie theatres and large department stores) to provide airconditioning to some patient rooms.

Hospital records show these rooms had a special price: $7.50 a day.

When the building committee pur-

chased the property along Union, the site was shaded by ancient oaks. The committee revised its plans to save as many of the trees as possible, and the oak grove was a hallmark of the Methodist campus for decades.

L ike most hospitals in the country,

Methodist didn’t provide its own ambulance service. Instead, it relied on ambulances operated by funeral homes to rush (living) patients to the hospital.

With funds raised by the horse shows, the Le Bonheur Club opened the “Well Baby Clinic” at Methodist Hospital — the city’s first medical clinic for underprivileged children. In those segregated times, white children were treated by physicians on certain days of the week; black children were seen at other times.

In 1943, Methodist purchased the Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat Hospital on Madison. Although the building would eventually be used for medical purposes, during World War II it served as apartments for defense workers.

During the war, hospital superinten-

dent Dr. Henry Hedden maintained daily correspondence with members of his staff stationed overseas. For reasons lost to history, this large collection of letters was called “The Knobby Finger.”

In 1946, Dr. Barton Etter penned a letter to “the Ladies of Le Bonheur,” urging them to establish a full-scale hospital for children here: “There are 22 pediatricians in Memphis and there is not one of us who has not at some time had to send a patient to Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago, Baltimore, or Boston for diagnosis or treatment. Frankly, we resent this …”

In 1939, Mrs. J. Everett Pidgeon, whose family owned the Coca-Cola franchise here, came up with a new fund-raising event that earned Le Bonheur national and international recognition. She and other community leaders organized the first Le Bonheur Charity Horse Show.

The first horse show in 1940 featured Bob Hope as the master of ceremonies.

Other celebrities who took the reins over the years included actor Dick Powell and comedian Andy Devine.

By 1947, Methodist had become so

overcrowded that it couldn’t provide a room for its own superintendent, James Crews, when he became ill. Instead, he was confined to a cot in his own office, and complained later, “Couldn’t even get a bed in my own hospital.” The solution was more plans for expansion, which included the 10-story East Wing, opened in 1958.

In place of the standard bedside call button, Methodist Hospital installed intercoms in patient rooms, allowing direct communication with the nurses’ station.

Memphis Press-Scimitar columnist Eldon Roark hailed this newfangled gadget, saying “it will save nurses 10,000 miles of walking every year.”

The Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital Capital Fund Drive kicked off on December 29, 1949, headed by Allen Morgan, president of First National Bank. Within two months it had exceeded its goal by more than $50,000. The bulk of the funding for the new facility came from state and local government.

The building committee selected a location at Adams and Dunlap for the children’s hospital, and the City of Memphis agreed to lease the property to Le Bonheur for just $1 per year.

The architect chosen for Le Bonheur was Memphian J. Frazer Smith, known for creating Lauderdale Courts, Foote Homes, and Dixie Homes public housing projects here. His modern design for Le Bonheur was honored by the American Institute of Architects.

C onstruction of the 89-bed facility took two years. Dedication ceremonies were held June 15, 1952, and included an unusual ceremony. Elise Pritchard, president of the Le Bonheur Club, tied the front door keys to balloons and released them into the sky, symbolizing that the new hospital’s doors would never be closed to any child.

Patty Lynn Bowden, a 3-year-old

girl from Philadelphia, Mississippi, was Le Bonheur’s first patient, taken to the hospital for treatment of kidney disease.

Methodist’s East Wing under construction in the 1950s

A few months later, Jerry Smith,

a 13-year-old boy from Booneville, Mississippi, was Le Bonheur Hospital’s

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L e Bonheur Children’s Hospital was

the first hospital in Tennessee expressly designed for children.

The year 1954 was a year of “firsts” for

Le Bonheur: The staff established the first poison control center in Tennessee, Mary Kathryn Taylor became the first medical social worker at a private hospital here, and Dr. Chet Lloyd set up shop as the region’s first pediatric dentist.

A special feature of the children’s

hospital was the “bunny room,” where children headed for surgery could pick out a doll or stuffed toy. “The Bunny Room was a brilliant thought on the part of the Le Bonheur Ladies,” said Dr. Ray N. Paul, a pediatric cardiologist. “It did a whole lot to ease children.”

M eanwhile, just blocks away, in 1958,

another Methodist support group was formed, the Volunteer Personal Hostess Service, better known as the “Pink Ladies” because of their distinctly colored uniforms. Initially composed of 25 members drawn from the Methodist Hospital Auxiliary, membership quadrupled in only six months. Among their many duties as “your hospital friends”: providing photographs of newborn babies for the happy parents.

When the East Wing opened in 1958,

among its modern features was the first escalator installed in any hospital in the world. According to the Otis Elevator Company, the one-flight escalator could carry as many as 3,000 visitors an hour.

Our city’s population topped the

half-million mark in 1959, when Thomas Edward Maupin was born at Methodist Hospital, becoming the 500,001st citizen of Memphis.

M edical innovations became the hall-

mark of Methodist Hospital. Jerry Cook, an 8-year-old boy from Arkansas, was admitted with a quarter-sized hole in a chamber of his heart. Doctors gave him less than two years to live. On August 27, 1962, the first open-heart surgery was successfully performed at Methodist.

The hospital staff donated their services, and the University of Tennessee loaned a heart-lung machine at no charge.

the Apollo flights” that would monitor everything from temperature controls to lighting throughout the main building.

the largest Methodist hospital complex in the U.S. Instead of the traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony, officials used surgical tools to snip a band of gauze stretched across the front doors.

first cardiovascular surgery patient (both Patty and Jerry did well).

Methodist “Pink Ladies”

D octors knew it was difficult for children to remain still for x-rays.

Jalmer Pigg, a Le Bonheur radiation technologist, came up with a metal and plexiglass device that could comfortably hold children in place. A version of the “Pigg-o-Stat” is still in use today.

In 1959, hospital chaplain William O’Donnell donated $45,000 towards the construction of a 12-bed recovery room in honor of his two sons, James and Henry. It was the largest single gift made to Methodist at the time.

Old photos show that in the early years, nurses’ skirts had to be a precise distance from the floor. Those rules were relaxed in 1972, the first year that nurses were allowed to wear “pants uniforms.”

In 1973, Dr. and Mrs. J.R. Shelton established the Sidney Shelton Hemo Dialysis Unit, named after their son. According to Whatever It Takes, “Le Bonheur’s was the first pediatric dialysis unit in the Southeastern United States, and one of only five in the nation at the time.”

In 1974, Le Bonheur joined other hospitals around the country in pioneering outpatient surgery for minor procedures, calling their process “Day Care.”

F ifty years after their formation, in 1973

In the 1970s, Memphis hospitals were still segregated. Indigent patients were usually treated at Frank Tobey Memorial Hospital. “In practice, this meant that

the Le Bonheur Club — still very active — celebrated their birthday with a $50,000 gift to the hospital building fund. “The Le Bonheur Club remained the organiza-

The top floor of Methodist’s new Thomas Wing was reserved for patients ages 13-18 in 1965, making it the first “adolescent unit” of its kind in Memphis.

I f a Methodist pastor wants a church,

sometimes he builds it himself. Chaplain O’Donnell donated $50,000 for the construction of the Mary O’Donnell Chapel of the Praying Hands, in honor his wife.

He conducted the first services there on Christmas Day, 1966.

Faith has always played a major role

at Methodist. In the 1960s, the hospital provided on-call chaplains for any patients, and daily worship services were broadcast to all rooms by Muzak.

In 1969, Methodist Hospital became the first medical facility in Memphis to have a heliport — a helicopter landing area on the roof of the new Thomas Wing, which had previously served as a roof garden for hospital employees.

In 1969, Methodist opened the Method-

ist Hospital School of Nursing, complete with an eight-story dormitory. The building was named in honor of “Doll” Wilson, mother of Holiday Inns founder Kemmons Wilson.

When Methodist South / John R. Flippin Memorial Hospital opened on July 23, 1971, the expansion made Methodist

LeBonheur’s opening-day celebration

tion of choice for young society women,” wrote Dale Berryhill in Whatever It Takes, “and its officer elections and new member inductions were dutifully covered in the local society pages.”

Le Bonheur served mainly white children,” wrote Berryhill, “while patients at Tobey were overwhelmingly children of color.” This would soon change.

The 1970s saw major expansion on Methodist’s Union Avenue campus. The 150-bed James Crews Memorial Wing opened in 1971, and five years later, the Sherard Wing opened, home to the hospital’s new intensive-care center.

N ewly hired Le Bonheur Medical Director John E. Griffith, “a Canadian, did not have the patience of many Southerners for a slow end to segregation.” Within six months of coming to Memphis in July 1976, Tobey Hospital was closed, and those patients transferred to Le Bonheur.

“The children were moved, Tobey was torn down, and what I would call the modern era of Le Bonheur was really born,” said Bill Rice, chancellor of UTHSC, in Whatever It Takes.

J C80 joined the “staff” of Methodist Hospital in 1971, but this worker wasn’t human. Instead, it was a “space-age computer system not unlike those in

That same year, Le Bonheur also embarked on a major expansion program, almost doubling the size of the hospital.

For the groundbreaking ceremonies, two

That same year, Jane Doles Jones, a

former president of the Le Bonheur Club, was named the first female chairman of the board of Le Bonheur.

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Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare

D escendants of John H. Sherard Sr. have remained involved in the hospital that he is credited with establishing. In 2015, the family donated funds to renovate the Sherard Chapel, just off the lobby of the main building on Union Avenue.

children wielded the same gold-painted shovel used at the original hospital groundbreaking in 1952.

Once again, the hospital keys (this time wooden replicas) were attached to balloons and released into the sky.

L e Bonheur Children’s Medical Center

In those pre-internet days, Methodist

embraced the latest technology. One service it offered in the mid-1970s was Tel-Med, a free telephone tape library.

Users could dial a number, listen to a menu of more than 240 health topics, and select one to hear.

In 1977, Le Bonheur began further

expansion, and plans called for the main building to include a 60-foot tower, resembling Cinderella’s Castle at Walt Disney World. “We kind of conceived a castle, like the Magic Kingdom … and thought it would be fun if the kids’ first point into the hospital was the gateway,” the architect explained. Those plans never left the drawing board.

L ocal artist Bill Womack, a design

professor at Memphis College of Art, designed Le Bonheur’s distinctive heartshaped logo that is still in use today.

In 1979, the board of directors voted to change the name to Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center.

S treet names were changed around

Le Bonheur to acknowledge the hospital’s impact on the area. Adams Avenue became Children’s Plaza.

When the Mall of Memphis held its

grand opening ceremonies in 1981 — an event called “Fashion Magic in Memphis” and featuring an appearance by Olympic ice skater Dorothy Hamill — all proceeds went to Le Bonheur.

A nother major expansion at the Methodist Union Avenue campus took place in 1981. The groundbreaking ceremonies included planting three trees — a tulip poplar, magnolia, and pine — to represent the Methodist Conferences from the states of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas that had always supported the hospital. In addition, bricks from older buildings on the campus, demolished to make way for new construction, were laid in the shape of a large cross, which was later moved inside.

Rendering of Methodist Hospital expansion, 2018

M ethodist Health Systems, Inc., was established in 1981 to serve as an umbrella organization overseeing the hospital operations as well as real estate, insurance, and information management services.

In 1984, Le Bonheur took part in its first Children’s Miracle Network telethon, raising more than $230,000. Within a few years, the proceeds topped one million dollars.

Shelby County Public Defender A C

Wharton joined the Methodist board in 1989. A few years later, he was named the first African-American chairman of the Methodist Hospital Board, stepping down in 2002 when he was elected Shelby County mayor.

Le Bonheur Healthcare in 2007 — became the largest healthcare employer in Memphis. “With that, a loop was closed that began in 1941,” wrote Berryhill, “when the Le Bonheur Club opened the city’s first free medical clinic for children in the old Methodist Hospital building.”

The initials for Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (MLH) also represent its mission: Make a connection; Listen to understand needs; Honor commitments.

B eginning in 2002, the Methodist system embarked on a merger with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, and two years later, the teaching programs at both institutions merged.

hospitals — though normally considered rivals — partnered to form the Memphis Medical Center Air Ambulance service, today known as Hospital Wing.

A nother Mid-South “first” took place on the afternoon of May 20, 2004, when an hour-long procedure to repair a patient’s rotator cuff (shoulder tendons) was broadcast live on the internet from the Methodist North Surgery Center.

The two medical giants worked together again in 1994, along with the renowned Semmes Murphey neurology clinic, to open the Medical Education Research Institute (MERI).

In 2009, Methodist made world news when Steve Jobs, iconic founder of Apple, came to Memphis for a liver transplant, performed by Dr. James Eason, head of the Methodist Transplant Institute.

With space always at a premium in the Medical District, hospitals like Le Bonheur and Methodist came up with innovative solutions to their expansion plans. In 1988, Le Bonheur transformed a former car dealership on Poplar into modern new administrative offices.

In recent years, hospitals across America have acquired smaller, private practices.

In Memphis, Sutherland Cardiology Group was the first medical practice to align with Methodist Hospital, in 2010.

In the late 1980s, Baptist and Methodist

In 1993, Methodist purchased Germantown Community Hospital, and began a major expansion on property once owned by Richard Trippeer, president of Union Planters National Bank.

In 1995, Methodist Health Systems

merged with Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center. The new organization — the name was changed to Methodist

The Methodist Hospice Residence opened in 2011 in East Memphis, a specialized facility designed to meet the social, emotional, and even spiritual needs of patients facing a terminal illness.

M ethodist Le Bonheur Healthcare

expanded into Mississippi in 2013 when it opened a community hospital in Olive Branch, Mississippi — the first in-patient facility in the country to earn the LEED Gold Certificate for energy efficiency.

was designated a “Magnet” institution by the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 2016, recognizing the hospital’s commitment to nursing excellence and innovations. Only 7 percent of hospitals in the U.S. have earned that honor.

In 2016, a remarkable and complex medical procedure was performed at Le Bonheur. Conjoined twins from Nigeria, Miracle and Testimony Ayani, linked at the lower body, were separated during an 18-hour surgery.

In 2017, the Methodist board approved the largest expansion in the hospital’s history — a $275 million project that will include the Shorb Tower, named for longtime CEO Gary Shorp. The new complex will move the West Cancer Center, the Methodist Transplant Institute, and other key facilities into a central location on the main campus on Union.

Thanks to a $40 million gift from an anonymous donor, Methodist has been able to expand its transplant center significantly and has also given it a new name. The James D. Eason Transplant Institute is scheduled to open in 2019.

The $100 million fundraising campaign to build the new 12-story patient tower at Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center is considered the largest private fundraising effort ever done in Memphis. The total cost of the 610,000-square-foot facility came to $327 million, making it one of the largest construction projects in Memphis.

The Power of One: Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare: Our First Century is available at novel. bookstore in Laurelwood. sources for this article: Whatever It Takes: Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center: The First Fifty Years, by Dale Berryhill (2006); Building a Dream: The Story of Methodist Hospitals of Memphis (written by the hospital staff, 1986); and Memphis Press-Scimitar and Commercial Appeal articles archived in the Memphis and Shelby County Room of the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library.

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MOOD at th e MSO

a new

AS MUSIC DIR ECTOR ,

ROBERT MOODY BR INGS A NEW TEMPO TO OUR CITY’S ORCHESTR A. by anna tr aver se

Allegro.

W

e could begin with a scene of Robert Moody standing before an expectant Memphis

Symphony Orchestra: Bows poised above strings, flutes flourished and ready. All eyes on Moody, the conductor and, as of this month, music director of the MSO. All the pieces in place.

photography by k aren pulfer focht

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“The job of the conductor is to know the piece of music so well that a group of 70, 80 musicians becomes greater than the sum of its parts.”

— Robert Moody

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Or we could begin with a piece of possum cake. Moody and I have been talking only a few minutes when he mentions the possum cake.

He is originally from Greenville, South Carolina, but, he explains, his mother’s family is from a farm community in South Carolina called Possum Kingdom. “I did not make it up,” he says.

Just this spring, to focus exclusively on Memphis, Moody has ended long-term relationships with several orchestras around the country. One of these was the Winston-Salem Symphony, where he became music director in 2005. At his farewell party, Moody was fêted with a life-sized possum-king cake (not to be confused with king cake; to my knowledge, there was no tiny plastic baby possum baked within). “Please tell me you have a photo,” I say. Moody produces his phone to show, sure enough, the sweetest (and, well, only) piece of possum fondant royalty I’ve ever seen: a prickly looking number complete with rakishly askew crown, and slightly unsettling eyes.

It’s an early summer, already sultry morning at Memphis Botanic Garden. The MSO players are assembled on stage for one final rehearsal before playing this evening with Wynonna (as in Wynonna Judd) for the Summer Symphony at the Live Garden, performed the final weekend in May, when the Sunset Symphony used to take place. Moody is casual, sandals and bright summer plaid, backstage in a trailer, talking marsupial cake.

For Mother’s Day, Moody drove the frosted creation to his 87-year-old mother, who grew up in Possum Kingdom. “There’s a major family reunion in September,” says Moody, “so we put it in the freezer. It is going to be the pièce

Robert Moody in rehearsal at Memphis Botanic Garden, before the annual Summer Symphony at the Live Garden in May.

de resistance.”What’s more, he goes on, “Apparently, it’s strawberry cake. So if it’s the least bit red or pink on the inside ... well, it’s right out of Steel Magnolias.”

Leitmo tif:

music ch a nges li v es.

M

oody makes this statement four times over the course of our conversation. His own life serves as an example; he did not grow up in a musical family. “You can probably presume no Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart in Possum Kingdom,” Moody notes wryly. His father was a mechanical engineer, “an incredibly intelligent man, but could not carry a tune in a wheelbarrow.”

But when Moody was in the fourth grade, a strings teacher came to his class for a demonstration: violin, viola, cello, bass. “Wouldn’t it be fun to play a string instrument? Sign on this sign-up sheet if you want to be involved,” Moody recalls hearing. “I didn’t sign up.”

A few weeks later, when the strings teacher returned for the first class, 9-year-old Moody’s name was called. Huh? “A girl in my class — my fourth-grade girlfriend, Sherry — she started laughing, because she remembered she had written my name down as a joke, thinking it would be funny.” Not knowing

how to explain the backstory to the teacher, Moody simply “got up and went to the class, and here I am now.”

He chose the cello (his instrument to this day), and discovered an aptitude. And it didn’t hurt that the first Star Wars movie came out that year. The first thing Moody learned to play was the familiar theme: “ba ba ba BA ba, ba ba ba BAAA ba,” he hums.

“In my mind,” Moody says, “the two things are pretty well connected: my love of music, and my love of the grandiose scale of things, like those great big movies.”

A dagio.

M

oody comes by it honestly, his keen sense of how the MSO can be “an orchestra for everybody — not just a small segment of the community.” In Greenville, he attended an arts-focused public high school. (“Greenville, South Carolina, is one of the first cities in the nation to have a public high school for the arts. I’m awfully proud of that,” he says. “They were the fourth: New York, L.A., Houston … Greenville.”)

He was studying the cello, thanks to the intervention of that fourth-grade girlfriend, as well as voice. His cello teacher was encouraging him to focus on cello; his voice teacher, on voice. But then the Chicago Symphony came to town as part of a national tour. They were playing Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, conducted by Georg Solti, whom Moody did not yet realize was one of the world’s foremost conductors at the time.

Moody was seated in the balcony with his classmates, and when the orchestra reached the finale, he wept, overcome by the power of the work, the performance, the synthesis he had witnessed. “I remember looking at that guy [Solti], thinking, ‘I want to do that.’”

Music changes lives.

An orchestra, Moody explains, “is the greatest synthesizer in the world. More colors, more types of music can be played by an orchestra than by any other ensemble.”

“The job of the conductor is to know the piece of music so well” — Moody mentions later in our conversation that he is working his way through a piece the MSO will play in the summer of 2019 — “that he gets a group of 70, 80 musicians to interact with him, and with each other, in such a way that the whole becomes much greater than the sum of its individual parts. If the conductor were not there, it’s not just that the starts and stops would be a little sloppy. So many different colors, from French horn to oboe to cello to percussion. And to be able to shape that, and bring out the color of one group when they have the theme, and let others be out of the way a little — and then it’s like an ocean wave, rise and fall …”

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“Memphis has this great, kind of sultry side to it that Memphians, as best I can tell, are quite proud of.” Moody is shown here upstairs at Earnestine and Hazel’s.

A symphony can wake anyone’s tendency toward synesthesia. Moody isn’t mixing metaphors here — colors and waves and shapes — he is describing the listening experience, the way the sensory experience constantly evolves. The way that, sitting in that balcony seat in Greenville, South Carolina, he was transported on waves of color to another time and place, a new world of possibilities.

Scher zo.

E

very orchestra is possessed of its own distinct personality. The Vienna Philharmonic, per Moody, can play Johann Strauss’ waltzes better than any other orchestra in the world. Memphis, it will surprise no one to hear, does things a little differently.

“Memphis has this great, kind of sultry side to it that Memphians, as best I can tell, are quite proud of — the down-and-dirty, Delta side of things. This orchestra, they know exactly how to capture that.”

I ask Moody for an example of a piece in which the Memphis Symphony Orchestra has captured that sultry, gritty, down-and-dirty side of things. I’m half-expecting him to cite some recent performance when a Delta bluesman has joined the orchestra on stage, or they have played something on the pop side of the musical spectrum. Perhaps he’ll mention the

time, early in his relationship with the MSO, when — for an Elvis program — he rode onto stage on a Harley. But no.

“Ravel’s Bolero,” Moody responds, without hesitation. He expands: He has heard orchestras all over the world, endowed with exponentially larger budgets than that of the MSO, play Bolero in “a very pristine and perfect way.”

But, according to Moody, none can touch the Memphis Symphony’s rendition, “because Memphis gets the sensual side of it.”

The symphony has performed with Lil’ Buck, the Memphis-native jookin’ artist of international dance renown. Next year, they’re planning to perform a salute to Stax legend David Porter. But what stands out as the most quintessentially, necessarily Memphis rendition: Ravel, a French composer of the early twentieth century, often associated with the Impressionists. More than the notes on the score, it’s about that great synthesizer, suffused with the emotion and honesty, rawness and revelry of Memphis.

“Music that’s meant to give off a certain scent,” Moody says. That’s what Memphis plays best. We play music by sense

of smell: of course we do.

When Moody’s relationship with the MSO began, the symphony was reeling from a long string of budget struggles that started during the 1990s. For years, financial success would be followed by financial crisis, followed by a swell of support from the community, followed by success — then yet another crisis. “There’s a history of a sort of roller-coaster ride,” Moody says. Those struggles only intensified during fallout from the financial crisis of 2008. Musicians had accepted pay cuts to keep the organization, designated a 501(c)(3), afloat. An extensive endowment campaign was undertaken. And the symphony’s administrative offices were moved onto the University of Memphis campus in 2014.

