March 2013
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03/29/13The Electric Waffle Shop — Then and NowI'm sure you read our February Restaurant Guide from cover to cover, because it's pretty much all anybody has been talking about, whenever I attend parties, wakes, and barn-raisings (whew, it's been a busy month). And I'm equally certain that a highlight of that entire issue was my column on various restaurants that are long-gone. If you don't recall what I said, word for word, go here and enjoy it all over again. One of the eating establishments that caught my attention had an unusual name: The Electric Waffle Shop. And what do you know, but my pal Rick Brazier, who occasionally posts wonderful old photos he's culled from the Memphis Police Department files, actually located this nice image of the place, taken in 1934, as if the photographer had been... Posted at 02:55 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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03/13/13When Dinosaurs Came To Memphis: The Sinclair Dinosaur Exhibit of the 1960sIn our March issue, I tell about the time mighty dinosaurs came to Memphis — in the form of lifesize fiberglass replicas of "thunder lizards" that were originally part of a terrific display created by the Sinclair Oil Company for the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. Sinclair used a friendly green Brontosaurus named "Dino" for its mascot, some of you may remember. A reader, Doug Weathers, sent me several nice color photos of the dinosaurs taken by either his father or mother, Wilson and Anne Weathers, when the creatures were exhibited in parking lot of the Southgate Shopping Center, though nobody seems to know the exact date this happened. (Let me know if you do.) Anyway, I ran two of the pictures — converted from the original 35mm Kodachrome... Posted at 02:19 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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03/12/13The New York Cafe in the 1940sIn our February Dining Guide, I told readers — yes, I'm talking about you — about two well-known but long-gone dining establishments in Memphis: Foppiano's Grille on South Main, and the New York Cafe on East McLemore. I'll wait here for a few minutes while you go read that story. It's worth your time and trouble, I promise you. Okay, you're back? Now let's proceed. By pal Bonnie Kourvelas, the well-known local historian, sent me a couple of nice photos of the New York Cafe, since it was actually operated by one of her relatives. I ran one of them, showing the owners, Nick and Demetra Demopoulos, in the magazine's "Ask Vance" column. And now I'm sharing the other one with you here, as a special favor. That's Nick... Posted at 03:26 PM | Permalink | Comments: 3 |
