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Memphis Is a
City Chocked Full of Hole-in-the-Wall Treasures
(By Stacy Jones, August 27, 2005) |
Every
city has its share of treasures tucked away, waiting to be discovered.
I was reminded of this notion last
Saturday afternoon when I watched an episode of WKNO Channel
10's "Memphis Memoirs" titled "Lost Memphis."
I had missed experiencing quite a few unique places in Memphis
simply because I was born too late. So many wonderful, ornate
buildings were sacrificed in the name of progress.
One of them, an old, stately home
on Union Avenue was razed over 30 years ago to make way for an
Arby's. Despite an organized protest, it was too late. The home
was lost to corporate America. Unfortunately, the Arby's never
came to fruition on the spot. Later, a Shoney's Restaurant was
built there, and today Memphians know that building as Charles
Cavallo's Cupboard, a popular meat-and-three.
Having lived in Memphis for four
years while in college and now after becoming a permanent resident
in August last year, I have discovered my own share of unique
Memphis locales.
Midtown is full of them, and downtown
has its share, despite the recent crop of tourist attractions,
such as the Peabody Place mall and FedEx Forum.
One of the first I discovered while
in college was Huey's Restaurant. The original is located in
midtown on Madison Avenue, but in the last several years, the
owner has opened six more locations in the Memphis area.
The downtown Huey's probably has the most notoriety. Located
across the street from the Peabody Hotel, the building once housed
a Krystal. The story has it that one night a young and upcoming
Elvis Presley greased his hair, hopped in his car, and picked
up his date and drove her to that very Krystal to eat hamburgers.
Although Huey's does certainly
qualify as a local chain, it lacks that homogeneous "chain"
feeling. In each of the seven venues, the walls are graffiti-stained,
and the ceilings are full of the toothpicks that hold together
patrons' hamburgers. After the hamburgers are devoured, it is
tradition to place the toothpick in the end of one's straw and
blow it into the ceiling where it sticks for posterity. And,
believe me, after many failed attempts, there is an art to accomplishing
this feat.
But the best part of Huey's is
the burger itself. In fact, Huey's burgers have been voted best
in Memphis since 1984 by readers of The Memphis Flyer, a weekly
newspaper. I always tell potential guests that we must go to
Huey's when they visit because the hamburgers are indeed the
best in the world.
One of my other favorite Memphis
hideaways is also located in midtown on Madison. The Poor and
Hungry Café, otherwise known as the P&H, is one of
the very best holes-in-the wall Memphis has to offer. It's rather
dark inside, but the wall lamps provide subtle ambience. Sliding
into one of the worn booths, adorned with overhead caricatures
of well-known Memphians, is sure to improve my mood.
I've never met P&H proprietress
Wanda Wilson, who sports her own collection of unique hats and
had a cameo in the third movie of the "Walking Tall"
trilogy, but I've heard she's pretty special, especially to midtown
theatergoers. I have met her roommate Josephine, or Jo, as most
know her. Jo is something of a P&H hostess, and she has enough
charm and kindness to fill a room. She can also whip up some
mean Tex-Mex.
Moving further west toward the
river, the famed Peabody Hotel merits a stop. A view of the ducks
is worth it. Two weeks ago we took some guests to the South's
Grand Hotel, where, according to historian David Cohn, the Mississippi
Delta begins, and took a front row seat for the ducks to make
their nightly exit from the marble fountain.
A group of web-footed creatures
has swam in the fountain at the Peabody since the 1930s, when
General Manager Frank Schutt and a friend returned from an Arkansas
hunting trip and, after a bit too much Tennessee sippin' whiskey,
thought it would be fun to place their live duck decoys in the
fountain. The next day guests received the ducks with much enthusiasm,
and what began as a prank became tradition.
The Peabody ducks march downstairs
every day at 11 a.m. to the fountain and return every evening
at 5 p.m. to their rooftop home, one of the most breathtaking
places to witness a sunset over the Mississippi River.
The highlight of the Peabody that
day two weeks ago, though, was getting my photo made with Mr.
Bernard Lansky, clothier to Elvis, especially in Elvis's younger
rockabilly days. Lansky runs a branch of his men's clothing shop
just off the lobby of the Peabody.
Further south, Beale Street, despite
its touristy cache, holds its share of surprises. One time while
walking on Beale Street in the early evening, Mike and I encountered
a Memphis legend, the late Rufus Thomas, of "Funky Chicken"
and "Walking the Dog" musical fame. He was "mentoring"
a group of young African-American men, offering them advice on
how to living as examples to others. We didn't want to interrupt,
so we just stood there spellbound and listened.
The gem of Beale Street, though,
has little to do with music. Since 1876, the motto of A. Schwab's
two-story general merchandise store has been "If you can't
find it at A. Schwab's, you're better off without it!" At
this family-run store visitors can walk across the squeaky wooden
floors to purchase an eclectic array of dry goods, including
washboards, neckties, straight razors, and overalls up to a size
72, as well as any necessary voodoo herbs and potions. I don't
know whether you can truly attract your desired lover or ward
off evil or put a hex on anyone, but, gee, isn't it fun to try?
However, not to be missed downtown
is Earnestine and Hazel's, now a fairly "rustic" (i.e.,
usually means rat-infested "hole in the wall") dive
at the last stop on the Main Street trolley line. The place used
to be a brothel at one time and a hotel for African-Americans
at another time. According to legend, Ray Charles stayed there,
as well as Elvis.
The joint doesn't really crank
up until late evening, but they offer a nice, greasy "soul
burger." They also have rights to one of the best jukeboxes
in town, offering a diverse collection of Memphis R&B and
soul.
The best part, though, about this
historic place? It is supposedly haunted. One evening when my
husband Mike and I were the last patrons for the night, one of
the cooks gave us a tour of a couple of back rooms that visitors
don't usually get to see and told us about a number of strange
occurrences.
"I was talking to a friend
about divorce," she leaned in and revealed, "and all
of a sudden, that country song 'D-I-V-O-R-C-E' started playing
on the jukebox." Eerie.
That's why I love these places
so rich with character and history. Take me to a hole-in-the
wall over a chain venue any day.
(Stacy Jones, a Southerner,
is a Master of Fine Arts student in fiction writing at The University
of Memphis. She is a native of Guys, Tenn., and her columns,
which appear on Saturdays, are archived at Southern-Drawl.com.) |
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