This move served to cut costs, yes, but also helped to expand a larger partnership between the MSO and the U of M. In Memphis, unlike in some other cities, the music director of the symphony is responsible for more than just, well, directing the music. He’s also heavily involved in ensuring a healthy financial future for the MSO. “I can’t state strongly enough how important

“An orchestra is the greatest synthesizer in the world. More colors, more types of music can be played by an orchestra than by any other ensemble.”

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it is that I’ve got a major partner in crime in Peter Abell, the new CEO. He’s brand-new.

I’m brand-new,” says Moody.

And the MSO is far from unique in having been beset with financial problems in recent years. Google something like “symphony orchestra financial problem,” and you’ll soon be scrolling through a stream of articles with titles like “What Is Killing the Orchestras of the United States?”, “Orchestras in Crisis: Outreach is Ruining Them,” and “Why No Symphony Orchestra in the World Makes Money.”

It’s a work in progress, but, as Moody points out, the symphony is poised to close its 2017-18 season in the black for the first time in years. And, what’s more, “Peter [Abell] was able to double the annual-fund giving this year over last year.” Together, Abell and Moody are dedicating their energy — “the most energy I’ve spent in my career” — to making sure that the symphony is set on a path forward with “the correct financial, not just artistic, footing.” In Moody’s view, the symphony will remain on that sure, steady footing not merely by playing well in concerts at the Cannon Center, and not merely by asking for community support.

Community support goes both ways: The community will support the orchestra that supports it.

While building the stable financial foundation Moody knows the organization needs, he emphasizes the importance of the message that the MSO will be good stewards of community investment. More than art for art’s sake, the message to the community is, “Give us a shot. Let us show you that we are becoming one of the most relevant twenty-first-century orchestras in America. And here I go again,” Moody says, “music changes lives.”

MSO’s “Bernstein at 100” program. Moody conducted, and Jamie Bernstein — Leonard Bernstein’s daughter — was on stage to narrate the “Kaddish” section of Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3. A boy soprano — Emmanual Tsao — appeared on stage, tiny but fearless, to sing a sweetly haunting solo during the Chichester Psalms. The audience seemed quite rapt, many staying after the music ended for a question-and-answer session with Moody, Ms. Bernstein, and several musicians. The questions were insightful, curious, grateful. I couldn’t help but notice that, though in my mid-thirties, I seemed among the youngest audience members in the Cannon Center.

Moody is working to bring more people to the symphony, and to bring the symphony to more people. His goal: for the symphony to extend itself to reach Memphians aged “4 to 104” as a force of unity. “You can divide that demographic” — 4 to 104 — “any way you want,” Moody says. “Area of the city, racially, socioeconomic status. You can divide it in multiple ways, but the one greatest unifier on the planet is music. Religion is not. Politics are certainly not. Music is really universal.”

One key to reaching more people is reaching them young. That’s why the symphony works with teachers in the Shelby County Schools system to provide children an easy entrée into music. The Orff-Orchestra Partnership, as it is called, brings the full orchestra into “just about every elementary school we can in the county,” inviting students to join not only in music-playing but in music-creating, too. Students play recorder, bells, percussion, and so on, alongside MSO musicians.

“It’s a really phenomenal program,” Moody says, “and can be a national model of the way we interact.”

For another recent concert, a major choral work required a 100-voice children’s chorus. The children came from half a dozen area elementary schools. Their presence — and that of their proud families, in the audience — “changed the racial makeup of the stage and the audience, not just a little but a lot. That’s a celebratory moment for us,” Moody notes.

Involving children and young people is about more than celebration, though, and more than demographics. It’s about cultivating their talent in all manner of ways.

Moody’s journey from audience member to sought-after conductor is far from the norm, he knows. “We aren’t looking to create a world of Yo-Yo Mas,” after all. Studying music offers myriad benefits beyond cultivating the next generation of musical prodigies. Higher standardized-test scores,

“I want people to say, ‘This is my MSO. I’m a proud Memphian, and this is my orchestra.’ ”

Son ata .

T

ime for a confession: I have been a delinquent symphony-goer.

A younger version of me considered herself to be middlingly serious about the flute, but I haven’t seen that version in the mirror in a number of years, and the flute has taken up residence in the recesses of the hall closet somewhere between the gift wrap and the suitcases. I have happily accepted symphony tickets from friends and colleagues faced with last-minute scheduling conflicts, but only rarely, since moving back to Memphis in 2010, have I taken the initiative to put myself in a seat and experience the symphony’s transformative beauty.

But in the spring of this year, I attended the

higher chances of graduating high school and attending college, lower incidence of disciplinary problems — all can result from picking up an instrument, learning to play. “ The city is in a powerful renaissance right now,” Moody observes. The example he gives is — true to form — not one you might expect. It’s not about music, or one of the rehabilitated giant buildings often cited as evidence of a rousing Memphis renaissance. (Though Moody does hope to bring the symphony to some of those structures not often associated with classical music, like Crosstown Concourse or the New Daisy.) No, what he mentions are the brightly painted trolleys that have come back online in downtown Memphis.

“Seeing that spark of electricity kick back Moody compares the MSO’s new spark to that of the trolleys operating again in downtown Memphis.

in, I keep thinking about the symphony. That’s where we are: The spark of electricity has kicked back in. We’re up and running. And we want to spread the news, get more people feeling part-of. I want people to say, ‘This is my MSO. I’m a proud Memphian, and this is my orchestra.’” There doesn’t need to be a lot of fanfare. The trolley cars were gone, and then one day, there they were again, cheerfully making their way down the street: some simple grace of quiet reinvention. Moody thinks the Memphis Symphony might just be similar.

After our conversation, when night falls over the lawn of the Botanic Garden, the orchestra will play Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. There will be a few thousand people recumbent, listening. There will be fireworks. “But,” Moody says, “we don’t need to reintroduce ourselves. We don’t need fireworks. We need to do the job, day by day. And that’s what we’re focused on.”

J U L Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 43

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JASON D. AND JENNIFER WILLIAMS BRING G O O D

V I B R A T I O N S TO CHICKASAW GARDENS.

Jason D. and Jennifer Williams bring good vibrations to Chickasaw Gardens.

I

Colby, Canyon, Jason D., and Jennifer Williams (plus Harley!) strike a characteristic pose in front of their Chickasaw Gardens home.

will admit th at

when I first hear d

that Jason D. William s and his wife, Je nnifer, were “revitalizing” an iconic Chickasaw Gardens home, there was a bit of a disconne ct. I thought to myself: could this really be th e famous Jason D. — pian ist, singer, and so ngwriter ex tr ao rd in ai re — livi ng in su ch st ai d surroundings? C ould an electrif ying rockabilly star beloved by au diences around th e world really be sitting pretty in the leafy envi rons alongside the Pink Palace? by a n n e c u n n i n gh a m o ’ n e i l l | ph otography by c h i p p a n k e y

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Ja so n is an ar tis t an d lik es lo ud , br ig ht co lo rs .

Je nn ife r pr ef er s mo re su bt le , su bd ue d, an d ca lm hu es , an d wh ile sh e lo ve s sp la sh es of co lo r, “ju st no t on th e wa lls .”

If you think that Jason D. is talented (and he is) I must introduce you to Jennifer, who is in her own right an incredible dynamo.

In addition to managing Jason’s busy schedule, she is her own general contractor with numerous renovations under her belt, a real-estate agent with Hobson Realtors, and an Airbnb owner.

Speaking of her renovations,

Jennifer says “her hobby became her habit,” and she really doesn’t consider what she does “work” — though it sure sounds like it to us mere mortals. She told me that when she feels stressed and needs to decompress, she sits on the little red stool in her driveway and watches the world go by. Oh, and did I mention that the couple has a daughter, Jacklyn

(33) and two sons, Colby (age 22), and Canyon (11), who take up a fair bit of time.

Their 6,000 -square-foot, five-bedroom Cape Cod-style home was, even for Jennifer, something of a challenge. It needed some serious work, but at the encouragement of Jennifer’s mentor and one of Memphis’ finest home builders,

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Bubba Shepherd, she took on the project, which has been ongoing since they bought the property in 2016. The house has now been entirely rebuilt and, as she says, “no surface has been left untouched.”

All windows and siding were replaced and a new roof installed, the kitchen was opened up and outfitted with all new cabinets, three bathrooms were renovated,

floors were refinished, and every wall was painted. Whew!

Jennifer likes to say it would have been easier to build a new home, but she loves old homes, “so that would be no fun.”

She adds that Jason D. was her partner in their home’s renovations, and they both have lost weight with all the work they have put in. Though he cheerfully

says he “could live in a trailer,” when not on the road, Jason D. is in fact a great help with all of his wife’s projects. She says their biggest fights have been over paint colors. He is an artist and likes loud, bright colors. She prefers more subtle, subdued, and calm hues, and while she loves splashes of color, “just not on the walls.”

But make no mistake. They

above: From the three pianos to the jungle prints to the colorful portraits on the walls and other rockin' memorabilia, the home’s living room is 100 percent what I would call pure “Jason D. décor.” Note the piano bench covered with a Gucci sweater, which was a gift from a friend.

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right: Jason D.’s love of color won the day in this bright purple entry hall with its bold floral canvas.

Bi rd mo tif s ab ou nd ar ou nd th e co up le ’s ho us e — on fa br ic s, pa in tin gs an d pr in ts , ki tc he n ca ni st er s, yo u na me it.

are a true team, and in fact there is a possible home improvement television show in their future, something on the order of HGTV’s Fixer Upper, which starred renovating husband-and-wife team, Chip and Joanna Gaines. The production company they have been in discussions with produces programming for the HGTV, DIY, and TLC networks.

The Williamses share a love of the outdoors, so it was perfect that their new home had a huge amount of property attached to it. In fact, it’s built on the

second largest lot in Chickasaw Gardens. They’ve been slowly rediscovering the original garden which long ago was planned by a master gardener.

Flora and fauna surprises were constantly unearthed.

The couple has a country place in Cherokee Village near Hardy, Arkansas, and they get there whenever their schedules allow. Jason D. Williams is a consummate birdwatcher and knows everything there is to know about birds. As we walked around the property together, I pointed to a little bird in a tree,

and he immediately said, “That’s a House Finch, a carpodacus mexicanus.” I was mightily impressed that he instantly reeled off the Latin name!

Williams noted that bird watching for him has always been the greatest release and “a companion” in his travels.

“Birds speak to me in so many ways,” Jason told me, and not surprisingly, bird motifs abound around the couple’s house — on fabrics, paintings and prints, kitchen canisters, you name it.

In particular, he’s very proud of his many volumes of the Arthur

Cleveland Bent book series on American birds.

Jennifer and Jason D. share a great love for animals. Two outdoor rescue dogs, Biscuit and Gravy, and four cats, including Persimmon and Pickles who came with the house, were in evidence when we visited. Jason is a country boy from El Dorado, Arkansas, and likes to say of his wife, “She loves creatures and that’s why she married me — the chief redneck of the whole tribe.” In fact, they both love to tell fascinating stories about their backgrounds. Jason D.’s

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above: The sleek, modern kitchen is all new and features the cool color palette that Jennifer Williams, who is a great cook, loves to use. left: Doors from the traditional dining room, with a view into the kitchen, open onto the back porch.

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top: Jungle prints and bird motifs enliven the master bedroom. above left: An upstairs bedroom is a comfortable resting place for one of the family’s many pets. above right: Jennifer’s elegant bathroom, with its cool tones and luxe wallpaper, is her pride and joy.

parents were Baptist missionaries, and Jennifer says her mother was one of 16 children.

Ja son D.’s ro ck- a nd -rol l background has inf luenced the home’s décor, as you can well imagine. There are photos of him under glass with Bill Clinton and George Herbert

Walker Bush (Jason D. says “music has no political boundaries” and is meant to bring people together), and there are three pianos in the living room and paintings of album covers on the walls. Sometimes their tastes diverge. Jennifer told me that Jason loves to visit

Target and has strung up little plastic pineapple lights in one of her elegant new bathrooms.

Hmm. Jason D. is very proud of the fact that he is still rocking and rolling despite “a stent or two.”

In fact, he has a new album in the works due out in December,

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H o s p it a li t y, t h y n a m e is t h e W il li a m s f a m il y, a n d the phrase “n e v e r a d u ll moment ” apt ly d e s c r ib e s t h e ir li f e t o g e t h e r.

which will be his tenth. As we were chatting in the living room, out of the blue he asked me if I liked Herb Alpert, and then sat down at the piano, switching into “Somewhere My Love” from Doctor Zhivago.

Hospitality, thy name is the Williams family, and the phrase

“never a dull moment” aptly describes their life together. “You never know who is gonna turn up here for a party,” explains Jennifer. From the waves I observed and the honks heard, I can tell their Chickasaw Gardens friends are delighted to have them as neighbors.

Judging by the fabulous family photo on page 44, I think readers will agree with me that Jennifer and Jason D. Williams look right at home in the Gardens. I for one am proud to count myself as a new friend and now a devoted fan of this talented couple.

top and left: The expansive and beautiful backyard is one of the largest in Chickasaw Gardens, which was originally planned by a master gardener and is now a source of great pleasure for the Williamses. above: The little breakfast room is the perfect place to start the day.

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A

S P E C I A L

S U P P L E M E N T T O

M E M P H I S

M A G A Z I N E

DR. ALTHA

STEWART

on MEMPHIS and PSYCHIATRY ^6

by samuel x. cicci

Dr. Altha Stewart

F

or Dr. Altha Stewart, helping people has been a lifelong passion. As an associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Center for Health in Justice Involved Youth at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Stewart has spent years in service to the community. Now, she has the chance to take her ideas to the international stage as the first African-American to be elected president of the American Psychiatric Association, the largest psychiatric organization in the world. Memphis magazine sat down with Stewart to discuss her time in Memphis and the biggest psychiatric issues facing the city.

Memphis: Let’s dive right in. Why did you decide to focus on psychiatry?

Dr. Altha Stewart: I like people. I wanted to be in medicine, but I wanted to be in the part of medicine where you could actually work with people and not just focus on their illness. Psychiatry affords me the opportunity to have a strong therapeutic relationship with patients, but also to engage with them in a personal, intimate way around how I can be helpful.

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While there is a privatized sector of this field, what made you want to go into public health?

I like to think it’s the family business. Everyone in my family has worked in the public sector, either in government, in public jobs, or in federal positions as civilians.

What was it like growing up for you in Memphis?

I grew up in Memphis in the late 1950s, 1960s.

It was kind of an interesting time, a time of transition. I was in the 10th grade when Martin Luther King was assassinated here.

I was born into the segregated South, and then grew up in the Civil Rights era up to and including his assassination. I went to a public school, Carver High School, which is now closed. But I graduated from Sacred Heart High School for girls, which is also now closed. I’m the person that if you do the background check on, my high school is closed, my college changed names, my medical school was merged and has a new name. All of the background checks will lead you to believe that I’m making things up.

Now you’re the president of the oldest medical society in America.

That’s right. Quite a jump for a girl who doesn’t have a background. Anyway, after high school, I then went to Christian Brothers when it was still Christian Brothers College, an all-boys school. I was in the first class of girls who were actually admitted to the school in 1970. Shortly after, I think in the 1980s, at some point it became Christian Brothers University with all of the big departments that it’s got now. But that was my beginning.

What was your experience as one of the first female students at the university?

It was wonderful. I think there were about 20 or so women who lived on campus, and I was one of them. We had hundreds of boys as our friends of course, and big brothers. It was an interesting time at the school, because it was the 1970s, and there was a lot of change in town, and some of that change was also being experienced on campus. The guys were really very wonderful to us. Most of them really did think of us as little sisters. I don’t recall there being a lot of relationships between the girls and the boys on campus, but a lot of them adopted us as their little sisters and took real good care of us. All the girls lived on the top floor of what was then the only dorm.

There was a nun as the resident advisor. But she couldn’t hear very well, which made for interesting curfew.

How did the administration adapt to having a new type of student body?

I think the Brothers were ready for it. At that point, there were probably more brother professors than laymen professors. They’d made the conscious decision to go coed, I’m sure in part because of financial reasons. But, I don’t remember there being a major problem on campus. It was even back then a diverse student body; we had students who came from all over the world. Back then it was mostly sciences and engineering, with some accounting and I guess what we call the liberal arts.

Now, it’s a massive university structure with all kinds of wonderful areas of study. They just

“Psychiatry affords me the opportunity to have a strong therapeutic relationship with patients, but also to engage with them in a personal, intimate way around how I can be helpful.” gave me an honorary doctorate of sciences when I spoke at the commencement this year.

After attending CBU, can you trace your professional path until you arrived here at UTHSC? I quickly left Memphis, because as I said, it was the 1970s, and things were still a little turbulent. I went to Philly to medical school. I stayed there on and off for 20 years.

Moved around to New York and Detroit, and ran large public mental health systems in those places over the course of the last two or three decades now.

Did you ever think that you’d want to return to Memphis?

No, I actually never imagined returning to Memphis. I came back for family reasons and decided to stay. Then, I got involved with some things in the community around improving mental health and got pulled into working in a community program, and run-

ning a federal grant, and then working in the county on special projects. Then I was introduced to this person, the former dean of the College of Medicine, who recruited me to come and start the Center for Health in Justice Involved Youth based on my work over the last seven years.

Tell us about the Center’s mission.

The Center’s mission is to identify and keep at-risk youth out of the juvenile justice system, or if they’re in, to keep them from going deeper and get them out as quickly as possible. We are not a service provider, we do training; we do some specialized service identification is the way we look at it. We know which providers offer which kind of service, and so we help to coordinate and serve as a clearing house for the community around where those services are. We also support the planning and development of much-needed new services. We do a little workforce development in the course of that training. We do a lot of community involvement, community engagement, community education around mental illness, around trauma, around adverse childhood experiences and those things, which are impacting how kids get into the justice system.

Does that tie directly into combatting the school-to-prison pipeline trend?

We’re part of the group that is trying to disrupt that school-to-prison pipeline. We work very closely with Shelby County Schools in the area of truancy, which is sometimes the first step onto the path into the pipeline. We actually work with providers who do screenings at the truancy meetings to identify those kids who have challenges that we aren’t addressing, which are resulting in them getting into trouble in school, which results in them being suspended, expelled, and then getting into more trouble and on the path into the justice system.

I know in the past, mental health has been a taboo subject. Has there has been a strong community response?

Are you finding appropriate allies here that really can help with your work?

There’s still significant stigma. What we try to do is break down all of the barriers that we can that contribute to people having those misunderstandings, misconceptions, and sometimes deliberate misrepresentation of the facts. But there’s still an awful lot of J U L Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 53

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stigma, and we spend a fair amount of time here at the Center working directly with folks in the community, especially families of kids who’ve been targeted to go into the system, or who were identified as having problems that will result in them going in the system. We spend a lot of time working with those families in those communities, helping them to understand what the system is and isn’t, what mental health treatment does and does not do, and how to best access the treatment that really addresses your child’s specific need.

One day we will be. There’s a team now that works with us on a variety of projects that we have. We’re recipients of some funding for the Children’s Services Department to disseminate into this community an understanding of how adverse childhood experiences, early childhood trauma impacts children in their development and puts them on a path for out-of-home placement as well as serious illness in their adult life.

We have those things and we have a staff that works with that who are based right here in the Center. We have some research under way now, where we’re looking at the

What would you say are the biggest mental health concerns facing Memphis?

Inadequate resources, inadequate resources, and then there is inadequate resources. By that, I’m only somewhat facetious, because there are lots of people providing service. They tend to fall in a very traditional pattern. For many of the youth and families who need those services, the traditional model simply does not work. The traditional model is “you know you have a problem, you go ask for help, you get an appointDr. Altha Stewart received an honorary award from the ment,” but that’s realTennessee State Legislature in April 2017. ly not how it works in the community. Most of the time, because of the stigma, people prevalence of trauma in kids who are in don’t recognize that it’s a mental health probthe juvenile justice system, in detention in lem. In the black community for example, that system, because across the country, the many people see mental illness as a moral, data supports the fact that for kids who are character, or as a personality flaw that you in the detention setting, up to 70 percent don’t have enough faith, that you’re just lazy of them have had at least one episode of and weak, and can snap out of it. serious trauma. Most have had up to four.

In other communities, it’s considered an When you calculate the kind of trauma embarrassment to the family to seek help. and the amount of it, it’s cumulative. These In some communities, people don’t trust the are kids who are almost set up to wind up providers of services, because they’ve lived in negative outcome situations. There is that piece that contributes to my having no typiin places where those are the people who cal day. On any given day I might start at the help imprisoned people, illegally, and keep juvenile court in meetings around helping to people under lock and key because of their beliefs. There are all kinds of things going plan for programs, or training staff, in how on in this community alone that contribute to be more trauma informed. I might then to that kind of myth and stereotype about be in the community doing a presentation mental illness that keeps people from comto community folks about what it takes to ing into service. be a trauma informed community so that we can all be part of the resiliency that our kids I imagine being the director of need. I might end the day at a meeting at a the Center comes with its own church helping the clergy understand how set of challenges. What are your they can use their pulpit to help craft a posiday-to-day duties? tive message of hope when it comes to seekRight now we are not a physical location. ing treatment. Most people don’t understand

that mental illnesses are brain diseases, just like your heart or your lungs or your liver, or any other organ in your body. Your brain can have a disease. That’s what mental illness is.

These are very treatable illnesses, we’ve got wonderful and effective treatments, but we’ve got to get people to understand that they work, and that if they need them, they should not be embarrassed or ashamed of seeking that help.

If the Center gets its own dedicated space, how do you see it expanding from there?

I think the brick and mortar will just be a central core location. We will always do the bulk of our work in the community.

That’s what this is all about. One of the things that was most helpful in securing my recruitment here was the notion that the university wanted to phase outward into the community. Taking the best resource that is the brainpower, and the human resource within the walls of this university out into a community that very much needs it is my goal. I don’t ever intend to sit for eight hours a day in an office. We will always be out in the community.

It would be nice to have a place where we had an established base to kind of come back to, but if we never had a brick and mortar, we would still be in the community.

You were recently elected president of the American Psychiatric Association, and are now the first African-American president of the organization. What does it mean to be leading this organization that allows you to focus on your passion?

It’s obviously quite an honor. I’m deeply grateful to my colleagues who elected me and entrusted me with leading this organization over the next year. It’s also a tremendous responsibility both because it is the largest psychiatric organization in the world, and the oldest in the United States. We’ve been around longer than the American Medical Association. We preceded them by three years. We are an old, established, very large international organization. We are the voice of psychiatry here and internationally. That’s a tremendous responsibility to shoulder. Being the first African American comes with its own set of challenges, responsibilities, and

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sense of accomplishment, of course. But there is a lot of responsibility in being president of an association that has over 37,890 members in the United States and abroad. That’s a lot of people looking for something.

Are there plenty of foreign members?

Yes. We have many [around 2,000] international members. But we are a presence around the globe. We partner with people around research and training initiatives, and trading ideas about best practices in terms of services. There are places in the rest of the world that may have only one psychiatrist for every 100,000 of the population. They manage to provide some level of care as best they can.

In places in the United States, we’re grossly underserved: the rural areas, the Appalachia area, some parts of the Southwest, certain parts of the Upper Midwest, where there may be limited number of doctors. There are models around the world that we are looking at. We’ve shared the model of assertive community treatment, having people in teams on the street to take care of people, industry, we’ve partnered with people to create those models for them in their areas. Memphis, as you may or may not know, is home to The Crisis Intervention Team Model, where police and mental health professionals work together. That’s now a model that’s international. While it wasn’t a part of the development of APA, certainly psychiatrist members of the APA are aware of CIT, and promote the use of that model to reduce the negative outcomes when police interact with people with mental illness.

As the president, are there any special areas you’d like to focus on, or any new changes you’d like to implement specifically?

Not so much new changes, but my areas of focus over the next year are going to be engaging younger members who are much more tech savvy and social justice-minded around how they can become more involved in the APA and move into leadership positions.

Because the future of psychiatry belongs to them. I want to be part of helping them get ready for their future. I want to continue our work on the global scene, and even scale it up if possible. Thinking of models of care that are effectively used in other parts of the country, and how in some parts of our country those are the kinds of models we ought to take a look at, I’d like to take a look at more of those things. Then, because of what’s happening generally in the country around diversity and exclusion, we have a major initiative at the APA around diversity and inclusion, that I’d like to see expanded. Certainly, coming from Memphis, there is a special place in my heart for working on these race relations kinds of things. The APA has taken some tremendous

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That remains to be seen. Certainly I’m going to use whatever I have available to me on the national scene to help move the needle on some of the issues we have here, and I hope vice versa, some of what I know from having lived in Memphis at the beginning of my life, and now back again, with respect to all of these things. Memphis is big on the

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really addresses your child’s specific need.” global scene also. You can’t be an international organization and not think globally.

There is a lot to learn about how you interact with people in different places. There’s a lot of cross cultural understanding right here in Memphis because of the make-up of our population being so diverse. The university I think has a lot to offer in terms of what we do that will impact nationally.

On a more local level, what can the community be doing to help with the stigma against mental health?

I think as we move into the community, having people out there who are champions, who both understand and buy into the notion that mental illnesses are real, but effective treatments are available. Helping to spread that word as credible messengers in the community will be the most help. I think communities being understanding, and supportive of people with mental illness. The average person with mental illness who is hospitalized does not get visits from friends and others. If you go into the hospital because you got appendicitis and you have surgery, your hospital room is fi lled with balloons, you get flowers when you go

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home, as soon as you’re able to eat you get a casserole. That’s sort of the picture of “we’re here for you.” For people with mental illness, that is often not the picture. Frequently people don’t want to be around them. They’re isolated; families with children who have these problems are typically the families who can’t come to family gatherings because the kids act out, they can’t have their kid go to someone else’s birthday party because they never know what’s going to happen. No one comes to their party if they throw one, because they don’t want to be around them. These are people, especially the kids, who are very isolated, and who don’t get a chance to have kind of normal social interactions. These are families that are really struggling to be involved and en-

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gaged with their support networks, which is why it’s so important that we work with churches and community organizations, because that’s where people go for help.

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We’ll have a big annual meeting in San Francisco this year as part of our celebration.

In terms of local things, we’re just going to continue to do the work we do here at the Center, continue to spread the word about de-stigmatizing mental illness, and continue to work on improving the kinds of services that people get based on what they need.

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REmodel

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Your 2018 Guide to Making the Most of Your Space With summer in full swing, our second installment of Remodel Memphis highlights outdoor living. A patio, a pergola, a pool, or an outdoor kitchen can add just what you’ve needed to better enjoy the space right outside your door.

On the following pages, we feature two such projects — along with before-and-after photos — and talk with the happy homeowners whose dream homes have become reality with the help of local professionals. — by Shara Clark

a special supplement to

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Chairman’s Message John Heard, Remodelers Council

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ne of the absolute joys of living in Memphis is that there are not too many days in a year when we can’t enjoy outdoor living. That trend is coming through in the new home side as we see more and more new homes adding fabulous outdoor living space with everything from high-performance entertainment systems to built-in cooking islands to covered dining areas. Not surprisingly, existing homeowners are looking for the same amenities.

With this in mind, we have selected outdoor living as the theme for this issue of Remodel Memphis. The one thing you all need to know about this trend is that it is not only happening in new homes. There is an increasing number of homeowners who are converting their backyard space into a modern living space.

When we think of making home improvements, the interior of many homes tends to get the most focus. But there is also a lot of potentially great living space just outside your door.

If you are thinking about creating some year-round outdoor living space, you need to start off on the right foot with a properly

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installed and graded patio of stone or concrete, a place you can enjoy meals or just have a comfortable space to relax with friends and family. Some go further and create an outdoor kitchen, complete with a grill, sink, refrigerator, countertop, and storage space, often built right into a patio’s stonework. Remember to buy furniture, rugs, and accessories that have been designed for outdoor or outdoor/indoor use.

Another more recent trend is having a skilled professional install a freestanding brick or stone fireplace near a seating or entertaining area in your backyard.

It can create a sense of privacy while still leaving you out in nature, as well as provide a welcome glow and warmth into the fall months. Likewise, fire pits can be permanently installed to provide a safe, appealing glow to your outdoor gathering.

Adding the correct structure can break up, instead of block out, the daylight sun with wooden structures like pergolas to bring some welcome shade without creating a barrier between you and the outdoors you are enjoying. At night, these same structures can feature lighting elements designed specifically for outdoor use to add a subtle but helpful glow in the evening. Lighting can also be put to great use along your patio and walkways, providing a lit space for safety and appeal without taking away from the nighttime ambience.

Whatever your project, large or small, you can rely on the professional remodeler members of the West Tennessee Home Builders Association. Visit us at yourhomebuilders.org for more details.

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President’s Message Dave Moore, West Tennessee Home Builders Association

CUSTOM HOMES RENOVATIONS & ADDITIONS

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Dave Moore, WTNHBA President

W

e get a lot of calls from West Tennesseans who are thinking about remodeling some aspect of their home. The number one question is “Where do we start?”

Are you among the growing number of homeowners who are choosing to remodel their homes to fit their changing needs, rather than selling their home and buying another one? If so, you’ll soon learn that even simple remodels can cost more than you originally thought. With that in mind, it’s important to find a contractor you can trust.

As a remodeler for more than three decades, I have always offered my customers some sound advice by referring to my top five tips on how to make the right decisions when you are seeking, evaluating, and hiring a remodeler.

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The best place to start is the directory of remodelers at our home builders association online at yourhomebuilders.org. A professional remodeler will uphold the highest professional and ethical standards in the industry. We can also help you find a remodeler who specializes in a specific type of remodeling if you need it, such as a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) to help modify your home to better suit you as you age.

2. Do Your Research Look at the prospective remodeler’s company website and social media accounts to see photos of their work. Visit review sites like

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HomeAdvisor, Houzz, etc., to see more pictures and to read reviews of remodeling companies.

Take the good with the bad when reading online reviews and focus on the descriptions of experiences and qualities that are most important to you as a customer. Ask for referrals from friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, and others who have had remodeling work done on comparable homes under similar schedules.

3. Create Your Short List Once you have a list of potential home remodelers for your project, do a little more background research to verify that they are appropriately licensed and have a good business track record.

Look them up with your local or state office of consumer protection. Verify that the remodeler has the appropriate licenses and registrations.

4. Start Taking Notes When you begin meeting with remodelers, you want to find out information such as: ◗ How long have they been in business in your community? Can they provide references from customers and suppliers they work with? ◗ Do they carry insurance that protects you from claims arising from property damage or job-site injuries? Ask for a copy of the insurance certificates. ◗ What is their working knowledge of the many types and ages of homes in the area, and what sort of issues could arise? ◗ Do they arrange for the building permit? (The person who obtains the permit is the contractor of record and therefore liable for the work.) ◗ Do they provide a written estimate before beginning the work, and a detailed contract that spells out the work that will and will not be performed, protects both of you, provides a fair payment schedule contract, and complies with local, state, and federal laws? ◗ Do they offer a written warranty?

5. Trust Your Instincts Make sure you are compatible with the contractor you select. Beginning your project with mutual expectations will go a long way toward a smooth remodel. You’ll spend a lot of time with your remodeler, so it’s important to have a good rapport and trust in him or her.

If you take the time to do your homework, a remodeling project can be a rewarding experience and can certainly help increase the value of your home.

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From House to Home

This large-scale remodel brought an older house up-to-date.

PROJECT 1

BEFORE

Architect: David Anderson, David Anderson Architect Builder: Ryan Anderson, RKA Construction Interior Designer: Selena McAdams Landscape Designer: Marley Fields, Fields Landscape Architecture

By Shara Clark

I

t was like it was meant to be,” says an East Memphis homeowner who made the seemingly impossible possible by transforming her grandparents’ former home, built in the early 1950s — into a modern-day oasis. With the help of local professionals — architect David Anderson, builder Ryan Anderson, interior designer Selena McAdams, landscape designer Marley Fields, and others — the home in which her mother and aunts grew up, and in which she spent a lot of time as a child herself, is now her very own dream home.

“I always loved the house,” says the homeowner. She and her husband are in their 40s and have two children, a teenager and a 10-year-old. “I spent a lot of time there [as a child] and always had a connection with the house and wished that one day I could live there.”

And since last December, she has. Her family moved in upon completion of extensive renovations that took more than a year to complete. While the home’s interior was re-worked and reimagined — in part by turning the original laundry room into an office, adding a master bathroom on the west side, converting what was the living room into a generous dining area — the essence of the home remains, which was important to the homeowner as the project took shape.

As shown in before-and-after images (at right), the major remodel done on this East Memphis home not only visually transformed the exterior but also created an entirely new outdoor living space for the homeowner via the installment of a pool, cabana, pool house, and more.

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Above: The homeowner can’t wait to add a swing to the front porch, one of her favorite childhood spaces.

Right and below: The family had always wanted a pool, and now it’s become the pefect gathering place for summer entertaining.

While much was done to make the inside space work for the family’s lifestyle, emphasis was placed as well on outdoor living. “Neither of us ever had a pool, but we always wanted one,” the homeowner says, speaking about herself and her husband. “Our intention was never just to build something like that for ourselves, but we wanted to share that with our family and friends. We love to entertain, and the house that we moved from was much smaller, but we always had friends and family over then.”

With an added “destination pool,” designed by Marley Fields, that sits at the back of the property’s one-and-a-half acres, a pool house with a full kitchen and bathroom, a cabana, and a vaulted family room with an attached screened porch (which connects to the home’s main kitchen through a sun-filled breakfast area), the backyard space is now perfect for entertaining. “Yesterday, we had friends over, and the kids all swam in the pool,” the homeowner says. “We literally never went in the main house. We were just out there all day.”

To make this dream reality, the homeowners did extensive research and interviews when choosing their team.

“We interviewed a lot of architects. Way more than maybe we should have,” the homeowner says. “To me that was the key because the house was sentimental.

Most people would have just knocked it down and built a new home there. But we didn’t. We wanted to keep within the original style of the home.”

While looking at houses prior to purchasing her late grandparents’ home, they’d toured a few designed by architect David Anderson and ultimately chose to work with him. “He was so easy to work with,” the homeowner says. “He saw how important it was for us to stay within the character of the original house. I didn’t want it to feel like a totally different place — and it really doesn’t.”

With help from interior designer Selena McAdams, she was able to maintain the soul of the home by incorporating important nostalgic items while fitting the new design. “I was able to reuse a lot of my grandmother’s things, like a chandelier that really meant a lot to her, and several other things that we kept,” says the homeowner.

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“And the fireplace is essentially the same, so when you walk in the house, it’s still the same feel as it was.”

The homeowner says they interviewed several builders as well. They knew RKA Construction did great work and had previously worked on projects with Anderson. “I think the most important decision we made was really taking the time to interview several people,” she says. “When you’re going to do a project of this size — you will pay a little bit more, but you want to hire someone that you know has a proven track record and will get the job done.”

From the initial meeting with the architect in 2015, planning to completion, the team worked closely together for more than two years to bring the

Hot Housing Trend: Outdoor Kitchens

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any homeowners enjoy the summer months — and sometimes spring, fall and winter, too — with the sizzle of their outdoor grills. But running back and forth between the kitchen and the barbecue can be a hassle.

Outdoor kitchens make life easier for those who enjoy grilling their meals and entertaining outdoors, making your deck or patio an extension of your family’s living space. It also can enhance your home’s resale value.

With proper planning, you also can enjoy your meals in the great outdoors. Here are some factors to consider when determining if an outdoor kitchen is right for your family.

What works best in your space?

A vaulted family room with an attached screen porch connects to the home’s main kitchen through a sun-filled breakfast area.

homeowners’ vision to life. But the biggest contribution she believes they made to this house was transforming the outdoor living space. “We love the yard; it’s so big,” she says. “We love to be outside all the time. That was one thing that my grandparents really didn’t utilize as much: the yard.

“We added the screened-in porch and the cabana and the pool house and pool.

If we left a stamp on this house, I really think it would be more about the outside than the inside.”

Some things remain the same, like the home’s front porch, where the homeowner remembers spending time as a child. She can’t wait to add a swing. But for now, the backyard has everything the family needs to relax, enjoy summer, and entertain guests.

“The whole thing’s just really been surreal. I still can’t believe that we live here, that this is our home,” the homeowner says. “I think about my grandmother and my grandfather every single day. I live in their house.”

Outdoor kitchens can be as elaborate — or as simple — as you’d like. But to make the most of your new space, you need to carefully consider the design.

Think about how the space will be used. Do you want guests to eat outside or just mingle while you cook? What features (pool, trees, etc.) are already in your backyard and need to be worked around? Is there enough ventilation area so smoke from the grill can blow away?

Have a professional check the patio or deck where you plan on building your outdoor kitchen. While most can support the additional weight, you may need to add structural support.

Make sure there is plenty of space for people to gather without getting in the way or being too close to open flames. Typically, there should be 3 feet of space on either side of the grill for work space and food preparation.

How often will you be using your outdoor kitchen?

This will determine numerous factors, including the equipment you purchase. If you will use your outdoor kitchen just in the summer, a grill with wheels can be moved into the garage and protected from the elements once the seasons change. These types of grills are the most common and come in a wide variety of sizes and prices with a range of features.

If you want to use your outdoor kitchen year-round, consider a built-in grill. Look for one with side burners in the base unit that allow for cooking at different temperatures simultaneously. This base can provide extra countertop and storage space.

Make sure the grill is in an area that can withstand high temperatures and is impervious to stray embers or sparks, such as a stone patio. You won’t be able to take it with you if you move, so think carefully before investing a lot of money in a permanent grill.

Take into account your lighting needs. If you eat or entertain into the dark evening, you’ll want direct light for the work area so you can monitor the progress of the meat.

Softer lighting works well for socializing areas.

What other equipment do you need?

Standard grill accessories include griddles for grilling fish and vegetables, a meat thermometer, and tongs. An exhaust hood for a built-in grill will keep smoke out of your guests’ eyes. Refrigerators with ice makers are ideal for storing beverages and food that needs to be kept cold. An outdoor sink makes prepping and cleaning veggies an easy task. Unless you plan on washing dishes outside, a cold water connection is all you need.

For small appliances and stereos, you’ll need outdoor GFCI outlets. Consult with a professional electrician for local code requirements. Consider purchasing patio heaters or an outdoor fireplace if you plan on grilling in the chilly months.

For those days with inclement weather, you’ll want to get a cover for your grill. Select weatherproof materials for countertops, cabinets, and other elements of your kitchen.

Stainless steel, slate, tile, stucco, and stone all work well.

A large tent or outdoor umbrella can cover your guests and equipment and provide shelter from the sun or rain.

Reprinted courtesy of the National Association of Home Builders

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Creating Space The addition of an adjustable pergola made this home’s deck a year-round living area.

PROJECT 2 Design/Build: Southern Screens

BEFORE

By Shara Clark

R

ebecca and Tommy Dulaney loved their weekend getaway home on Dalewood Shore Lake in Lauderdale, Mississippi — but something was missing.

“The house had a deck, but wow, the hot Mississippi summer made it almost unusable,” Rebecca, originally from upstate New York, says. “I struggled with what to do to solve this problem.”

The Memphis-based company Southern Screens was installing door screens on the Dulaneys’ home, and Rebecca mentioned her issue to one of the staff.

“It was really just serendipitous,” she says. “They sent me a 3D video of the Arcadia pergola, and it seemed like the perfect solution without getting into major reconstruction or construction of the house, extending the roofline, and all that you would incur with that.”

According to Southern Screens owner Mike Reilly, the Arcadia adjustable louvered roof allows you to create a whole new living space, “a variable environment that you control.” The structure is constructed of powder-coated aluminum, which requires zero maintenance and will never need repainting. “And it’s P H O T O GR A P HS C O UR T E S Y S O U T HE RN S C RE E NS

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The before images at left show the lake home’s uncovered deck, mostly unusable under the summer sun. The Arcadia adjustable louvered roof created a whole new living space, so the Dulaneys can now better enjoy the outdoors.

The motorized, powder-coated aluminum structure requires zero maintenance and can be controlled manually, via remote control, or with a smart device.

easy to clean,” Reilly says. “Unlike wood, it’s not going to show any deterioration. You’re not going to get splintering, warping, knots. It’s one of the most elegant systems I’ve ever seen.”

As part of the service, Southern Screens designs the project so that the

Arcadia fits your space perfectly, and then produces a three-dimensional “flythrough” for clients before the build.

“You can see exactly how it will look on your house before we ever turn screw one,” says Reilly.

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Aerial views show the full Arcadia structure, which Southern Screens designed and built to fit the Mississippi retreat. The adjustable pergola allows as much or little sunlight in as wanted. Equipped with ceiling fans and LED lighting, the roof provides a space for outside enjoyment day or night. The Dulaneys’ spot is now “the entertainment venue” at Dalewood Shore Lake.

convince the Dulaneys, and Rebecca couldn’t be happier with the finished product. The Arcadia roof allows them to control the outdoor living environment — adjusting the amount of shade, or completely closing it during rain showers.

“The louvers can be adjusted, so you can get a little bit of sun; the early morning sun is delightful,” says Rebecca. “We can adjust it to regulate the sunlight as the sun moves during the day, picking up a little of that late afternoon sun while still being shielded from the harshest part of the hot sun. And when it rains, it’s given us an entirely new living area, totally protected from the elements. And the louvers shut automatically at the first rain drop.”

The Dulaneys’ Arcadia is equipped with ceiling fans and LED lighting. The fans, she says, are a great inclusion. “They move the air quietly but nicely.” While the structure is equipped with sensors for automatic adjustment during rain, for example, the system can also be adjusted manually, and it can even be controlled remotely via mobile phones.

The lake home’s Arcadia was installed

last spring, and Rebecca says, “We have been in total enjoyment of the spring rains, and now with the heat, it’s given us a whole new sense of outdoor living.”

The Dulaneys’ weekend retreat has always been a gathering place but is now even more so. “It’s a great gathering spot,” Rebecca says. “We have many friends that we’ve met over the last year being out there, and it’s just become the entertainment venue at the lake. It’s a lot of fun.”

And perhaps the best part for the Dulaneys was the ease with which the project, which Rebecca says took three full days, unfolded. “We were really reluctant of getting in a major renovation and reconstruction because we wouldn’t have had the use of the house,” she says. “With this, we had full use of the space while they were doing it, there was no interruption at all, and we could still go out there and enjoy the premises. We didn’t have to disrupt our lives.

“This is a big thing you can do in a very small way,” says Rebecca. “It has been a big addition to our lifestyle yet with minimal effort. It’s 100 percent enjoyment, morning, noon, and night; good weather and bad weather. It has absolutely been ideal.”

THE NAME THAT DEFINED OUTDOOR LIVING HAS REDEFINED INDOOR LIVING

West Tennessee Home Builders Association Remodelers Council John Heard Chair Ryan Anderson Immediate Past Chair John Catmur Liason

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John Heard OFFICE

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FAX

Home Builders 901.756.1165

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COME IN TODAY Enjoy the Great Outdoors with a Deck or Patio

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new deck or patio can be the perfect gathering place, adding a new dimension to your yard and creating space that you didn’t even know you had.

A well-planned outdoor living space can become a home owner’s backyard getaway, but the wrong deck or patio can end up as unused dead space. Keep the following in mind and you’ll find yourself enjoying the sunshine from your outdoor retreat in no time.

Patio or Deck?

When deciding on whether you’d like your new outdoor haven to be a patio or deck, first do some research. Some areas have building codes or terrains that dictate one or the other. Your local home builders association can be a good source of information.

What kind of budget are you looking at? Decks can be a more affordable option than patios, but concrete, while more expensive, tends to be the sturdiest material with the lowest maintenance needs.

Several factors can determine whether a deck or patio is best for you: ◗ How much weight does your space need to hold? If you are considering a huge hot tub or spa, a patio might support its weight better. ◗ What about climate? Will the surface become too hot to walk on during summer’s peak? ◗ Does rain or snow create runoff problems on a flat patio surface?

If you have a rough backyard terrain, a raised deck may end up your best choice instead of expensive

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excavation for patios. Likewise, if you dislike dirt or have pets, consider a raised deck. Remnants from sand and stone patios easily find their ways into clean houses. A raised deck also may work as a better option for lowlying yards that tend to become soggy when it rains.

Choosing the Design Once you’ve determined whether a deck or patio is best for your home, the possibilities are endless. For home owners on a budget, Tim Taylor, owner of Landscape Creations in Johnson City, Tennessee, suggests a sand and stone or brick patio. Stone, brick, and concrete pavers are available in a range of styles and colors and are durable. Remember that site preparation is important for drainage, grade, and proper placement, and can be a lot of work for the DIYer. Weeds also can pose more of a problem with patios. When in doubt, leave it to a professional with the experience, not to mention equipment, you need.

“Flagstone and concrete patios also are popular among homeowners,” Taylor says. “Remember to allow for expansion, however, to prevent cracking.” Cracking in concrete is inevitable, but it can be minimized with the proper installation.

Materials Matter Most decks are made of wood, ranging from pressure-treated pine and fir to more durable — and pricey — woods such as red cedar, redwoods, and tropical hardwoods. No matter what the type, wood decks re-

quire maintenance and even then, with less expensive woods, swelling and warping will still occur over time.

To reduce the amount of maintenance required, consider composite and vinyl decking. These materials are less susceptible to swelling and also are more resistant to insects. The cost, however, can be significantly higher, particularly if coordinating railing and balustrade systems.

Concrete decks, while much more expensive than wood or composite, are the most durable and require only the occasional pressure wash and periodic re-sealing. And no longer just drab grey, concrete is now available in a nearly limitless variety of styles, colors, and patterns.

Location, Location, Location Before beginning your outdoor project, assess your space. Where do you have the best sunlight? Do you want to use your space for dining or grilling? If so, do you have a large enough area for tables and chairs? Is there one area of the yard that is quieter and has more privacy from neighbors? A good home builder, remodeler or landscape architect can help you design a master plan that’s right for your space and your ideas.

Once your patio or deck is built, only your imagination limits the extent of your retreat. Plants, flowers, trellises, decorative screens, garden sculptures, fountains, and furnishings can all enhance your backyard haven.

Reprinted courtesy of the National Association of Home Builders

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CUSTOM HOMES | RENOVATIONS l ADDITIONS

901-674-5522 | rka.build

RKA-AD-MemMag-092217.pdf

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real estate ALL-STARS

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EACH CLIENT has different needs and desires when it comes to property decisions and I customize my business and services directly to your needs. My philosophy about Real Estate is this: I feel that I am a facilitator of information to you, the client. It is my job to educate you on the current market statistics and counsel you as we go along. It is also my job to make sure your transactions go as smoothly and hassle free as possible.

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ALTA SIMPSON IS one of the most experienced and knowledgeable real estate agents in the Memphis metropolitan area. She is a designated Realtor member of the Memphis Area Association of Realtors and is a member of the Tennessee Association of Realtors.

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If you’re looking for market savvy, experience, integrity, and professionalism in a real estate agent, call Alta Simpson.

WITH OVER 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE in Real Estate Sales, Jennifer joined the Hobson Realtor team in 2016. Now a 15-year resident of Memphis, and a transplant from the Washington D.C. area, I could not have found a more perfect city to be a part of. As a restoration hobbyist this city has some of the most fantastic architecture in the country. It’s a privilege to help find the perfect location for a buyer or assist a seller in moving to the next chapter in their life. Whichever role I’m in as a Realtor, all are an equally satisfying experience.

GAY YOUNG IS one of the most well-respected and sought-after real estate agents in the Memphis and North Mississippi areas for both buying and selling homes. A resident of Collierville, Gay is involved in both community and church activities and is a Realtor resource for the many clients and contacts she calls “friends.” After a successful 20+ year career in the medical field in marketing, management and sales, Gay went to work fulltime in real estate with Keller Williams Realty, the largest real estate company in the World. Earning the Lifetime Member of the Multi-Million Dollar Club designation in record time, Gay works diligently to serve her clients’ best interests in their home purchase or sale. Energetic, professional and a top-notch negotiator with integrity are words to describe Gay’s style of taking care of clients. REAL Trends recognizes Gay as one of the top Realtors in America.

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ROAD TRIP

THE

QUEEN PHOTOGRAPH BY F11PHOTO | DREAMSTIME

CITY

THE FAMILIAR AND THE NEW MINGLE IN CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA.

^6

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by chris m c coy

here are people who like to drive in the mountains, and people who don’t. If you fall into the latter category, you’re better off flying (non-stop, on American) to Charlotte, North Carolina. After crossing the east-west length of Tennessee, arrow-straight I-40 climbs the Appalachians and gets twisty. The final leg of the nine-hour drive can be exhilarating or stressful, but on a sunny summer day, the views are incredible.

Tennessee and North Carolina have a lot in common, culturally. For more than a century, from 1663 when King Charles II signed the Carolina Charter to 1789 when the state of North Carolina ceded the land west of the highest ridge from Stone Mountain in Virginia to the Georgia border, we were the same state. Waves of Scots-Irish immigrants pushed west, displacing the native populations, which had been devastated by disease and war. Alongside the yeoman farmers, a large population of African-descended slaves toiled on the Piedmont’s plantations.

Charlotte was named for the wife of English King George III, earning it the nickname of the Queen City. Its second nickname comes from British General Cornwallis, whose troops were driven from the city by guerrilla warfare during the Revolutionary War. He called Charlotte “The Hornet’s Nest.”

The city’s NBA team reclaimed the name Hornets in 2014.

The Hornets play in the Spectrum Center,

smack dab in the middle of downtown. Like Memphis, the 2005 construction of the 19,000seat arena heralded a revitalization of the city’s downtown area. The once-sleepy area has become a hub for banking, with Bank of America and Wells Fargo both running their East Coast operations from headquarters here. Charlotte today is a forest of cranes constructing gleaming towers.

One of the most recent additions is the Kimpton Tryon Park Hotel, a brand-new 19-story luxury hotel in the heart of the Uptown neighborhood. The hotel is in easy walking distance to virtually everything of interest in the area, from the Spectrum Center to the Bank of America Stadium where the Carolina Panthers NFL team brings hoards of fans to town in the fall.

“This used to be a crumbling parking lot,” says Scott Smith, director of event technology at the Kimpton Tryon Park. Now, one of the hottest spots in the city is Merchant and Trade, the hotel’s rooftop bar that pro-

The Levine Museum of the New South is dedicated to sharing the history of the Piedmont from the Civil War to the present.

PHOTOGRAPH BY LAURA JEAN HOCKING

vides visitors sweeping views of downtown to accompany their artisan cocktails. On the ground floor is Angeline’s, a fine-dining restaurant with an Italian bent, offering pizza and pasta selections alongside entrees such as a pork shank osso bucco and bistecca, a generous ribeye dry-aged for 21 days.

Smith grew up in the area and returned to Charlotte after a stint in the military. “It’s almost a big city. But I live in the south part, so I wake up to deer and bunnies in my yard,” he says. “It’s a city, but it’s like being in the country. Charlotte is growing and cleaning up, but it’s still small enough that you get that Southern hospitality.”

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T HE L E V INE MU SE UM OF T HE NE W S OU T H

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s we learn more with each passing year, the history of the South is complicated. The commingling of racial and economic factors has brought out both the best and the worst in people. At the direction of Sally Dalton Robinson and Anne Batton of the Mecklenburg Historical Society, which founded the institution in 1991, The Levine Museum of the New South faces history unflinchingly. Just around the corner from the Spectrum Center, and housed in a beautiful Modernist building, the museum is dedicated to telling the story of the Carolina Piedmont after the Civil War. The centerpiece is the “Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers” exhibit that traces the parallel stories of the African-American community’s struggle to find itself and secure newfound freedoms after Emancipation, and the region’s growing economic influence. The people of the Piedmont largely tell their own story, with plenty of first-person accounts and photographs among the more than 1,000 artifacts on display. The exhibit helps you see through African-American eyes the false start of Reconstruction, through the regression of Jim Crow, and the promise of the Civil Rights era. It also tells the history of the labor movement that arose after the Gilded Age to fight for workers’ rights in a series of strikes in the early twentieth century.

Upstairs is “K(NO)W Justice, K(NO)W Peace,” an exhibit dedicated to preserving the history of the protests against police violence that swept the nation in 2015-16. It’s a remarkable work of real-time curation, filled with ordinary objects turned into artifacts by the sweep of history, like the bandages and rubbing alcohol in a protestor’s ad hoc street medic kit that sits on display not far from a riot cop’s shield and boots.

“It’s the moment we woke from a yearslong ignorance of deep-seated problems in our community,” says Adam Rhew, the associate editor of Charlotte magazine, quoted on a plaque. “It’s the moment we could be lumped in with Ferguson and Baltimore. It’s the moment that will fundamentally change Charlotte. It will be a marker in history for our city, and for me.”

In the museum’s lobby, I met Joe Rogan, who became familiar with the area during his military career, when he was posted at nearby Camp Lejune. “Charlotte is a great city, a growing city,” he says. “I think it’s a city of opportunity. I did 25 years in the Marines, and I noticed a lot of changes here since the early 1990s. It’s really grown up in the last few years. Not only in terms of population, but in terms of attitudes of the people. There have been a lot of people migrating from the North

who have settled here. I’ve heard people say that Charlotte is the new Atlanta.”

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T HE N A S C A R MU SE UM

he most popular museum in Charlotte is the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The sport of stock car racing evolved in the Carolinas with the help of moonshiners who plied the curves of the mountain roads in hot rods beefed up to outrun the law. Now, the curves on the racetracks are even and high-banked to allow drivers to compete at speeds in excess of 200 mph.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame’s most striking feature evokes the sweep of the race track.

Glory Road curves around the perimeter of the huge central exhibition space, lined with

generic, at least until they are joined in the 1990s by Mike Skinner’s Chevy Silverado, representing a growing interest in truck racing.

Where the NASCAR Hall of Fame really excels is in giving people up-close access to a sport that is watched from afar through layers of protective fencing. In one hands-on exhibit, families are invited to try their hand at being a pit crew. The giant, 278-seat High Octane Theater hosts regular race-viewing parties where visitors get spectacular, multiview coverage of NASCAR races on three curved, cinerama-style screens.

The most popular attraction at the museum is the racing simulator. Driving a fast car in a counterclockwise circle may look like a breeze on TV, but strapping into this state-of-

THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF PEOPLE MIGRATING FROM THE NORTH WHO HAVE SETTLED HERE. I’VE HEARD PEOPLE SAY THAT CHARLOTTE IS THE NEW ATLANTA.

Visitors from all over the country flock to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in downtown Charlotte. The Glory Road lets great cars tell the story of the evolution of stock car racing.

PHOTOGRAPH BY LAURA JEAN HOCKING

significant cars from the sport’s 60-year history, beginning, appropriately enough, with a 1952 Hudson Hornet that belonged to pioneering NASCAR driver Marshall Teague; Fireball Roberts’ 1957 Ford Fairlane, complete with tail fins; and the tricked-out 1939 Chevy Coupe that launched “Rapid Roman” Richie Evans on a career that spanned from short track to a record nine NASCAR championships. Moving clockwise around the track, the cars become more modern, their designs more refined and specialized, but also more

the-art, immersive simulator quickly dispels that notion. It’s difficult to even get these mechanical monsters moving in a straight line without spinning out and losing control.

After a preliminary training session, guests race each other in a meticulously rendered virtual environment. Their video game race is projected on a large screen for the rest of the visitors to see. The line for the simulator is always long, with many people buying memberships to the museum just so they can come back and drive again and again.

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CHARLOTTE T HE U. S . N AT ION A L W HI T E WAT E R C E N T E R

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he other sport with deep ties to this part of the country is whitewater rafting. People have long navigated the rivers and streams spilling down from the mountains, first out of necessity, and later because, well, it’s fun. “Between here and Asheville, you’ve got some of the best whitewater rafting in country,” says Eric Osterhus, brand manager for the U.S. National Whitewater

the first time right next to them.”

The artificial river is just the beginning of the Whitewater Center’s attractions. For the less adventurous, there’s flat-water paddling on the Catawba. A ropes course winds through the thick tree canopy. A hundredfoot-tall hawk tower overlooking the entire complex serves as the anchor point for a pair of thousand-foot-long zip lines. Or you could choose to exit the tower by means of a counterweighted jump from the top. “You feel every bit of that hundred feet when you’re up there!” he says.

Osterhus says he was a regular visitor to the center before he “decided to see if I could get paid for my time.” His current favorite activity is relatively new. “We’ve built one of the world’s only deep-water climbing complexes.

These are climbing walls that reach 20, 35, and 45 feet above the water. Then you drop into the water after your climb,” says Osterhus.

T

F OOD A ND DR INK

he craft brewery scene has exploded in recent years,” Osterhus says. “Only six or seven years ago, it felt like there were only a few to choose from.

Now it feels like we’ve got a brewery on every corner. It’s great.”

The local craft brews are well represented at the National Whitewater Center. The beer garden on the island in the middle of the whitewater course features more than 40 local taps. Visitors not wanting to get wet can find entertainment in the weekly River Jam music series, or the monthly festivals, the largest of which is Tuckfest in April, where a diverse, 14-band bill attracts 40,000 people over four days.

Charlotte’s Scotch-Irish heritage means it’s a city that takes St. Patrick’s Day very seriously. At the Whitewater Center, the river is dyed green. Downtown, there’s a charm-

Beginners raft alongside Olympic athletes at the U.S. National Whitewater Center.

PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS MCCOY

Center. “People come from all over the world to paddle on it.”

Located a short drive outside the city limits on the banks of the Catawba River, the Center is a sprawling, unique complex dedicated to the sport. Its centerpiece is the largest man-made recirculating river in the world. Twelve million gallons of water races around two courses, one easy and one hard.

“It’s a very accessible sport, and we give you the resources to learn it here. We teach you how to roll, how to paddle, and how to read water,” says Osterhus.

New rafters are given a safety briefing and kitted out with an intimidating array of life vest, helmet, and paddle before being split into crews and loaded eight at a time into boats. Rowing through the aquatic rollercoaster is the definition of a team-building experience. When the alternative is being tossed into the roiling waters, you and your crew mates quickly learn to work in unison under the command of the knowledgeable coxswain.

As we struggled through the roaring rapids, my boat was easily passed by a muscular woman in a sleek, black kayak emblazoned with the Stars and Stripes and Olympic rings.

The artificial river is not only a tourist attraction, but a training ground for athletes looking to compete in canoe and kayak slalom at the international level. “They train here five days a week during the warmer months of the year,” says Osterhus. “The athletes use this as training, and then you see families rafting for

top: The view from Merchant and Trade, high atop the Kimpton Tryon Park Hotel. Above left: The Charlotte St. Patrick’s Day Parade attracts thousands of revelers from all over the region. Above right: Tasty treats await at Amélie’s French Bakery & Cafe.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY LAURA JEAN HOCKING

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ing local parade that lasts for hours in the morning. Then, many revelers don matching green T-shirts to throw down in a massive pub crawl that takes them from the quaint confines of the Latta Arcade’s Valhalla Pub and Eatery to the sprawling Ink and Ivy sports bar and the Carolina Ale House.

Probably the most inviting spot we found on our trip was Amélie’s French Bakery and Cafe. It somehow manages to feel cozy while occupying a rambling, split-level space

THE ’CUE AT MAC’S SPEED SHOP IS ABSOLUTELY WORLD-CLASS.

Celebrate Freedom Celebrate Freedom

in the heart of downtown. It’s usually filled A Smarter Way to Sculpt ™™ with a cross-section of bankers and other A Smarter Way to Sculpt downtown workers grabbing a quick bite of French breakfast foods, and students from nearby Montreat College and Northwestern University fueling their studies with caffeine.

A Smarter Way to Sculpt ™ Across downtown in the Mint Museum, Halcyon Flavors from the Earth is one of the city’s most striking eateries. The elegant Liberate yourself from that space serves farm-to-table delicacies sourced Liberate yourself from that primarily from the Piedmont. winter bulge.

SculpSure treatments help But I know: The foremost culinary question winter bulge. SculpSure treatments help youThe safely reduce stubborn fat in problem areas on your mind is, how’s the barbecue?

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Piedmont specialty that can contain anything website.com (901) 683-0178 website.com Phone# from chicken to squirrel meat, depending on Phone# what’s easily at hand. It was savory in the extreme, reminding us of a pot roast Advertisement. in soupModel for illustrative purposes only. Individual results may vary and are not guaranteed.

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Cynosure and SculpSure are registered of Cynosure, Inc. can chicken, St. Louis Ribs, and Texas-style Use of photography written permission of Hologic is prohibited.

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Use in of photography beef sausage. After dipping the meats the without written permission of Hologic is prohibited. AMP-729 6/18 variety of provided sauces, including mustard- and vinegar-based versions, we were This is more than a Dumpster — It is a Commitment to Recycling suitably impressed by everything with the exception of the sausage.

As a Memphian writing for Memphis magazine, I’m probably expected to report that the North Carolina barbecue was laughably inferior to ours. And while I will stick up for the Bar-B-Q Shop and Cozy Corner all day long, I must admit that the ’cue at Mac’s Speed Shop is absolutely world-class. But let’s not look at this as a hit against the ever-fragile Everyday is Earth Day at EBOX. Are we on your job?

Memphis civic ego, but instead as an opportunity to discover common ground with some fellow Southerners. That attitude will take you far with your visit to the Queen City.

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J U L Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 79

ASK VANCE

Southland Mall Our trivia expert solves local questions of who, what, when, where, why, and why not. Well, sometimes.

by vance lauderdale

DEAR VANCE: Do you know what happened to that modernistic sculpture that greeted visitors inside Southland Mall?

— r.t., memphis.

above: The sculpture was prominently featured on postcards for Southland Mall and was the cover subject of a 1966 trade magazine. inset: Beverly Pepper puts the final touches on Strands of Mirror.

ments from ‘It’s ridiculous’ to expressions of delight.”

The newspaper noted that the “prize-winning sculpture” had cost the mall $30,000 — but the story didn’t explain what prize it had won, exactly, or who paid for the artwork. What I really wanted to know was who selected the artist, a 24-year-old named Beverly Pepper, who lived — not in Memphis at the time — but in Rome, DEAR R.T.: So sturdily constructed of Italy. And a remarkably talented sculptor stainless-steel beams that it would she was, too. What was her work doing in Southland Mall? have survived a thousand years, Strands of Mirror barely made it past 15.

Digging through files in the MemI’ll tell you the sad story in a moment, phis Room, I turned up a May 1966 copy if you have the time. of Welding Design & Fabrication magazine, When this region’s first shopwhich featured Pepper’s Southland Mall ping mall opened in Whitehaven in piece on the cover. “Her medium is steel, August 1966, our newspapers puband apparently, the bigger the plate, the lished special sections to explain why happier she becomes,” the writer said. “Her Southland was called “The Showlatest sculpture, an abstract called Strands of place of the Mid-South.” With more Mirror, is an exquisite example of bigness. It than 50 stores under one roof, “where towers 18 feet, spreads 14 feet, and weighs 9,000 pounds.” the temperature inside is always 72 Working out of the Steel and Alloy Tank degrees,” it offered big names like Goldsmith’s and Sears along with Company plant in Newark, New Jersey, dozens of smaller shops. Some of Pepper took three months to fabricate “The abstract these were well-known here, such the piece, doing all the cutting, grinding, sculpture Strands of as Baker’s Shoes, Casual Corner, and polishing, and welding herself. “She didn’t Mirror is an exquisite RadioShack. But there were plenty approach her work cautiously; she attacked of oddities at Southland, too. Does it with dedicated enthusiasm,” according example of bigness.” anybody remember the Del D Farm, to the article. “So engrossed was she in her work, she didn’t notice the many scratches, burns, and the Gift Box, Radefeld’s Bakery, or Contour Chairs? smudges she collected.”

What Southland didn’t have — which became a When completed, Strands of Mirror first went on disstaple of malls to come — was a food court. Inside, play in Chicago as the centerpiece of the Steel Service Piccadilly Cafeteria, the Southland Delicatessen, and Gridiron were tucked among the other retailers.

Center Institute’s annual meeting at McCormick Place.

But what it did offer customers in the early years Afterwards, it was loaded onto a special railroad car for was an artwork unlike anything most Memphians had its journey to Memphis, where it was installed in the ever seen. “Strolling along the three-block concourse,” center court of Southland Mall.

As it turns out, Strands was an early work by one of observed The Commercial Appeal, “shoppers find themthe world’s most accomplished steel artisans. Born in selves face to face with an objet d’art that evokes com-

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1922 in New York City, Pepper is still alive today, living in various places around the world, which probably explains why she never answered my pesky emails about this particular sculpture. Who could blame her?

Over the course of a long and illustrious career, she has completed hundreds of massive works, crafting them out of steel, iron, and stone. Along the way, her accomplishments have been recognized with prizes, awards, and honorary degrees. It’s unlikely she would remember something she made more than half a century ago.

So — back to your question, R.T. — what became of it? I hate to say this, but even though Strands of Mirror was prominently featured in Southland’s early promotions (such as the postcard on the opposite page), apparently the mall simply discarded it.

I pestered quite a few people in the local art world about this. Nobody knew what happened to it; to my surprise, most of them didn’t remember it. Finally, I came across a 1981 article in The Commercial Appeal headlined, “Southland Mall Remodeling Underway.”

Uh oh. Among other renovations, the mall’s general manager said that the “9,000-pound steel structure in the existing fountain will be replaced with a more spectacular design.”

Cut apart and discarded? Melted down for scrap?

Are shiny fragments gathering dust in somebody’s backyard? All I can say for sure is that Strands of Mirror no longer graces the fountain of Southland Mall.

The Thelma Lloyd Mystery

DEAR VANCE: Is it true that years ago someone committed suicide by leaping from the top floor of the Sterick Building? — j.b., memphis.

SCULPTURE IMAGES COURTESY BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY.

DEAR J.B.: No, that’s not true. Or if it is, I’ve never come

across any account of such a tragic event, and something like that — especially when downtown’s tallest building was considered “The Showplace of the South” — would have certainly made the news.

It’s possible, though, that you have confused the Sterick Building with another downtown structure, because back in 1941, just two weeks before Christmas, a woman indeed tumbled to her death from the eighth floor of the Medical Arts Building (today the Hickman Building). But whether she did it on purpose, or it was an accident — well, that’s something that even the experts could never decide.

The victim’s name was Thelma Louise Lloyd, and she came from a fairly well-known Memphis family.

Her father had recently retired from his real estate and construction firm. Her brother, L.N. “Bobby” Lloyd, was the assistant trust officer at Union Planters National Bank and had made a name for himself as the star quarterback for Southwestern (now Rhodes College) back in the day when that school was known as a football power. He later served as an official with the Southeastern Conference.

Lloyd herself had been born in 1902 in Pembroke, Kentucky, but had moved to Memphis with her family when she was a child. She lived with her parents in a cozy bungalow at 2254 Monroe, and after graduating from Central High School here, she attended Ward-Belmont College in Nashville and Tennessee State College in Murfreesboro.

I’m not sure if she earned a degree from either school.

My knowledge of this woman comes entirely from old

newspaper clippings, which claimed she was “wellknown in the interior decorating field” and for a while had worked at the Marshall Field Company in Chicago.

In the late 1930s, she returned to Memphis and took a job as an interior decorator with Seabrook Paint Company, located downtown at 52 South Second.

She was popular, had many friends, served on the social committee of the Nineteenth Century Club, and “had been identified with other social groups.”

So what happened on the morning of December 9, 1941? Although her brother admitted she had been in ill health for several months, he didn’t tell reporters what, exactly, was wrong with her. Even so, he said she was “apparently in good spirits.”

Lloyd was seen catching the bus that would take her to work downtown, but instead of heading to Seabrook, witnesses recalled her stepping off the bus and walking directly to the Medical Arts Building, several blocks away at the corner of Madison and Fourth. There she took the elevator to the top floor, and the elevator operator told police she “went directly to the restroom from his elevator. She did not seem nervous or excited.”

The time was approximately 11:40 a.m.

Newspaper accounts vary on what happened next. The Commercial Appeal claimed that “apparently nobody saw the plunge” but a Press-Scimitar story reported that Lt. Wilbur Miller of the Memphis Police Department said that “two men whose identity he had not learned had seen her falling.”

Does that really matter? Minutes later, downtown workers came across her “crumpled body” in the alley behind the Medical Arts Building. Lloyd was rushed to St. Joseph Hospital by ambulance, unconscious, but died within a half hour.

Police were baffled. The woman’s purse was found on the washstand in the bathroom, but there was no suicide note and nothing to suggest she had planned such a thing. In those days before air-conditioning was common, many office buildings had windows that opened. Police admitted it was possible that Lloyd had rested against the windowsill and then fallen backward out the window. That’s too terrible to think about.

The Commercial Appeal concluded that the death was “apparently a suicide,” but the medical examiner was not convinced. On the young woman’s death certificate, he noted “injuries received from fall” but in the space for the cause of death — accident, suicide, or homicide — he didn’t check any of those boxes, but instead typed, “undetermined.”

None of this made sense. What was she doing on the top floor of the Medical Arts Building? Did somebody really place a bench in front of an open window? Why was her purse left behind? Thelma Lloyd was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery. She carried the answers to those questions to the grave.

Yes, I realize this sad topic may depress some readers. It depresses me. But let’s face it; not all of our city’s “history mysteries” are entirely happy ones.

below: Newspaper accounts tried to make sense of the woman’s last moments.

Got a question for vance?

EMAIL: askvance@memphismagazine.com MAIL: Vance Lauderdale, Memphis magazine, 65 Union Avenue, Suite 200, Memphis, TN 38103 ONLINE: memphismagazine.com/ ask-vance

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Love the skin you’re in?

Keep harmful UV rays out.

July is UV Safety Awareness Month.

By all means, enjoy the sunniest time of the year. But be smart. Wear a wide-brim hat, sunglasses and sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher to block those UVA and UVB rays. And just say no to tanning beds!

Most of all, see your primary care physician to check out any suspicious spots or moles. With good care, you’ll have many more summers to look forward to.

Find a physician or schedule an appointment today.

SFMP.com 888-677-SFMP

MEMP 07.00.18 MM UVSAFETY1.indd 1

6/21/18 12:54 PM

DINING OUT

Bangin Burger Binge TOP 10 BURGERS Looking for a new summer love? Here’s

F

to embrace.

by pamela denney | illustration by anna rose

or many who live in the Bluff City, burger appeal rivals the lure of pulled pork, especially in the summer when backyard cookouts provoke spirited debates about toppings, grill techniques, and the best burger restaurants in Memphis.

Nowhere is the city’s burger love more clearly expressed than in the Memphis magazine annual restaurant poll. This year, more people cast votes for best burger than in any other category, handing the top three wins (again) to Huey’s, Earnestine & Hazel’s, and Tops Bar-B-Q. While we expected the trio of winners, other burger choices surprised us, including a six-way tie for fourth place and a remarkable variety of write-in votes.

Intrigued by the poll’s endless list of burger options, we went on a monthlong binge to find excellent beef burgers that we hadn’t already written about in print or online.

The ground rule did eliminate many favorites, including burgers at Hog & Hominy, Elwood’s Shack, Folk’s Folly, Interim, Sear Shack, and Trolley Stop. But our new discoveries, described below in alphabetical order, showcase similar diversity in personality and price. Our new crop of top-10 favorites also illustrates a commonality suggested

by David Weatherspoon, who maintains the popular Instagram called Tennessee Burger Gram. “The restaurant has to care about its burger,” Weatherspoon explains. “It has to say, we are making this burger, our way, and it is perfect.”

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Bar Burger @ Acre

A

bar menu staple since the

restaurant opened, the

Tiki Burger @ Atomic Tiki

A

beach bar menu in

land-locked Memphis

The Belmont Burger @ Belmont Grill

Y

es, the burger is a rectangle

and served on a French

Burger and Pommes Frites @ Café 1912

T

he skin-on fries, skinny

and salty, fill up half the

Watershed Burger @ Carolina Watershed

E

nchanted by the blossoms

that drift to our table

Acre burger is resplen-

is indeed a beautiful

roll, but don’t let the

plate. (Yes!) The burg-

from a towering mimosa

dent with its simple

thing, especially late-

eccentricities stop you.

er — griddle-seared

tree, the Watershed

ingredients in a soft

night when an 8-ounce

Six ounces, hand-patted,

Pittsburgh style — rests

Burger almost seems

brioche bun. The burger,

Angus cheeseburger

and dripping with melt-

open-face on half the

extra, until the first

almost an inch thick in

comes with smoked

ed cheese, the Belmont

bun, along with smoked

bite. Like a golden

the middle, stays moist

ketchup, Sriracha aioli,

Burger co-exists happily

bacon cheddar (or blue

ratio, the burger is the

and a little pink, while

and house-made pickles.

with the bar itself: Both

cheese) melted over

perfect equation of

melted cheese drapes the

Adventurous eaters can

are chargrilled, a little

bacon. On the bun’s

bun (sourdough), patty

patty like a warm and

opt for a $2 add-on of

sloppy, and big enough

other half, sweet pickles,

(locally sourced Angus

cozy mitten. The secret

egg or Spam. Either way,

to share, like the stories

roasted garlic, baby

beef), and toppings

to the burger isn’t com-

the Tiki Burger comes

you’ll likely swap with

romaine, and over-

(aged cheddar, butter

plicated, says Chef Wally

with a bag of Maui

the Belmont’s regular

sized rings of red onion

lettuce, roasted tomato,

Joe. “We use high-quality

onion chips, a friendly

customers. Built about

circle the tomato like an

caramelized onions, and

beef and aged cheddar.

wait staff, and a back-

1915, the building’s rich

artful food photo of the

avocado spread.) The

We don’t fancy it up.”

ground of reggae, both

history and permanent

Sputnik sign at Joe’s. We

Carolina house sauce —

authentic and covers.

strands of Christmas

admire the plate’s abun-

a mayo mix made with

Ever hear the reggae

lights add to the burg-

dance and blissfully eat.

secret spices — is the

remix of “Macarena?”

er’s allure, as does its

extras: The top-shelf fries

at Acre are excellent, as well.

Surprisingly, they also are frozen, not hand-cut, an ap-

extras: Aloha! You know

permanent half-price

extras: Seasoned with

special every Tuesday.

dried rosemary ground into

proach three-star Michelin chef

you want a paper umbrella in

Thomas Keller also advocates.

your drink, so order a Tikirita or

Joe explains: “I always say, if it’s

a signature cocktail like Sponge-

good enough for Thomas Keller,

Bob’s House, served in a fresh

it’s good enough for me.”

pineapple. Pair with $2 Tiki tacos

fried and fully loaded.

1545 OVERTON PARK AVE. 901-279-3935 $

extras: Deal with the

power and tossed with brown

$1.75 up-charge and order the

sugar and a little cayenne, Café

Watershed’s chips. Crunchy and

house salad is surprisingly good,

1912’s roasted mixed nuts make

oblong (like a potato!), they

but so are the Idaho bakers,

any cocktail memorable.

could be the best house-made

extras: The Belmont’s

on Tuesdays.

6905 S. PERKINS AVE. 901-818-2271 $$

burger’s crowning glory.

4970 POPL AR AVE. 901-767-0305 $

chips in Memphis.

243 S. COOPER ST. 901-722-2700 $$

141 E. CAROLINA AVE. 901-321-5553 $

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The Brussels @ Farm & Fries

A

dmittedly, Brussels sprout

leaves on a burger seem

Grove Burger @ Grove Grill

S

tack up the toppings

(pickles, tomatoes, sweet

Stuffed Beef Burger @ Mot & Ed’s

T

he stuffed turkey burger

may be Mot & Ed’s

Vault Cheeseburger @ The Vault

A

t the Vault, located

downtown in the South

901 Jr. Cheeseburger @ 901 Grille and Market

P

rice, convenience,

and f lavor shape an

a bit odd. But caramel-

onion, spring mix, and

social media star, but

Main Historic District,

excellent burger at

ized in the fryer, the

blue cheese crumbles)

the restaurant’s Stuffed

Chef Aaron Winters

901 Grille, located on

superfood morphs into

and dig in. Little wonder

Beef Burger is also

serves up a friendly

the northwest corner

a sweet and flavorful

the Grove Burger has

sensational. Owner

neighborhood bar

of East Parkway and

counterpart to the

been on the menu for

Edna Banks-Hawkins

with an elevated pub

Central. Unassuming in

savory patty, made with

more than 20 years.

explains her method

menu lead by the Vault

presentation, the single

100 percent grass-fed

Made with a combo

like this: Pat the beef

Cheeseburger. Impres-

patty with melted ched-

and finished beef. The

of prime and choice

f lat, add the stuff-

sive in every way, the

dar gets its personality

brioche bun (not too

beef freshly ground

ing (cheese, bacon,

Angus beef burger is

from the grill’s f lames,

small, not too big) also

every day, the 7-ounce

jalapeños, sautéed

locally sourced from

which dance in a call-

sandwiches cheddar, to-

patty is chargrilled, so

mushrooms, roasted

Claybrook Farms,

and-response with the

mato, spicy brown mus-

the middle stays moist

peppers, grilled onions,

chargrilled, and topped

burger’s sizzling juices.

tard, and bacon, finished

and meaty. Chef Chip

and fresh spinach),

with tomatoes, Ro-

Dressed with standard

with a maple and brown

Dunham, who returned

pinch up the ends, fold

maine, Benton bacon,

fixings on a soft white

sugar glaze. “You end up

to Memphis last year

it over, and cook the

shaved red onions,

hamburger bun, the

with this awesome flavor

to steer the kitchen of

burger slow. “It’s like

sharp cheddar cheese,

burger is especially

that most people haven’t

his father’s restaurant,

Play-Doh,” she says,

and spicy house-made

satisfying on Tues-

had in a burger before,”

says the bun is the

laughing. “I’m an artist,

mayo. The scrumptious

days, when the combo

says chef and manag-

burger’s showpiece: “I

so everything for me

brioche bun comes

meal special is $4.98.

er Matthew Barre.

make them every day

has an artistic form.”

from La Baguette.

and sprinkle grits on extras: Hand-cut and twice

top instead of seeds.”

fried like traditional pommes frites, the restaurant’s fries can

extras: Splurge a little and

extras: Instead of fries, extras: Look for the Boyd’s

extras: Seared on the

order a creamy mango shake

burger up next. Stuffed with

restaurant’s flat top as its name

made with vanilla ice cream

barbecue and topped with sig-

implies, the Vault’s Smash Burg-

and mango pulp, a sweet

be paired with seven different

also order warm blue cheese

nature slaw, the burger honors

er is the darling of an upcoming

import from India the color of

dipping sauces, all house-

slaw and a glass of rosé.

the family’s former restaurant

episode in September of the

sunshine gold.

on Beale.

Food Channel’s “Late Nite Eats.”

made.

7724 POPL AR PIKE IN GERMANTOWN 901-791-2328 $

4550 POPL AR AVE. 901-818-9951 $$

1354 MADISON AVE. 901-249-8976 $

124 G.E. PAT TERSON 901-591-8000 $

711 EAST PARK WAY S. 901-512-6171 $

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the

MEMPHIS DINING guide

“I wanted Tsunami to be the kind of place where people look at the menu and say, ‘This is exactly what I wanted to eat tonight,’” says Chef Ben Smith, pictured above, about the pioneering restaurant he and his wife, Colleen Couch-Smith, opened 20 years ago in Cooper-Young. Seafood and seasonal ingredients still direct the restaurant’s menus, including current small plates and specials such as warm red cabbage slaw, garlic-chili shrimp, and halibut in lemon-pepper beurre blanc.

Tidbits: Tsunami Celebrates Milestone

T

wenty years ago, as Chef Ben Smith prepared to open his dream restaurant in the emerging neighborhood of Cooper-Young, friends and associates balked at his first sample menu. “They said, ‘Dude, you’re in Memphis,’” Smith recalls. “You can’t do a menu that’s all fish.”

Even his business partner at the time, the late Thomas Boggs, encouraged him to locate the restaurant in a more aff luent ZIP code out east, but Smith held firm, serving fish with names most customers didn’t know in a Midtown building both quirky and historic. “I knew there would be a learning curve, but people were intrigued and excited,” Smith says about Tsunami, named Best New Restaurant and earning multiple awards for Best Seafood in subsequent years.

Along with seafood, other signature influences soon emerged, such as small plates

built around seasonal ingredients, a focus Smith favored from his work with Jeremiah Tower, a pioneer of California cuisine with his San Francisco restaurant, Stars. “It was the most influential job in my career, and I continue to draw on my experience there,” Smith says. “What I learned from Jeremiah is a sense of place, and the seasonality of fresh ingredients from where you are.”

Smith’s love for Asian cooking and his three-year stint cooking seafood on the Hawaiian island of Lanai also steered Tsunami’s Pacific Rim inf luences, then and now. At a recent dinner, beautifully plated dishes are shareable, deeply f lavored, and exciting to eat: warm shredded red cabbage in a merlot-colored mound with blue cheese and walnuts; halibut and roasted tomatoes with lemon-pepper beurre blanc; cold sesame noodles both spicy and sweet; and garlic-chile shrimp,

served sizzling hot in a mini skillet.

“We have staying power and consistency and so much energy thanks to our team,” Smith says, calling Chef de Cuisine Donny Graham and Sous Chef Kevin Sullivan the restaurant’s creative backbone and crediting general manager Colleen Couch-Smith for her multiple roles.

Looking ahead, the couple’s purchase of Tsunami’s 5,000 square-foot building is reenergizing a future vision with many possibilities, including an intimate chef’s table in the restaurant’s kitchen. More immediately, look for a new casual concept rolled out in the restaurant’s south dining room and cooking classes come winter. A dinner series in July also features former Tsunami chefs who now operate their own restaurants in California, New York, and Arkansas.

Tsunami, 928 S. Cooper. (901-274-2556) $$

We celebrate our city’s community table and the people who grow, cook, and eat the best Memphis food at M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M / F O O D - D I N I N G

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JUSTIN FOX BURKS

by pamela denney

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CIT Y DINING LIST

A Curated Guide to Eating Out

M

emphis magazine offers this curated restaurant listing as a service to its readers. Broken down alphabetically by neighborhoods, this directory does not list every restaurant in town. It does, however, include the magazine’s “Top 50” choices of must-try restaurants in Memphis, a DINING SYMBOLS group that is updated every August. Establishments open

B — breakfast less than a year are not eligible for “Top 50” but are noted as L — lunch “New.” This guide also includes a representative sampling D — dinner of other Bluff City eating establishments. No fast-food SB — Sunday brunch facilities or cafeterias are listed, nor have we included WB — weekend brunch establishments that rely heavily on take-out business.

X— wheelchair accessible Restaurants are included regardless of whether they ad MRA — member, Memphis vertise in Memphis magazine; those that operate in multi Restaurant Association ple locations are listed under the neighborhood of their $ — under $15 per person without drinks or desserts original location. This guide is updated regularly, but we $$ — under $25 recommend that you call ahead to check on hours, prices, $$$ — $26-$50 and other details. Suggestions from readers are welcome; $$$$ — over $50 please contact us at dining@memphismagazine.com.

CENTER CITY 117 PRIME—Restaurateurs Craig Blondis and Roger Sapp teamed up with Chef Ryan Trimm to recreate the traditional American steakhouse. Serving oysters on the half shell and a variety of surf and turf options. 117 Union. 4339851. L, D, X, $-$$$ 5 SPOT—Tucked behind Earnestine & Hazel’s, features Memphis barbecue, Italian, and Creole-inspired dishes, such as polenta incaciata, barbecue spaghetti, and a fried chicken plate with collards, slaw, and skillet cornbread. 531 S. Main. 523-9754.

D, X, $-$$ AGAVE MARIA—Menu items at this Spanish and Latininspired eatery include a variety of tacos, including lamb shawarma, Korean short rib, and lobster options; also tortas, burritos, and more. 83 Union. 341-2096. L, D, X, $-$$ ALDO’S PIZZA PIES—Serving gourmet pizzas — including Mr. T Rex — salads, and more. Also 30 beers, bottled or on tap. 100 S. Main. 577-7743; 752 S. Cooper. 725-7437. L, D, X, $-$$ THE ARCADE—Possibly Memphis’ oldest cafe.

Specialties include sweet potato pancakes, a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich, and breakfast served all day. 540 S. Main. 526-5757. B, L, D (Thurs.-Sat.), X, MRA, $ AUTOMATIC SLIM’S—Longtime downtown favorite specializes in contemporary American cuisine emphasizing local ingredients; also extensive martini list. 83 S. Second. 525-7948.

L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ BANGKOK ALLEY—Thai fusion cuisine includes noodle and curry dishes, chef-specialty sushi rolls, coconut soup, and duck and seafood entrees. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. at Brookhaven location; call for hours. 121 Union Ave. 522-2010; 2150 W. Poplar at Houston Levee (Collierville). 854-8748; 715 W. Brookhaven Cl. 590-2585. L, D, X, $-$$ BARDOG TAVERN—Classic American grill with Italian influence, Bardog offers pasta specialties such as Grandma’s NJ Meatballs, as well as salads, sliders, sandwiches, and daily specials. 73 Monroe. 275-8752. B (Mon.-Fri.), L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$ BEDROCK EATS & SWEETS—Memphis’ only Paleocentric restaurant offering such dishes as pot roast, waffles, enchiladas, chicken salad, omelets, and more. Closed for dinner Sun. 327 S. Main. 409-6433. B, L, D, X, $-$$ BELLE TAVERN—Serving elevated bar food, including a butcher board with a variety of meats and cheeses, as well as daily specials. 117 Barboro Alley. 249-6580. L (Sun.), D, $ BLEU—This eclectic restaurant features American food with global influences and local ingredients. Among the specialties are a 14-oz. bone-in rib-eye and several seafood dishes. 221 S. Third, in the Westin Memphis Beale St. Hotel. 334-5950. B, L, D, WB, X, MRA, $$-$$$ BLUEFIN RESTAURANT & SUSHI LOUNGE— Serves Japanese fusion cuisine featuring seafood and steak, with

seasonally changing menu; also, a sushi bar and flatbread pizza. 135 S. Main. 528-1010. L, D, X, $-$$ BRASS DOOR IRISH PUB—Irish and New-American cuisine includes such entrees as fish and chips, burgers, bangers and mash, all-day Irish breakfast, and more. 152 Madison. 572-1813. L, D, SB, $-$$ CAFE KEOUGH—European-style cafe serving quiche, paninis, salads, and more. 12 S. Main. 509-2469. B, L, D, X, $ CAPRICCIO GRILL ITALIAN STEAKHOUSE— Offers prime steaks, fresh seafood (lobster tails, grouper, mahi mahi), pasta, and several northern Italian specialties. 149 Union, The Peabody. 529-4199. B, L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$$ CAROLINA WATERSHED—This indoor/outdoor eatery, set around silos, features reimagined down-home classics, including fried green tomatoes with smoked catfish, a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich, burgers, and more. 141 E. Carolina. 321-5553. L, D, WB, $-$$ CATHERINE & MARY’S—A variety of pastas, grilled quail, pâté, razor clams, and monkfish are among the dishes served at this Italian restaurant in the Chisca. 272 S. Main.

254-8600. D, X, MRA, $-$$$ CHEZ PHILIPPE—Classical/contemporary French cuisine presented in a luxurious atmosphere with a seasonal menu focused on local/regional cuisine. The crown jewel of The Peabody for 35 years.

Afternoon tea served Wed.-Sat., 1-3:30 p.m. (reservations required). Closed Sun.-Tues. The Peabody, 149 Union. 5294188. D, X, MRA, $$$$ COZY CORNER—Serving up ribs, pork sandwiches, chicken, spaghetti, and more; also homemade banana pudding. Closed Sun.-Mon. 745 N. Parkway and Manassas. 527-9158. L, D, $ DIRTY CROW INN—Serving elevated bar food, including poutine fries, fried catfish, and the Chicken Debris, a sandwich with smoked chicken, melted cheddar, and gravy.

855 Kentucky. 207-5111. L, D, $ EVELYN & OLIVE—Jamaican/Southern fusion cuisine includes such dishes as Kingston stew fish, Rasta Pasta, and jerk rib-eye. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun.-Mon. 630 Madison. 748-5422. L, D, X, $ FELICIA SUZANNE’S—Southern cuisine with low-country, Creole, and Delta influences, using regional fresh seafood, local beef, and locally grown foods. Entrees include shrimp and grits. Closed Sun. and Mon. A downtown staple at Brinkley Plaza, 80 Monroe, Suite L1.

523-0877. L (Fri. only), D, X, MRA, $$-$$$ FERRARO’S PIZZERIA & PUB—Rigatoni and tortellini are among the pasta entrees here, along with pizzas (whole or by the slice) with a variety of toppings. 111 Jackson.

522-2033. L, D, X, $ FLIGHT RESTAURANT & WINE BAR— Serves steaks and seafood, along with such specialties as bison ribeye and Muscovy duck, all matched with appropriate wines. 39 S. Main. 521-8005. D, SB, X, $-$$$

(This guide, compiled by our editors, includes editorial picks and advertisers.)

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FLYING FISH—Serves up fried and grilled versions of shrimp, crab, oysters, fish tacos, and catfish; also chicken and burgers. 105 S. Second. 522-8228. L, D, X, $-$$ THE FRONT PORCH—Beale Street Landing eatery serves Southern-inspired appetizers, such as Crispy Grit Bites, along with burgers, sandwiches, and salads. Closed Monday. 251 Riverside Dr. 524-0817. L, X, $ THE GRAY CANARY—The sixth restaurant from chefs Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman, offering small plates and entrees cooked on an open flame. Oysters, octopus, and hearty steaks are among the menu options at this eatery in Old Dominick Distillery. Closed Mon. 301 S. Front. 4666324. D, WB, X, $-$$$.

GUS’S WORLD FAMOUS FRIED CHICKEN—Serves chicken with signature spicy batter, along with homemade beans, slaw, and pies. 310 S. Front. 527-4877; 215 S. Center St. (Collierville). 853-6005; 2965 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 373-9111; 730 S. Mendenhall. 7672323; 505 Highway 70 W., Mason, TN. 901-294-2028. L, D, X, MRA, $ HAPPY MEXICAN—Serves quesadillas, burritos, chimichangas, vegetable and seafood dishes, and more. 385 S. Second.

529-9991; 6080 Primacy Pkwy. 683-0000; 7935 Winchester.

751-5353. L, D, X, $ HUEY’S—This family friendly restaurant offers 13 different burgers, a variety of sandwiches and delicious soups and salads. 1927 Madison. 726-4372; 1771 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 754-3885; 77 S. Second. 527-2700; 2130 W. Poplar (Collierville). 854-4455; 7090 Malco Blvd.

(Southaven). 662-349-7097; 7825 Winchester. 624-8911; 4872 Poplar. 682-7729; 7677 Farmington Blvd. (Germantown). 318-3030; 8570 Highway 51 N. (Millington). 873-5025. L, D, X, MRA, $ ITTA BENA—Southern and Cajun-American cuisine served here; specialties are duck and waffles and shrimp and grits, along with steaks, chops, seafood, and pasta. 145 Beale St. 578-3031. D, X, MRA, $$-$$$ KOOKY CANUCK—Offers prime rib, catfish, and burgers, including the 4-lb. “Kookamonga”; also late-night menu. 87 S. Second. 578-9800; 1250 N. Germantown Pkwy. 1-800-2453 L, D, X, MRA, $-$$$ THE LITTLE TEA SHOP—Downtown institution serves up Southern comfort cooking, including meatloaf and such veggies as turnip greens, yams, okra, and tomatoes. Closed Sat.-Sun. 69 Monroe. 525-6000, L, X, $ LOCAL—Entrees with a focus on locally sourced products include lobster mac-and-cheese and ribeye patty melt; menu differs by location. 95 S. Main. 473-9573; 2126 Madison. 725-1845. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ LOFLIN YARD—Beer garden and restaurant serves vegetarian fare and smoked-meat dishes, including beef brisket and pork tenderloin, cooked on a custom-made grill. Closed Mon.-Tues. 7 W. Carolina. 249-3046. L (Sat. and Sun.), D, $-$$ THE LOOKOUT AT THE PYRAMID—Serves seafood and Southern fare, including cornmeal-fried oysters, sweet tea brined chicken, and elk chops. 1 Bass Pro Dr. 620-4600/291-8200. L, D, X $-$$$ LUNA RESTAURANT & LOUNGE—Serving a limited menu of breakfast and lunch items. Dinner entrees include Citrus Glaze Salmon and Cajun Stuffed Chicken. 179 Madison (Hotel Napoleon). 526-0002. B, D (Mon.-Sat.), X, $-$$$ LYFE KITCHEN—Serving healthy, affordable wraps, bowls, sandwiches, and more; entrees include herb roasted salmon and parmesan crusted chicken. 272 S. Main. 526-0254. B, L, D, WB, X, $ MACIEL’S—Entrees include tortas, fried taco plates, quesadillas, chorizo and pastor soft tacos, salads, and more. Downtown closed Sun. Bodega closed Wed. 45 S. Main. 526-0037; 525 S. Highland.

504-4584; Maciel’s Bodega, 584 Tillman. 504-4749. B (Bodega only), L, D, SB (Highland), X, $ THE MAJESTIC GRILLE—Housed in a former silent-picture house, features aged steaks, fresh seafood, and such specialties as roasted chicken and grilled pork tenderloin; offers a pre-theatre menu and classic cocktails. Wellstocked bar. 145 S. Main. 522-8555. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ McEWEN’S ON MONROE—Southern/American cuisine with international flavors; specialties include steak and seafood, sweet potato-crusted catfish with macaroni and cheese, and more. Closed Sun., Monroe location. 120 J U L Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 87

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CIT Y DINING LIST

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Monroe. 527-7085; 1110 Van Buren (Oxford). 662-234-7003. L, D, SB (Oxford only), X, MRA, $$-$$$ MESQUITE CHOP HOUSE—The focus here is on steaks, including prime fillet, rib eyes, and prime-aged New York strip; also, some seafood options. 5960 Getwell (Southaven). 662-890-2467; 88 Union. 527-5337; 3165 Forest Hill-Irene (Germantown). 249-5661. D, SB (Germantown), X, $$-$$$ MOLLIE FONTAINE LOUNGE—Specializes in tapas (small plates) featuring global cuisine. Closed Sun.-Tues. 679 Adams Ave. 524-1886. D, X, MRA, $ OSHI ASIAN KITCHEN—Eatery offers Asian cuisine, including sushi and nigiri, with such entrees as Sticky Short Ribs, Wagyu Flank Steak and Quail Eggs, and Bi Bim Bap. 94 S. Main. 729-6972. L, D, X, $-$$ PAULETTE’S—Presents fine dining with a Continental flair, including such entrees as filet Paulette with butter cream sauce and crabmeat and spinach crepes; also changing daily specials and great views. River Inn. 50 Harbor Town Square. 260-3300. B, L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ PEARL’S OYSTER HOUSE—Downtown eatery serving seafood, including oysters, crawfish, and stuffed butterfly shrimp, as well as beef, chicken, and pasta dishes.

299 S. Main. 522-9070. L, D, SB, X, $-$$$ PONTOTOC—Upscale restaurant and jazz bar serves such starters as chicharone nachos and smoked trout deviled eggs; entrees include Mississippi pot roast with jalapeno cornbread and red fish with Israeli couscous. 314 S. Main. 207-7576. D, WB, X, $-$$ RENDEZVOUS, CHARLES VERGOS’— Menu items include barbecued ribs, cheese plates, skillet shrimp, red beans and rice, and Greek salads. Closed Sun.-Mon. 52 S. Second. 523-2746. L (Fri.-Sat.), D, X, $-$$ RIZZO’S DINER—Chorizo meatloaf, lobster pronto puff, and lamb belly tacos are menu items at this upscale diner. Michael Patrick among the city’s best chefs. 492 S. Main. 304-6985. L (Fri.-Sat.), D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ SABOR CARIBE—Serving up “Caribbean flavors” with dishes from Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Cuba.

Closed Sunday. 662 Madison. 949-8100. L, D, X, $ SOUTH MAIN MARKET—Food Hall featuring a variety of vendors serving everything from bagels and beer to comfort food and healthy cuisine. 409 S. Main. 341-3838. $-$$ SOUTH MAIN SUSHI & GRILL—Serving sushi, nigiri, and more. 520 S. Main. 249-2194. L, D, X, $ SPINDINI—Italian fusion cuisine with such entrees as wood-fired pizzas, gorgonzola stuffed filet, and fresh seafood; large domestic whiskey selection. 383 S. Main.

578-2767. D, X, $$-$$$ SUNRISE MEMPHIS—From owners of Sweet Grass and Central BBQ. Serves breakfast all day, including house-made biscuits, frittatas, kielbasa or boudin plates, and breakfast platters. 670 Jefferson.

552-3144. B, L, X, $ TERRACE—Creative American and Continental cuisine includes such dishes as filet mignon, beef or lamb sliders, chicken satay, and mushroom pizzetta. Rooftop, River Inn of Harbor Town, 50 Harbor Town Square. 260-3366. D, X, MRA, $$ TEXAS DE BRAZIL—Serves beef, pork, lamb, and chicken dishes, and Brazilian sausage; also a salad bar with extensive toppings. 150 Peabody Place, Suite 103. 526-7600.

L (Wed.-Fri.), D, SB, X, $$-$$$ UNCLE BUCK’S FISHBOWL & GRILL—Burgers, pizza, fish dishes, sandwiches, and more served in a unique “underwater” setting. Bass Pro, Bass Pro Drive, 291-8200.

B, L, D, X, $-$$ THE VAULT—Shrimp beignets, stuffed cornish hen, and bacon-wrapped chicken roulade are among the dishes offered at this Creole/Italian fusion eatery. 124 G.E. Patterson. 591-8000. L, D, SB, X, $-$$

CIT Y DINING LIST

COLLIERVILLE CAFE PIAZZA BY PAT LUCCHESI—Specializes in gourmet pizzas (including create-your-own), panini sandwiches, and pasta. Closed Sun. 139 S. Rowlett St. 861-1999.

L, D, X, $-$$ CIAO BABY—Specializing in Neapolitan-style pizza made in a wood-fired oven. Also serves house-made mozzarella, pasta, appetizers, and salads. 890 W. Poplar, Suite 1. 457-7457.

L, D, X, $ EL MEZCAL—Serves burritos, chimichangas, fajitas, and other Mexican cuisine, as well as shrimp dinners and steak.

9947 Wolf River, 853-7922; 402 Perkins Extd. 761-7710; 694 N.Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 755-1447; 1492 Union.

274-4264; 11615 Airline Rd. (Arlington). 867-1883; 9045 Highway 64 (Lakeland). 383-4219; 7164 Hacks Cross Rd. (Olive Branch).

662-890-3337; 8834 Hwy. 51 N. (Millington). 872-3220; 7424 Highway 64 (Bartlett). 417-6026. L, D, X, $ EMERALD THAI RESTAURANT—Spicy shrimp, pad khing, lemongrass chicken, and several noodle, rice, and vegetarian dishes are offered at this family restaurant. Closed Sunday. 8950 Highway 64 (Lakeland, TN). 384-0540. L, D X, $-$$ FIREBIRDS—Specialties are hand-cut steaks, slow-roasted prime rib, and wood-grilled salmon and other seafood, as well as seasonal entrees. 4600 Merchants Circle, Carriage Crossing.

850-1637; 8470 Highway 64 (Bartlett). 379-1300. L, D, X, $-$$$ JIM’S PLACE GRILLE—Features American, Greek, and Continental cuisine with such entrees as pork tenderloin, several seafood specialties, and hand-cut charcoal-grilled steaks. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. 3660 Houston Levee. 861-5000. L, D, X, $-$$$ MULAN ASIAN BISTRO—Hunan Chicken, tofu dishes, and orange beef served here; some sushi, too. 2059 Houston Levee. 850-5288; 2149 Young. 347-3965; 4698 Spottswood.

609-8680. L, D, X, $-$$ OSAKA JAPANESE CUISINE—Featuring an extensive sushi menu as well as traditional Japanese and hibachi dining.

Hours vary for lunch; call. 3670 Houston Levee. 861-4309; 3402 Poplar. 249-4690; 7164 Hacks Cross (Olive Branch). 662-8909312; 2200 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 425-4901. L, D, X, $-$$$ THE SEAR SHACK BURGERS & FRIES— Serving Angus burgers, fries, and hand-spun milkshakes. Closed Mon. 875 W. Poplar, Suite 6. 861-4100; 5101 Sanderlin, Suite 103. 567-4909. L, D, X, $ STIX—Hibachi steakhouse with Asian cuisine features steak, chicken, and a fillet and lobster combination, also sushi. A specialty is Dynamite Chicken with fried rice. 4680 Merchants Park Circle, Avenue Carriage Crossing. 854-3399. L, D, X, $-$$

CORDOVA BOMBAY HOUSE—Indian fare includes lamb korma and chicken tikka; also, a daily luncheon buffet. 1727 N. Germantown Pkwy. 755-4114. L, D, X, $-$$ THE BUTCHER SHOP—Serves steaks ranging from 8-oz. fillets to a 20-oz. porterhouse; also chicken, pork chops, fresh seafood. 107 S. Germantown Rd. 757-4244. L (Fri. and Sun.), D, X, $$-$$$ FOX RIDGE PIZZA—Pizzas, calzones, sub sandwiches, burgers, and meat-and-two plate lunches are among the dishes served at this eatery, which opened in 1979. 1769 N. Germantown Pkwy. 758-6500. L, D, X, $ G. ALSTON—Food Network Star finalist and owner Chef Aryen Moore-Alston serves New Southern cuisine at this fine dining establishment. Shrimp beignets are among the appetizers, and entrees include Sous Vide Rosemary Lavender Lamb and Sauteed Scottish Salmon. 8556 Macon.

748-5583. Closed Mon. D, SB, X, $$-$$$ GREEN BAMBOO—Pineapple tilapia, pork vermicelli, and the soft egg noodle combo are Vietnamese specialties here. 990 N. Germantown Parkway, #104. 753-5488. L, D, $-$$ KING JERRY LAWLER’S MEMPHIS BBQ COMPANY—Offers a variety of barbecue dishes, including brisket, ribs, nachos topped with smoked pork, and a selection

of barbecue “Slamwiches.” 465 N. Germantown Pkwy., #116.

509-2360. L, D, X, $ JIM ’N NICK’S BAR-B-Q—Serves barbecued pork, ribs, chicken, brisket, and fish, along with other homemade Southern specialties. 2359 N. Germantown Pkwy. 388-0998. L, D, X, $-$$ MISTER B’S—Features New Orleans-style seafood and steaks. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. and Mon. 6655 Poplar, #107. 751-5262. L, D, X, $-$$$ PRESENTATION ROOM, THE—American bistro run by the students of L’Ecole Culinaire. Menu changes regularly; specialties may include such items as a filet with truffle mushroom ragu. Service times vary; call for details. Closed Fri.-Sun. 1245 N. Germantown Pkwy. 754-7115. L, D, X, $-$$ SHOGUN JAPANESE RESTAURANT—Entrees include tempura, teriyaki, and sushi, as well as grilled fish and chicken entrees. 2324 N. Germantown Pkwy. 384-4122. L, D, X, $-$$ TANNOOR GRILL—Brazilian-style steakhouse with skewers served tableside, along with Middle Eastern specialties; vegetarian options also available. 830 N. Germantown Pkwy.

443-5222. L, D, X, $-$$$

EAST MEMPHIS

(INCLUDES POPLAR/ I-240) ACRE—Features seasonal modern American cuisine in an avante-garde setting using locally sourced products; also small-plates and iconic bar. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. 690 S. Perkins. 818-2273. L, D, X, $$-$$$ AGAVOS COCINA & TEQUILA—Camaron de Tequila, tamales, kabobs, and burgers made with a blend of beef and chorizo are among the offerings at this tequila-centric restaurant and bar. 2924 Walnut Grove. 433-9345. L, D, X, $-$$ AMERIGO—Traditional and contemporary Italian cuisine includes pasta, wood-fired pizza, steaks, and cedarwood-roasted fish. 1239 Ridgeway, Park Place Mall. 761-4000. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ ANDREW MICHAEL ITALIAN KITCHEN— Traditional Italian cuisine with a menu from two of the city’s top chefs that changes seasonally with such entrees as Maw Maw’s ravioli. Closed Sun.-Mon. 712 W. Brookhaven Cl. 347-3569. D, X, MRA, $$-$$$ ANOTHER BROKEN EGG CAFE—Offering several varieties of eggs benedict, waffles, omelets, pancakes, beignets, and other breakfast fare; also burgers, sandwiches, and salads. 6063 Park Ave. 729-7020; 65 S. Highland. 623-7122.

B, L, WB, X, $ BENIHANA—This Japanese steakhouse serves beef, chicken, and seafood grilled at the table; some menu items change monthly; sushi bar also featured. 912 Ridge Lake. 767-8980. L, D, X, $$-$$$ BLUE PLATE CAFÉ — For breakfast, the café’s serves old-fashioned buttermilk pancakes (it’s a secret recipe!), country ham and eggs, and waffles with fresh strawberries and cream. For lunch, the café specializes in country cooking. 5469 Poplar. 761-9696; 113 S. Court. 523-2050. B, L, X, $ BRYANT’S BREAKFAST—Three-egg omelets, pancakes, and The Sampler Platter are among the popular entrees here. Possibly the best biscuits in town. Closed Mon. and Tues. 3965 Summer. 324-7494. B, L, X, $ BUCKLEY’S FINE FILET GRILL—Specializes in steaks, seafood, and pasta. (Lunchbox serves entree salads, burgers, and more.) 5355 Poplar. 683-4538; 919 S. Yates (Buckley’s Lunchbox), 682-0570. L (Yates only, M-F), D, X, $-$$ BUNTYN CORNER CAFE—Serving favorites from Buntyn Restaurant, including chicken and dressing, cobbler, and yeast rolls. 5050 Poplar, Suite 107. 424-3286. B, L, X, $ CAPITAL GRILLE—Known for its dry-aged, hand-carved steaks; among the specialties are bone-in sirloin, and porcini-rubbed Delmonico; also seafood entrees and seasonal lunch plates. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. Crescent Center, 6065 Poplar.

683-9291. L, D, X, $$$-$$$$ CASABLANCA—Lamb shawarma is one of the fresh, homemade specialties served at this Mediterranean/Moroccan restaurant; fish entrees and vegetarian options also available.

1707 Madison. 421-6949; 5030 Poplar. 725-8557 ; 7609 Poplar Pike (Germantown). 425-5908. L, D, X, $-$$ CIAO BELLA—Among the Italian and Greek specialties are lasagna, seafood pasta, gourmet pizzas, and vegetarian options.

Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 565 Erin Dr., Erin Way Shopping Center. 205-2500. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$$ CITY SILO TABLE + PANTRY—With a focus on clean eating, this establishment offers fresh juices, as well as comfort foods re-imagined with wholesome ingredients. 5101 Sanderlin.

729-7687. B, L, D, X, $ CORKY’S—Popular barbecue emporium offers both wet and dry ribs, plus a full menu of other barbecue entrees. Wed. lunch buffets, Cordova and Collierville. 5259 Poplar. 685-9744; 1740 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 737-1911; 743 W. Poplar (Collierville). 405-4999; 6434 Goodman Rd., Olive Branch. 662893-3663. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ ERLING JENSEN—For over 20 years, has presented “globally inspired” cuisine to die for. Specialties are rack of lamb, big game entrees, and fresh fish dishes. 1044 S. Yates. 763-3700. D, X, MRA, $$-$$$ FLEMING’S PRIME STEAKHOUSE—Serves wet-aged and dry-aged steaks, prime beef, chops, and seafood, including salmon, Australian lobster tails, and a catch of the day. 6245 Poplar. 761-6200. D, X, MRA, $$$-$$$$ FOLK’S FOLLY ORIGINAL PRIME STEAK HOUSE—Specializes in prime steaks, as well as lobster, grilled Scottish salmon, Alaskan king crab legs, rack of lamb, and weekly specials. Now celebrating their 40th year. 551 S. Mendenhall. 762-8200. D, X, MRA, $$$-$$$$ FORMOSA—Offers Mandarin cuisine, including broccoli beef, hot-and-sour soup, and spring rolls. Closed Monday. 6685 Quince. 753-9898. L, D, X, $-$$ FRATELLI’S—Serves hot and cold sandwiches, salads, soups, and desserts, all with an Italian/Mediterranean flair. Closed Sunday. 750 Cherry Rd., Memphis Botanic Garden. 766-9900.

L, X, $ FRANK GRISANTI’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT— Northern Italian favorites include pasta with jumbo shrimp and mushrooms; also seafood, fillet mignon, and daily lunch specials. Closed for lunch Sunday. Embassy Suites Hotel, 1022 S. Shady Grove. 761-9462. L, D, X, $-$$$ THE GROVE GRILL—Offers steaks, chops, seafood, and other American cuisine with Southern and global influences; entrees include crab cakes, and shrimp and grits, also dinner specials. Founder Jeff Dunham’s son Chip is now chef de cuisine. 4550 Poplar. 818-9951. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $$-$$$ HALF SHELL—Specializes in seafood, such as King crab legs; also serves steaks, chicken, pastas, salads, sandwiches, a ”voodoo menu”; oyster bar at Winchester location. 688 S. Mendenhall. 682-3966; 7825 Winchester. 737-6755. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ HIGH POINT PIZZA—Serves variety of pizzas, subs, salads, and sides. Closed Monday. A neighborhood fixture. 477 High Point Terrace. 452-3339. L, D, X, $-$$ HOG & HOMINY—The casual sister to Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen serves brick-oven-baked pizzas, including the Red-Eye with pork belly, and small plates with everything from meatballs to beef and cheddar hot dogs; and local veggies. Closed for lunch Mon. 707 W. Brookhaven Cl. 207-7396. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ HOUSTON’S—Serves steaks, seafood, pork chops, chicken dishes, sandwiches, salads, and Chicago-style spinach dip.

Farmous for first-class service. 5000 Poplar. 683-0915. L, D, X $-$$$ INTERIM—Offers American-seasonal cuisine with emphasis on local foods and fresh fish; daily chef specials. Closed for lunch Sat. 5040 Sanderlin, Suite 105.

818-0821. L, D, SB, X, $-$$$ THE KITCHEN BISTRO—Tomato soup, pan-roasted ribeye, sticky toffee pudding, and dishes made using in-season fruits and veggies are served at this establishment at Shelby Farms Park. 415 Great View Drive E., Suite 101. 729-9009. L, D, X, $-$$ LA BAGUETTE—An almond croissant and chicken salad are among specialties at this French-style bistro. Closed for dinner Sun. 3088 Poplar. 458-0900. B, L, D (closes at 7), X, MRA, $ J U L Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 89

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CIT Y DINING LIST

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LAS DELICIAS—Popular for its guacamole, house-made tortilla chips, and margaritas, this restaurant draws diners with its chicken enchiladas, meat-stuffed flautas, and Cuban torta with spicy pork. Closed Sunday. 4002 Park Ave. 458-9264; 5689 Quince. 800-2873. L, D, X, $ LIBRO AT LAURELWOOD—Bookstore eatery features a variety of sandwiches, salads, and homemade pasta dishes, with Italian-inspired options such as carbonara and potato gnocchi. Closed for dinner Sun. 387 Perkins Ext. (Novel). 800-2656. B, L, D, SB, X, $-$$ LISA’S LUNCHBOX—Serving bagels, sandwiches, salads, and wraps. 5030 Poplar, 761-4044; 5885 Ridgeway Center Pkwy., Suite 101. 767-6465; 2659 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Suite 1200; 2525 Central (Children’s Museum); 166 S. Front. 729-7277.

B, L, $ LOST PIZZA—Offering pizzas (with dough made from scratch), pasta, salads, sandwiches, tamales, and more. 2855 Poplar. 572-1803; 5960 Getwell (Southaven). 662-892-8684. L, D, X, $-$$ LYNCHBURG LEGENDS—This restaurant with a Jack Daniels’ theme and Southern cuisine serves such entrees as Bourbon Street salmon, buttermilk-fried chicken, and grilled steak and wild mushroom salad. DoubleTree Hotel, 5069 Sanderlin. 969-7777. B, L, D, X, $- $$$ MARCIANO MEDITERRANEAN AND ITALIAN CUISINE—Veal Saltimbocca with angel hair pasta and white wine sauce is among the entrees; also steaks, seafood, and gourmet pizza. Closed Sun. 780 Brookhaven Cl. 682-1660. D, X, $-$$ DAN MCGUINNESS PUB—Serves fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, burgers, and other Irish and American fare; also lunch and dinner specials. 4694 Spottswood. 761-3711; 3964 Goodman Rd. 662-890-7611. L, D, X, $ MAYURI INDIAN CUISINE—Serves tandoori chicken, masala dosa, tikka masala, as well as lamb and shrimp entrees; also a daily lunch buffet, and dinner buffet on Fri.-Sat. 6524 Quince Rd. 753-8755. L, D, X, $-$$ MELLOW MUSHROOM—Large menu includes assortment of pizzas, salads, calzones, hoagies, vegetarian options, and 50 beers on tap. 5138 Park Ave. 562-12119155 Poplar; Shops of Forest Hill (Germantown). 907-0243. L, D, X, $-$$ MOSA ASIAN BISTRO—Specialties include sesame chicken, Thai calamari, rainbow panang curry with grouper fish, and other Pan Asian/fusion entrees. Closed Mon. 850 S. White Station Rd. 683-8889. L, D, X, MRA, $ NAM KING—Offers luncheon and dinner buffets, dim sum, and such specialties as fried dumplings, pepper steak, and orange chicken. 4594 Yale. 373-4411. L, D, X, $ NAPA CAFE—Among the specialties is miso-marinated salmon over black rice with garlic spinach and shiitake mushrooms. Closed Sun. 5101 Sanderlin, Suite 122. 683-0441. L, D, X, $$-$$$ NEW HUNAN—Chinese eatery with more than 80 entrees; also lunch/dinner buffets. 5052 Park. 766-1622. L, D, X, $ OLD VENICE PIZZA CO.—Specializes in “eclectic Italian,” from pastas, including the “Godfather,” to hand-tossed pizzas, including the “John Wayne”; choose from 60 toppings. 368 Perkins Ext. 767-6872. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ ONE & ONLY BBQ—On the menu are pork barbecue sandwiches, platters, wet and dry ribs, smoked chicken and turkey platters, a smoked meat salad, barbecue quesadillas, and more. New on the BBQ scene, but worth a visit. 1779 Kirby Pkwy. 751-3615; 567 Perkins Extd. 2494227. L, D, X, $ ONO POKÉ—This eatery specializes in poké — a Hawaiian dish of fresh fish salad served over rice. Menu includes a variety of poké bowls, like the Kimchi Tuna bowl, or customers can build their own by choosing a base, protein, veggies, and toppings. 3145 Poplar. 618-2955. L, D, X, $ OWEN BRENNAN’S—New Orleans-style menu of beef, chicken, pasta, and seafood; jambalaya, shrimp and grits, and crawfish etouffee are specialties. Closed for dinner Sunday. The Regalia, 6150 Poplar. 761-0990. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ PARK + CHERRY—Partnering with CFY Catering, the Dixon offers casual dining within the museum. Menu features sandwiches, like truffled pimento cheese, as well as salads, snacks, and sweets. Closed for breakfast Sun. and all day Mon. 4339 Park (Dixon Gallery). 761-5250. L, X, $

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CIT Y DINING LIST PETE & SAM’S—Serving Memphis for 60-plus years; offers steaks, seafood, and traditional Italian dishes, including homemade ravioli, lasagna, and chicken marsala. 3886 Park.

458-0694. D, X, $-$$$ PF CHANG’S CHINA BISTRO—Specialties are orange peel shrimp, Mongolian beef, and chicken in lettuce wraps; also vegetarian dishes, including spicy eggplant. 1181 Ridgeway Rd., Park Place Centre. 818-3889. L, D, X, $-$$ PHO SAIGON—Vietnamese fare includes beef teriyaki, roasted quail, curry ginger chicken, vegetarian options, and a variety of soups. 2946 Poplar. 4581644. L, D, $ PORCELLINO’S CRAFT BUTCHER—Small plates, charcuterie selections, specialty steaks, house-made pastries, and innovative teas and coffees are offered at this combination butcher shop and restaurant featuring locally sourced menu items. Restaurant open for breakfast and lunch. Butcher shop open until 6 p.m. 711 W. Brookhaven Cl. 762-6656. B, L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ PYRO’S FIRE-FRESH PIZZA—Serving gourmet pizzas cooked in an open-fire oven; wide choice of toppings; large local and craft beer selection. 1199 Ridgeway. 379-8294; 2035 Union Ave. 208-8857; 2286 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova).

207-1198; 3592 S. Houston Levee (Collierville). 221-8109. L, D, X, $ RIVER OAKS—Chef Jose Gutierrez’s French-style bistro serves seafood and steaks, with an emphasis on fresh local ingredients. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. 5871 Poplar Ave. 683-9305. L, D, X, $$$ RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE—Offers prime steaks cut and aged in-house, as well as lamb, chicken, and fresh seafood, including lobster. 6120 Poplar. 761-0055. D, X, $$$-$$$$ SALSA—Mexican-Southern California specialties include carnitas, enchiladas verde, and fajitas; also Southwestern seafood dishes such as snapper verde. Closed Sun. Regalia Shopping Center, 6150 Poplar, Suite 129. 683-6325. L, D, X, $-$$ SEASONS 52—This elegant fresh grill and wine bar offers a seasonally changing menu using fresh ingredients, wood-fire grilling, and brick-oven cooking; also a large international wine list and nightly piano bar. Crescent Center, 6085 Poplar.

682-9952. L, D, X, $$-$$$ STAKS— Offering pancakes, including Birthday Cake and lemon ricotta. Menu includes other breakfast items such as beignets and French toast, as well as soups and sandwiches for lunch. 4615 Poplar. 509-2367. B, L, WB, X, $ STRANO BY CHEF JOSH—Presenting a Sicilian/ Mediterranean mix of Arab, Spanish, Greek, and North African fare, Strano serves hand-tossed pizzas, woodgrilled fish, and such entrees as Chicken Under the Earth, cooked under a Himalayan salt block over a seasoned white oak wood-fired grill. 518 Perkins Extd. 275-8986. L, D, WB, X, $-$$$ SUSHI JIMMI—This food truck turned restaurant serves a variety of sushi rolls, fusion dishes — such as kimchi fries — and sushi burritos. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Mon. 2895 Poplar. 729-6985. L, D, X, $ TENNESSEE TACO CO.—From the creators of Belly Acres, offers such appetizers as crawfish and chorizo mac-n-cheese and homemade guacamole and specializes in street tacos. 3295 Poplar. 207-1960. L, D, X, $ THREE LITTLE PIGS—Pork-shoulder-style barbecue with tangy mild or hot sauce, freshly made coleslaw, and baked beans. 5145 Quince Rd. 685-7094. B, L, D, X, $ TOPS BAR-B-Q—Specializes in pork barbecue sandwiches and sandwich plates with beans and slaw; also serves ribs, beef brisket, and burgers. 1286 Union. 725-7527. 4183 Summer. 3244325; 5391 Winchester. 794-7936; 3970 Rhodes. 323-9865; 6130 Macon. 371-0580. For more locations, go online. L, D, X, $ WANG’S MANDARIN HOUSE—Offers Mandarin, Cantonese, Szechuan, and spicy Hunan entrees, including the golden-sesame chicken; next door is East Tapas, serving small plates with an Asian twist. 6065 Park Ave., Park Place Mall.

763-0676. L, D, X, $-$$ WASABI—Serving traditional Japanese offerings, hibachi, sashimi, and sushi. The Sweet Heart roll, wrapped — in the shape of a heart — with tuna and filled with spicy salmon, yellowtail, and avocado, is a specialty. 5101 Sanderlin Rd., Suite 105. 421-6399. L, D, X, $-$$

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Mississippi plantation style home on 22.13 acres. 5 BR, 4.5 BA. This home features 5 fire places, real hardwood floors. Storage galore with a basement.

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Mother-in-law suite with private patio, living room, bedroom and bath which is handicap accessible. 4 bedroom 3.5 bath home. Hardwood and tile floors down stairs. Luxurious master & huge 22x15 bonus room.

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Broadway Pizza House Legendary Pizza Since 1977

2581 Broad Avenue (901) 454-7930

629 South Mendenhall (901) 207-1546

Memphis Magazine’s

THE 2018

FACE OF

PIZZA

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CIT Y DINING LIST WOMAN’S EXCHANGE TEA ROOM—Chicken-salad plate, beef tenderloin, soups-and-sandwiches, and vegetable plates are specialties; meal includes drink and dessert. Closed Sat.-Sun. 88 Racine. 327-5681. L, X, $ ZAKA BOWL—This vegan-friendly restaurant serves buildyour-own vegetable bowls featuring ingredients such as agave Brussels sprouts and roasted beets. Also serves tuna poke and herbed chicken bowls. 575 Erin. 509-3105. L, D, $

GERMANTOWN BLUE HONEY BISTRO—Entrees at this upscale eatery include brown butter scallops served with Mississippi blue rice and herb-crusted beef tenderloin with vegetables and truffle butter. Closed Sun. 9155 Poplar, Suite 17. 552-3041. D, X, $-$$$ BROOKLYN BRIDGE ITALIAN RESTAURANT— Specializing in such homemade entrees as spinach lasagna and lobster ravioli; a seafood specialty is horseradish-crusted salmon. Closed Sun. 1779 Kirby Pkwy. 755-7413. D, X, $-$$$ FOREST HILL GRILL—A variety of standard pub fare and a selection of mac ‘n’ cheese dishes are featured on the menu.

Specialties include Chicken Newport and a barbecue salmon BLT. 9102 Poplar Pike. 624-6001. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ GERMANTOWN COMMISSARY—Serves barbecue sandwiches, sliders, ribs, shrimp, and nachos, as well as smoked barbecued bologna sandwiches; Mon.-night all-youcan-eat ribs. 2290 S. Germantown Rd. S. 754-5540. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ LAS TORTUGAS DELI MEXICANA— Authentic Mexican food prepared from local food sources; specializes in tortugas — grilled bread scooped out to hold such powerfully popular fillings as brisket, pork, and shrimp; also tingas, tostados. Closed Sunday. 1215 S. Germantown Rd. 751-1200; 6300 Poplar. 623-3882. L, D, X, $-$$ MISTER B’S—Features New Orleans-style seafood and steaks. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. and Mon. 6655 Poplar, #107. 751-5262. L, D, X, $-$$$ THE PASTA MAKER RESTAURANT—This Italian eatery specializes in artisanal pasta. Entrées include Spaghetti allo scoglio, Penne Boscaiola, and Fusilli Primavera. Gluten-free options available. Restaurant closed Mon. and Sun. (cooking classes by reservation Sun.).

2095 Exeter, Suite 30. 779-3928. L (Thurs. only), D, X, $-$$ PETRA CAFÉ—Serves Greek, Italian, and Middle Eastern sandwiches, gyros, and entrees. Hours vary; call. 6641 Poplar.

754-4440; 547 S. Highland. 323-3050. L, D, X, $-$$ PIZZA REV—Specializes in build-your-own, personal-sized artisanal pizza. Choose from homemade dough options, all-natural sauces, Italian cheeses, and more than 30 toppings.

6450 Poplar. 379-8188. L, D, X, MRA, $ RED KOI—Classic Japanese cuisine offered at this family-run restaurant; hibachi steaks, sushi, seafood, chicken, and vegetables. 5847 Poplar. 767-3456. L, D, X $-$$ ROYAL PANDA—Hunan fish, Peking duck, Royal Panda chicken and shrimp, and a seafood combo are among the specialties. 3120 Village Shops Dr. 756-9697. L, D, X, $-$$ RUSSO’S NEW YORK PIZZERIA AND WINE BAR—Serves gourmet pizzas, calzones, and pasta, including lasagna, fettuccine Alfredo, scampi, and more. 9087 Poplar, Suite 111. 755-0092. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ SAKURA—Sushi, tempura, and teriyaki are Japanese specialties here. 2060 West St. 758-8181; 4840 Poplar. 572-1002.

L, D, X, $-$$ SOUTHERN SOCIAL—Shrimp and grits, stuffed quail, and Aunt Thelma’s Fried Chicken are among the dishes served at this upscale Southern establishment. 2285 S. Germantown Rd. 754-5555. D, SB, X, $-$$$ WEST STREET DINER—This home-style eatery offers breakfast, burgers, po’boys, and more. 2076 West St. 757-2191.

B, L, D (Mon.-Fri.), X, $

MIDTOWN (INCLUDES THE MEDICAL CENTER) ABYSSINIA RESTAURANT—Ethiopian/Mediterranean menu includes beef, chicken, lamb, fish entrees, and vegetarian dishes; also a lunch buffet. 2600 Poplar. 321-0082. L, D, X, $-$$

ALCHEMY—Southern fusion, locally grown cuisine features small and large plates; among the offerings are pan-seared hanger steak, quail, and lamb chops; also handcrafted cocktails and local craft beers. 940 S. Cooper. 726-4444. D, SB, X, $-$$ ATOMIC TIKI—Island-inspired dishes such as barbecue nachos with pineapple mango relish, Polynesian meatballs, and shrimp roll sliders are served in a tiki bar atmosphere. Closed Mon. 1545 Overton Park.

279-3935. D, $ BABALU TACOS & TAPAS—This Overton Square eatery dishes up Spanish-style tapas with Southern flair; also taco and enchilada of the day; specials change daily. 2115 Madison.

274-0100; 6450 Poplar, 410-8909. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ BAR DKDC—Features an ever-changing menu of international “street food,” from Thai to Mexican, Israeli to Indian, along with specialty cocktails. 964 S. Cooper. 272-0830. D, X, MRA, $ BAR-B-Q SHOP—Dishes up barbecued ribs, spaghetti, bologna; also pulled pork shoulder, Texas toast barbecue sandwich, chicken sandwich, and salads. Closed Sun. 1782 Madison. 272-1277. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ BARI RISTORANTE ENOTECA—Authentic Southeastern Italian cuisine (Puglia) emphasizes lighter entrees.

Serves fresh fish and beef dishes and a homemade soup of the day. 22 S. Cooper. 722-2244. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ BARKSDALE RESTAURANT—Old-school diner serving breakfast and Southern plate lunches. 237 Cooper. 722-2193. B, L, D, X, $ BAYOU BAR & GRILL—New Orleans fare at this Overton Square eatery includes jambalaya, gumbo, catfish Acadian, shrimp dishes, red beans and rice, and muffalettas. 2094 Madison. 278-8626. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ BEAUTY SHOP—Modern American cuisine with international flair served in a former beauty shop.

Serves steaks salads, pasta, and seafood, including pecan-crusted golden sea bass. Perennial “Best Brunch” winner. Closed for dinner Sunday. 966 S. Cooper. 272-7111. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ BELLY ACRES—At this festive Overton Square eatery, milkshakes, floats, and burgers rule. Burgers are updated with contemporary toppings like grilled leeks, braised tomatoes, and sourdough or brioche buns. 2102 Trimble Pl. 529-7017. L, D, X, $ BHAN THAI—Authentic Thai cuisine includes curries, pad Thai noodles, and vegetarian dishes, as well as seafood, pork, and duck entrees. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. and all day Mon. 1324 Peabody. 272-1538. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ BLUE NILE ETHIOPIAN—Kabobs, flavorful chicken and lamb stew, and injera (flatbread) are traditional items on the menu, along with vegetarian options. 1788 Madison. 474-7214.

L, D, X, $-$$ BOSCOS—Tennessee’s first craft brewery serves a variety of freshly brewed beers as well as wood-fired oven pizzas, pasta, seafood, steaks, and sandwiches. 2120 Madison. 432-2222. L, D, SB (with live jazz), X, MRA, $-$$ BOUNTY ON BROAD—Offering family-style dining, Bounty serves small plates and family-sized platters, with such specialties as chicken fried quail and braised pork shank. 2519 Broad. 410-8131. L (Sat. and Sun.), D (Mon.-Sat.), SB, X, $-$$$ BROADWAY PIZZA—Serving a variety of pizzas, including the Broadway Special, as well as sandwiches, salads, wings, and soul-food specials. 2581 Broad. 454-7930; 627 S. Mendenhall. 207-1546. L, D, X, $-$$ CAFE 1912—French/American bistro owned by culinary pioneer Glenn Hays serving such seafood entrees as seared sea scallops with charred cauliflower purée and chorizo cumin sauce; also crepes, salads, and onion soup gratinée. 243 S. Cooper. 722-2700. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ CAFE BROOKS BY PARADOX—Serving grab-and-go pastries, as well as lunch items. Menu includes soups, salads, and sandwiches, such as the Modern Reuben and Grown Up Grilled Cheese. 1934 Poplar (Memphis Brooks Museum of Art).

544-6200. B, L, X, $ CAFE ECLECTIC—Omelets and chicken and waffles are among menu items, along with quesadillas, sandwiches, wraps, and burgers. Menu varies by location. 603 N. McLean.

725-1718; 111 Harbor Town Square. 590-4645; 510 S. Highland.

410-0765. B, L, D, SB, X, MRA, $ CAFE OLE—This eatery specializes in authentic Mexican cuisine; one specialty is the build-your-own quesadilla. 959 S. Cooper. 343-0103. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ CAFE PALLADIO—Serves gourmet salads, soups, sandwiches, and desserts in a tea room inside the antiques shop.

Closed Sun. 2169 Central. 278-0129. L, X, $ CAFE SOCIETY—With Belgian and classic French influences, serves Wagyu beef, chicken, and seafood dishes, including bacon-wrapped shrimp, along with daily specials and vegetarian entrees. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 212 N. Evergreen. 722-2177. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ CELTIC CROSSING—Specializes in Irish and American pub fare. Entrees include shepherd’s pie, shrimp and sausage coddle, and fish and chips. 903 S. Cooper. 274-5151. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$ CENTRAL BBQ—Serves ribs, smoked hot wings, pulled pork sandwiches, chicken, turkey, nachos, and portobello sandwiches. Offers both pork and beef barbecue. 2249 Central Ave. 272-9377; 4375 Summer Ave. 7674672; 147 E. Butler. 672-7760. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ CHEF TAM’S UNDERGROUND CAFE—Serves Southern staples with a Cajun twist. Menu items include totchos, jerk wings, fried chicken, and “muddy” mac and cheese. Closed Sun. and Mon. 2299 Young. 207-6182. L, D, $ THE COVE—Nautical-themed restaurant and bar serving oysters, pizzas, and more. The Stoner Pie, with tamales and fritos, is a popular dish. 2559 Broad. 730-0719. L, D, $ THE CRAZY NOODLE—Korean noodle dishes range from bibam beef noodle with cabbage, carrots, and other vegetables, to curry chicken noodle; also rice cakes served in a flavorful sauce. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 2015 Madison. 272-0928. L, D, X, $ ECCO—Mediterranean-inspired specialties range from rib-eye steak to seared scallops to housemade pastas and a grilled vegetable plate; also a Saturday brunch.

Closed Sun.-Mon. 1585 Overton Park. 410-8200. L, D, X, $-$$ FARM BURGER—Serves grass-fed, freshly ground, locally sourced burgers; also available with chicken, pork, or veggie quinoa patties, with such toppings as aged white cheddar, kale coleslaw, and roasted beets. 1350 Concourse Avenue #175. 800-1851. L, D, X, $ FRIDA’S—Mexican cuisine and Tex-Mex standards, including chimichangas, enchiladas, and fajitas; seafood includes shrimp and tilapia. 1718 Madison. 244-6196. L, D, X, $-$$ FUEL CAFE—Focus is on natural dishes and pizzas, with such options as vegetarian “anchovy” and vegan carrot Hawaiian.

Closed Sun.-Mon. 1761 Madison. 725-9025. L, D, X, $-$$ GOLDEN INDIA—Northern Indian specialties include tandoori chicken as well as lamb, beef, shrimp, and vegetarian dishes. 2097 Madison. 728-5111. L, D, X, $-$$ GROWLERS—Sports bar and eatery serves standard bar fare in addition to a pasta, tacos, chicken and waffles, and light options. 1911 Poplar. 244-7904. L, D, X, $-$$ HATTIE B’S—Fried chicken spot features “hot chicken” with a variety of heat levels; from no heat to “shut the cluck up” sauce. Sides include greens, pimento mac-and-cheese, and black eyed pea salad. 596 Cooper. 4245900. L, D, X, $ HM DESSERT LOUNGE—Serving cake, pie, and other desserts, as well as a selection of savory dishes, including meatloaf and mashed potato “cupcakes.” Closed Monday. 1586 Madison. 290-2099. L, D, X, $ HOPDODDY BURGER BAR—Focus is on locally sourced ingredients, with freshly baked buns and meat butchered and ground in-house. Patty options include Angus or Kobe beef, bison, chicken, and more; also vegetarian/ vegan. 6 Cooper. 654-5100. L, D, X, $ IMAGINE VEGAN CAFE—Dishes at this fully vegan restaurant range from salads and sandwiches to full dinners, including eggplant parmesan and “beef” tips and rice; breakfast all day Sat. and Sun. 2158 Young. 654-3455. L, D, WB, X, $ INDIAN PASS RAW BAR—Focus is on fresh Florida Gulf Coast seafood, including raw, Cajun, and char-grilled three-cheese jalapeno oysters, shrimp, and crab legs. 2059 Madison. 207-7397. L, D, X, $-$$

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CIT Y DINING LIST INDIA PALACE—Tandoori chicken, lamb shish kabobs, and chicken tikka masala are among the entrees; also, vegetarian options and a daily all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. 1720 Poplar. 278-1199. L, D, X, $-$$ JASMINE THAI AND VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT—Entrees include panang chicken, green curry shrimp, and pad thai (noodles, shrimp, and peanuts); also vegetarian dishes. Closed Mon.-Tues. 916 S. Cooper. 725-0223.

L, D, X, $ LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM—Serves such Southern cuisine as po boys and shrimp and grits, and wood-fired pizzas. 2119 Madison. 207-5097. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$ LBOE—Gourmet burger joint serves locally sourced ground beef burgers, with options like the Mac-N-Cheese Burger and Caprese. Black bean and turkey patties available. 2021 Madison.

725-0770. L, D, X, $ THE LIQUOR STORE—Renovated liquor store turned diner serves all-day breakfast, sandwiches, and entrees such as Salisbury steak and smothered pork chops. Closed for dinner Sun.-Mon. 2655 Broad. 405-5477.

B, L, D, X, $-$$ LITTLE ITALY—Serving New York-style pizza as well as subs and pasta dishes. 1495 Union. 725-0280, L, D, X, $-$$ LUCKY CAT RAMEN—Specializes in gourmet ramen bowls, such as Bacon Collards Ramen, made with rich broth.

Bao, steamed buns filled with various meats and veggies, also grace the menu. 247 S. Cooper. 633-8296. L, D, X, $-$$ MAMA GAIA—Greek-inspired dishes at this vegetarian eatery include pitas, “petitzzas,” and quinoa bowls. 1350 Concourse Avenue, Suite 137. 203-3838; 2144 Madison. 2142449. B, L, D, X, $-$$ MARDI GRAS MEMPHIS—Serving Cajun fare, including an etouffee-stuffed po’boy. Closed Mon. 496 Watkins. 5306767. L, D, X, $-$$ MAXIMO’S ON BROAD—Serving a tapas menu that features creative fusion cuisine; entrees include veggie paella and fish of the day. Closed Mon. 2617 Broad Ave. 452-1111. D, SB, X, $-$$ MEMPHIS PIZZA CAFE—Homemade pizzas are specialties; also serves sandwiches, calzones, and salads. 2087 Madison. 726-5343; 5061 Park Ave. 684-1306; 7604 W. Farmington (Germantown). 753-2218; 797 W. Poplar (Collierville).

861-7800; 5627 Getwell (Southaven). 662-536-1364. L, D, X, $-$$ MOLLY’S LA CASITA—Homemade tamales, fish tacos, a vegetarian combo, and bacon-wrapped shrimp are a few of the specialties. 2006 Madison. 726-1873. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ NEXT DOOR AMERICAN EATERY—The Kitchen’s sister restaurant serves dishes sourced from American farms. Menu features chorizo bacon dates, spicy gulf shrimp, and dry-aged beef burgers. 1350 Concourse Avenue Suite 165. 779-1512. L, D, X, $ ONIX RESTAURANT—Serves seafood dishes, including barbecued shrimp and pecan-crusted trout, and a variety of salads and sandwiches. Closed Sun. 1680 Madison. 552-4609.

L, D, X, $-$$ PAYNE’S BAR-B-QUE—Opened in 1972, this family owned barbecue joint serves ribs, smoked sausage, and chopped pork sandwiches with a standout mustard slaw and homemade sauce. About as down-toearth as it gets. 1762 Lamar. 272-1523. L, D, $-$$ PEI WEI ASIAN DINER—Serves a variety of Pan-Asian cuisine, including Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Thai.

Noodle and rice bowls are specialties; a small plates menu also offered. 1680 Union Ave., #109. 722-3780; 2257 N. Germantown Pkwy. 382-1822. L, D, X, $-$$ PHO BINH—Vietnamese, vegetarian, and Cantonese specialties include lemon tofu and spring rolls. Closed Sunday.

1615 Madison. 276-0006. L, D, $ RAILGARTEN—Located in a former rail station space, this eatery offers breakfast items, a variety of salads and sandwiches, and such entrees as short rib mac-and-cheese and fish tacos. Also serves shakes, malts, floats, and cream sodas.

2166 Central. 231-5043. B, L, D, $-$$ RED FISH ASIAN BISTRO—From the former 19th Century Club building, serves sushi, teriyaki, and hibachi. Specialities include yuzu filet mignon and

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CIT Y DINING LIST

Chilean sea bass. 1433 Union. 454-3926; 9915 Highway 64 (Lakeland). 729-7581; 6518 Goodman (Olive Branch). 662-8745254. L, D, X, $-$$$ ROBATA RAMEN & YAKITORI BAR—Serves ramen noodle bowls and Yakitori skewers as well as rice and noodle dishes. 2116 Madison. 410-8290. L, D, X, $ SABROSURA—Serves Mexican and Cuban fare, including arroz tapada de pollo and steak Mexican. Closed Sun. 782 Washington. 421-8180. L, D, X, $-$$ THE SECOND LINE—Kelly English brings “relaxed Creole cuisine” to his newest eatery; serves a variety of po-boys and such specialties as barbecue shrimp, and andouille, shrimp, and pimento cheese fries. 2144 Monroe. 590-2829. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ SEKISUI—Japanese fusion cuisine, fresh sushi bar, grilled meats and seafood, California rolls, and vegetarian entrees. Poplar/Perkins location’s emphasis is on Pacific Rim cuisine. Menu and hours vary at each location. 25 Belvedere. 725-0005; 1884 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova).

309-8800; 4724 Poplar (between Perkins & Colonial). 767-7770; 2130 W. Poplar (Collierville). 854-0622; 2990 Kirby-Whitten (Bartlett). 377-2727; 6696 Poplar. 747-0001. L, D, X, $-$$$ STONE SOUP CAFE—Cooper-Young eatery serving soups, salads, quiche, meat-and-two specials; and daily specials such as Italian roast beef. Closed Monday. 993 S. Cooper. 922-5314.

B, L, SB, X, $ SOUL FISH CAFE—Serving Southern-style soul food, tacos, and Po Boys, including catfish, crawfish, oyster, shrimp, chicken and smoked pork tenderloin. 862 S. Cooper. 725-0722; 3160 Village Shops Dr. (Germantown). 755-6988; 4720 Poplar.

590-0323. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ SWEET GRASS—Chef Ryan Trimm takes Southern cuisine to a new level. Low-country coastal cuisine includes such specialties as shrimp and grits. Closed Mon. Restaurant’s “sister,” Sweet Grass Next Door, open nightly, serves lunch Sat.-Sun. 937 S. Cooper. 278-0278. D, SB, X, $-$$$ TART—Combination patisserie and coffeehouse serving rustic French specialties, including baked eggs in brioche, topped with Gruyere, and French breads and pastries. One Commerce Square, 40 S. Main #150. 421-6276. B, L, WB, X, $-$$ TROLLEY STOP MARKET—Serves plate lunches/dinners as well as pizzas, salads, and vegan/vegetarian entrees; a specialty is the locally raised beef burger. Also sells fresh produce and goods from local farmers; delivery available. Saturday brunch; closed Sunday. 704 Madison. 526-1361. L, D, X, $ TSUNAMI—Features Pacific Rim cuisine (Asia, Australia, South Pacific, etc.); also a changing “small plate” menu. Chef Ben Smith is a Cooper-Young pioneer. Specialties include Asian nachos and roasted sea bass.

Closed Sunday. 928 S. Cooper. 274-2556. D, X, $$-$$$

SOUTH MEMPHIS (INCLUDES

PARKWAY VILLAGE, FOX MEADOWS, SOUTH MEMPHIS, WINCHESTER, AND WHITEHAVEN)

COLETTA’S—Longtime eatery serves such specialties as homemade ravioli, lasagna, and pizza with barbecue or traditional toppings. 1063 S. Parkway E. 948-7652; 2850 Appling Rd. (Bartlett). 383-1122. L, D, X, $-$$ CURRY BOWL—Specializes in Southern Indian cuisine, serving Tandoori chicken, biryani, tikka masala, and more.

Weekend buffet. 4141 Hacks Cross. 207-6051. L, D, $ DELTA’S KITCHEN—The premier restaurant at The Guest House at Graceland serves Elvis-inspired dishes — like Nutella and Peanut Butter Crepes for breakfast — and upscale Southern cuisine — including lamb chops and shrimp and grits — for dinner. 3600 Elvis Presley Blvd. 443-3000. B, D, X, $-$$$ DWJ KOREAN BARBECUE—This authentic Korean eatery serves kimbap, barbecued beef short ribs, rice and noodles dishes, and hot pots and stews.

3750 Hacks Cross, Suite 101. 746-8057; 2156 Young. 207-6204. L, D, $-$$

THE FOUR WAY—Legendary soul-food establishment dishing up such entrees as fried and baked catfish, chicken, and turkey and dressing, along with a host of vegetables and desserts. Around the corner from the legendary Stax Studio. Closed Monday. 998 Mississippi Blvd. 507-1519. L, D, $ INTERSTATE BAR-B-Q—Specialties include chopped pork-shoulder sandwiches, ribs, hot wings, spaghetti, chicken, and turkey. 2265 S. Third. 775-2304; 150 W. Stateline Rd. (Southaven). 662-393-5699. L, D, X, $-$$ LEONARD’S—Serves wet and dry ribs, barbecue sandwiches, spaghetti, catfish, homemade onion rings, and lemon icebox pie; also a lunch buffet. 5465 Fox Plaza.

360-1963. L, X, $-$$ MARLOWE’S—In addition to its signature barbecue and ribs, Marlowe’s serves Southern-style steaks, chops, lasagne, and more. 4381 Elvis Presley Blvd. 332-4159. D, X, MRA, $-$$ UNCLE LOU’S FRIED CHICKEN—Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives for good reason: fried chicken (mild, hot, or home-style); jumbo burgers four patties high; strawberry shortcake, and assorted fruit pies. 3633 Millbranch. 332-2367. L, D, X, MRA, $

SUMMER/BERCLAIR/ RALEIGH/BARTLETT ASIAN PALACE—Chinese eatery serves seafood, vegetarian items, dim sum, and more. 5266 Summer Ave. 766-0831. L, D, X, $-$$ ELWOOD’S—Casual comfort food includes tacos, pizza and sandwiches. Specialties include meats smoked in-house (chicken, turkey, brisket, pork), barbecue pizza and steelhead trout tacos. 4523 Summer.

761-9898. B, L, D, X, $ EXLINES’ BEST PIZZA—Serves pizza, Italian dinners, sandwiches, and salads. 6250 Stage Rd. 382-3433; 2935 Austin Peay. 388-4711; 2801 Kirby Parkway. 754-0202; 7730 Wolf River Blvd. (Germantown). 753-4545; 531 W. Stateline Rd. 662-342-4544 (check online for additional locations). L, D, X, MRA, $ GRIDLEY’S—Offers barbecued ribs, shrimp, pork plate, chicken, and hot tamales; also daily lunch specials. Closed Tues. 6842 Stage Rd. 377-8055. L, D, X, $-$$ LA TAQUERIA GUADALUPANA—Fajitas and quesadillas are just a few of the authentic Mexican entrees offered here. A bona-fide Memphis institution. 4818 Summer. 685-6857; 5848 Winchester. 365-4992. L, D, $ LOTUS—Authentic Vietnamese-Asian fare, including lemon-grass chicken and shrimp, egg rolls, Pho soup, and spicy Vietnamese vermicelli.

4970 Summer. 682-1151. D, X, $ MORTIMER’S—Contemporary American entrees include trout almondine, chicken dishes, and hand-cut steaks; also sandwiches, salads, and daily/nightly specials. A Memphis landmark since the Knickerbocker closed. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 590 N. Perkins. 761-9321. L, D, X, $-$$ NAGASAKI INN—Chicken, steak, and lobster are among the main courses; meal is cooked at your table. 3951 Summer. 454-0320. D, X, $$ PANDA GARDEN—Sesame chicken and broccoli beef are among the Mandarin and Cantonese entrees; also seafood specials and fried rice. Closed for lunch Saturday. 3735 Summer. 323-4819. L, D, X, $-$$ QUEEN OF SHEBA—Featuring Middle Eastern favorites and Yemeni dishes such as lamb haneeth and saltah. 4792 Summer. 207-4174. L, D, $ SIDE PORCH STEAK HOUSE—In addition to steak, the menu includes chicken, pork chops, and fish entrees; homemade rolls are a specialty. Closed Sun.-Mon. 5689 Stage Rd. 377-2484. D, X, $-$$

UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICT (INCLUDES CHICKASAW GARDENS AND HIGHLAND STRIP)

A-TAN—Serves Chinese and Japanese hibachi cuisine, complete with sushi bar. A specialty is Four Treasures with garlic sauce. 3445 Poplar, Suite 17, University Center. 452-4477. L, D, X, $-$$$ THE BLUFF—New Orleans-inspired menu includes alligator bites, nachos topped with crawfish and andouille, gumbo, po’boys, and fried seafood platters. 535 S. Highland. 454-7771.

L, D, X, $-$$ BROTHER JUNIPER’S—This little cottage is a breakfast mecca, offering specialty omelets, including the open-faced San Diegan omelet; also daily specials, and homemade breads and pastries. Closed Mon. 3519 Walker.

324-0144. B, X, $ CHAR RESTAURANT—Specializing in modern Southern cuisine, this eatery offers homestyle sides, char-broiled steaks, and fresh seafood. 431 S. Highland, #120. 249-3533. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ DERAE RESTAURANT—Ethiopian and Mediterranean fare includes fuul, or fava beans in spices and yogurt, goat meat and rice, and garlic chicken over basmati rice with cilantro chutney; also salmon and tilapia. Closed Monday. 923 S. Highland. 552-3992. B, L, D, $-$$ EL PORTON—Fajitas, quesadillas, and steak ranchero are just a few of the menu items. 2095 Merchants Row (Germantown). 754-4268; 8361 Highway 64. 380-7877; 3448 Poplar, Poplar Plaza. 452-7330; 1805 N. Germantown Parkway (Cordova). 624-9358; 1016 W. Poplar (Collierville). 854-5770. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ JOES’ ON HIGHLAND—Specializes in fried chicken and comfort sides such as warm okra/green tomato salad and turnip greens. Entrees include salmon patties and chicken fried steak.

Closed Mon. 262 S. Highland. 337-7003. L, D, X, $ MEDALLION—Offers steaks, seafood, chicken, and pasta entrees. Closed for dinner Sunday. 3700 Central, Holiday Inn (Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality). 678-1030. B, L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ ROCK’N DOUGH PIZZA CO.—Specialty and custom pizzas made from fresh ingredients; wide variety of toppings. 3445 Poplar Ave., Ste. 1. 512-6760; 7850 Poplar, #6 (Germantown). 779-2008. L, D, SB, X, $$

OUT-OF-TOWN TACKER’S SHAKE SHACK—This family-run establishment offers plate lunches, catfish dinners, homemade desserts, and a variety of hamburgers, including a mac ‘n’ cheese-topped griddle burger. Closed Sun. 409 E. Military Rd. (Marion, AR). 870-739-3943. B, L, D, $ BONNE TERRE—This inn’s cafe features American cuisine with a Southern flair, and a seasonal menu that changes monthly. Offers Angus steaks, duck, pasta, and seafood. Closed Sun.-Wed. 4715 Church Rd. W. (Nesbit, MS). 662-781-5100. D, X, $-$$$ BOZO’S HOT PIT BAR-B-Q—Barbecue, burgers, sandwiches, and subs. 342 Hwy 70 (Mason, TN). 901-294-3400.

L, D, $-$$ CATFISH BLUES—Serving Delta-raised catfish and Cajunand Southern-inspired dishes, including gumbo and fried green tomatoes. 210 E. Commerce (Hernando, MS). 662-298-3814. L, D, $ CITY GROCERY—Southern eclectic cuisine; shrimp and grits is a specialty. Closed for dinner Sunday. 152 Courthouse Square (Oxford, MS). 662-232-8080. L, D, SB, X, $$-$$$ COMO STEAKHOUSE—Steaks cooked on a hickory charcoal grill are a specialty here. Upstairs is an oyster bar. Closed Sun. 203 Main St. (Como, MS). 662-526-9529. D, X, $-$$$ LONG ROAD CIDER CO.—Specializes in hard apple ciders made with traditional methods. Cafe-style entrees

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include black eye peas with cornbread and greens, chicken Gorgonzola pockets, cider-steamed sausage, and housemade ice creams. Closed Sun.-Wed. 9053 Barret Road. (Barretville, TN). 352-0962. D, X, $ MANILA FILIPINO RESTAURANT—Entrees include pork belly cutlet with lechon sauce, and shrimp and vegetables in tamarind broth; also daily combos, rice dishes, and chef specials. Closed Sun.-Mon. 7849 Rockford (Millington, TN). 209-8525. L, D, X, $ MARSHALL STEAKHOUSE—Rustic steakhouse serves premium Angus beef steaks, seafood dishes, rack of lamb, and more. Breakfast menu features griddle cakes, and lunch offerings include hamburger steak and oyster po’ boys. 2379 Highway 178 (Holly Springs, MS). 628-3556. B, L, D, X, $-$$$ MEMPHIS BARBECUE COMPANY—Offers spare ribs, baby backs, and pulled pork and brisket, along with such sides as mac and cheese, grits, and red beans. 709 Desoto Cove (Horn Lake, MS). 662-536-3762. L, D, X, $-$$ NAGOYA—Offers traditional Japanese cuisine and sushi bar;

CASINO TABLES BOURBON STREET STEAKHOUSE & GRILL AT SOUTHLAND PARK—1550 Ingram Blvd., West Memphis, AR, 1-800-467-6182.

CHICAGO STEAKHOUSE AT THE GOLDSTRIKE—1010 Casino Center Dr., Robinsonville, MS, 1-888-24KSTAY /662-357-1225.

FAIRBANKS AT THE HOLLYWOOD—1150 Casino Strip Blvd., Robinsonville, MS, 1-800-871-0711.

JACK BINION’S STEAK HOUSE AT HORSESHOE—1021 Casino Center Drive, Robinsonville, MS, 1-800-303-SHOE. LUCKY 8 ASIAN BISTRO AT HORSESHOE—1021 Casino Center Drive, Robinsonville, MS, 1-800-303-SHOE. SAMMY HAGAR’S RED ROCKER BAR & GRILL AT SOUTHLAND PARK—1550 Ingram Blvd., West Memphis, AR, 1-870-735-3670 ext. 5208 THE STEAKHOUSE AT THE FITZ —711 Lucky Ln., Robinsonville, MS, 1-888-766-LUCK, ext 8213. specialties are teriyaki and tempura dishes. 7075 Malco Blvd., Suite 101 (Southaven, MS). 662-349-8788. L, D, X, $-$$$ PANCHO’S—Serves up a variety of Mexican standards, including tacos, enchiladas, and mix-and-match platters; also lunch specials. 3600 E. Broadway (West Memphis, AR).

870-735-6466. 717 N. White Station. 685-5404. L, D, X, MRA, $ PIG-N-WHISTLE—Offers pork shoulder sandwiches, wet and dry ribs, catfish, nachos, and stuffed barbecue potatoes. 6084 Kerr-Rosemark Rd. (Millington, TN). 872-2455.

L, D, X, $ RAVEN & LILY—Eatery offers innovative Southern cuisine with such dishes as onion ring and pork rind salad, chipotle hot chicken with spiced cabbage, and shrimp and grits benedict. Closed for lunch Monday. 7700 Highway 64 (Oakland, TN). 235-7300. L, D, SB, X, $-$$ RAVINE—Serves contemporary Southern cuisine with an emphasis on fresh, locally grown foods and a menu that changes weekly. Closed Mon.-Tues. 53 Pea Ridge/County Rd. 321 (Oxford, MS). 662-234-4555. D, SB, X, $$-$$$ STEAK BY MELISSA—Aged, choice-grade, hand-cut steaks are a specialty here. Also serving fresh seafood dishes, plate lunches, burgers, and sandwiches. 4975 Pepper Chase Dr. (Southaven, MS). 662-342-0602. L, D, WB, X, $-$$$ WILSON CAFE—Serving elevated home-cooking, with such dishes as deviled eggs with cilantro and jalapeno, scampi and grits, and doughnut bread pudding. 2 N. Jefferson (Wilson, AR). 870-655-0222. L, D (Wed. through Sat. only), X, $-$$$

The 2018

Now Accepting Nominations

B

usiness is pushed forward by change and evolution, and it is those in the forefront of that evolution — the tinkerers, the questioners, the visionaries — who keep the machine of commerce oiled.

But who are these people? We want to know. Send us your best and brightest nominations for our sixth annual Innovation Awards issue coming in October. Please include any pertinent biographical or business information, and why the person, business, or organization should be recognized as a leader among innovators.

Email your nomination to sparks@insidememphisbusiness.com.

Deadline for nominations is July 15, 2018.

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LAST STAND

Lois Freeman Always thinking of others before herself.

I

n 2008, at the age of 87, longtime Memphis human rights activist Lois Freeman had a car wreck, went to a local emergency room, and was told she had a fracture of her spine. She was rushed into a room at the hospital but immediately became restless and, against all medical advice, checked herself out.

Prudence dictated that she at least tell someone close about her predicament, though, so she called a family friend, David Upton, who, with Freeman’s son, John, was then attending the Democratic convention in Denver. She extracted a pledge from Upton that he would keep the news of her accident to himself, promising that she would let him know if her condition worsened.

Knowing the excitement that was kindling in Denver, where Barack Obama was about to become the first African-American to be nominated for president, she said she feared her son would insist on coming home if he knew her full circumstances and explained, “I don’t want John to miss any of that.”

That story is typical of who Lois Freeman was in several respects. Notably, she habitually thought of others before herself and identified profoundly with the political and social tides she favored. That same year, in an interview with students at Rhodes College who were preparing a documentary on local civil rights pioneers, she expounded on a lengthy chronicle of the causes she had been devoted to and still pursued, though she was at that point visibly frail. “It’s kind of hard to slow down,” she explained.

Nor did she, ever, this self-described baseball-playing “tomboy” of East Tennessee origins,

until death overtook her, this year at the age of 96. But not until long after she had seen the establishment and flourishing of a broad human rights movement in her adopted hometown of Memphis. Both as a volunteer activist and during several years of employment with the federal government, she worked on behalf of the disabled, of work opportunities for minorities, of desegregation, of expanded voting rights, of women’s rights, and even of religious diversity, as a co-founder of

the Unitarian Universalist Fel- government cars. Decades latlowship of Memphis. er, she continued to be certified Nor did Lois Freeman work as an official election observer alone; she did what she did in by the Department of Justice.

As president of the Memphis tandem with numerous others (in the early years of the civil Women’s Political Caucus, Freerights movement, for exam- man worked hard to get outple, she aided such pathfinders standing women to run for and as Maxine Smith, serve in public ofFreeman worked Russell Sugarmon, fice. The rolls of ofand A.W. Willis). ficialdom over the hard to get Side by side with years, continuing outstanding women to this day, contain her were her late husband Max Free- to run for and serve a plethora of womman, a lawyer who en, recruited by her, in public office. was an important who have distinbehind-the-scenes guished themselves presence in public affairs for in office. Besides the caucus, she many years, and her only child, was a mainstay of such organizathe aforementioned John Free- tions as the Women’s Leadership man, an indispensable aide to Forum, Women of Achievement, numerous well-known Demo- and the Shelby County Democrats — U.S. Representatives cratic Women.

Harold Ford and Harold Ford Freeman co-founded the Jr., and former Mayor AC Whar- Equal Employment Opportuniton, in particular. ty Council of Greater Memphis Lois Freeman first achieved and the Public Issues Forum. She special notice in 1964, that year was a member of the Governor’s of epic change in Memphis’ civ- Committee for the Handicapped, il rights landscape, when she and she was well ahead of the became an integral member of curve in dealing with the issue a biracial group of women of abused women, chairing the who began, methodically Abused Women’s Services Comand staunchly and effective- mittee in the early 1990s. ly, the racial integration of Children, too, were a special the city’s restaurants, sim- concern of hers, and at the time ply by eating together at a of her passing, she was still an different establishment each active member of the board of Saturday.

Tennessee Mentorship, a group She next turned that worked with at-risk children her determination of pre-school ages. And she was and skills to voter prominent with EdPAC, an orregistration drives, ganization that does watchdog locally and across services for public education and the state line in evaluates and endorses school Mississippi, focus- board candidates. ing on minorities But, for all her administrative and women, often roles of consequence, Lois Freehaving to drive to man was best known and most potentially dan- beloved for her liberal use of elgerous areas of bow grease in lending assistance voter suppression to others. She embodied poet in Tennessee and Robert Bly’s dictum that “every the neighboring situation needs you there.” She state in unmarked was always on call.

ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS HONEYSUCKLE ELLIS

by jackson baker

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