Good morning, Memphis! ☀️
Today:
a spicy new chicken chain is coming to town
golf just got a lot more family-friendly,
and Thursday's election is coming up fast.
Plus, the Tigers are ready to show off their new stadium.
Let's get into it.
Food & Drink
🌶️ Dave's Hot Chicken Is Coming to Memphis
Get your milk ready. Dave's Hot Chicken just signed a lease for its first Memphis restaurant.
Prime real estate: The chain is taking over the old Spin Street spot at 3484 Poplar Ave., right at Poplar and Highland in Poplar Plaza. Construction is already underway.
Tennessee's #2: This will be the state's second Dave's location after Chattanooga. The company plans to redo the building's tower with its own branding.
No firm open date yet, but they're aiming for before the end of the year. Read more here.
Sports
⛳ Kids Eat (and Get In) Free at the FedEx St. Jude Championship
The FedEx St. Jude Championship just made it a lot cheaper to bring the whole family to TPC Southwind.
Two for one: Every Grounds+ ticketed adult can bring up to 2 kids age 15 and under for free, and those kids also get free food and drinks under the tournament's new program.
Starting around $63: Grounds+ tickets include unlimited food and non-alcoholic drinks at select spots on the course, no extra charge.
The tournament returns to TPC Southwind Aug. 12–16. Get tickets here.
News
🗳️ Nearly 70,000 Memphians Already Voted. Have You?
Early voting just wrapped, and nearly 70,000 Shelby Countians already cast a ballot ahead of Thursday's election.
The headliners. Governor, Shelby County mayor (Mickell Lowery vs. John DeBerry), and sheriff (Anthony Buckner vs. Brad Less) all top the ballot.
We built you a shortcut. A fast, no-fluff guide to every race on Thursday's ballot: governor, Congress, mayor, sheriff, and more, all in one place
Read our fast election guide here.
Sports
🐯 Memphis Tigers Fan Fest Kicks Off the Charles Huff Era Aug. 8
The renovated Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium gets its first real test run when the Tigers throw open the gates for a free Fan Fest.
Totally free: Gates open at 3 PM on Saturday, Aug. 8, with free parking in the Pink, Silver and Tan lots starting at noon.
First 1,500 get swag: The first 1,500 fans get a free Memphis Football shirsey, plus there's a Kids Zone, $3 beer specials, and a 35-minute autograph session with players and coaches after practice.
See the full stadium and parking info here.
Memphis History
🕰️ A Look Back: Memphis Before the Interstate
That quiet stretch is what's now I-240 at Perkins Road, looking East. Today, that same view is one of the busiest stretches of interstate in all of Tennessee.
Nobody in this photo could have guessed it. The loop around Memphis wasn't even sketched out until 1955, and it took decades of construction to finish.
So next time you're crawling through traffic near Perkins, remember: it used to be one car on a dirt road.
Daily Picks
🗞️ Other News Around the 901
🍗 Chicken & Beer Festival is 4 days out. The Memphis Chicken & Beer Festival returns to Tiger Lane Saturday, Aug. 8 from 6–10 PM. Tickets are $45 and get you a souvenir glass plus 90+ beverage samples. 21+ only.
🎻 Sound the trumpets. U of M's music school dropped its full 2026-2027 lineup, from big orchestra nights to jazz shows. The whole season is up now.
🦫 Beaver problem, solved. Germantown approved a contract to rebuild the closed boardwalk on the Greenway's Beaver Loop, which broke down after years of flooding near the Wolf River. The work starts Thursday.
📚 Room to grow. Collierville is expanding the Burch Library, and the groundbreaking is Aug. 12 at 501 Poplar View Pkwy. The plan adds a Civic Center, a quiet reading room, and a bigger kids' space.
🎓 Sharpen your skills. The New Memphis Leadership Summit returns Aug. 12 at the University of Memphis. It sells out every year, and table sales end Aug. 7.
🏛️ A piece of Midtown history just hit the market. The Nineteenth Century Club building on Union Avenue — a century-old mansion currently home to Tekila Modern Mexican — is listed for $3.8 million. The restaurant plans to keep operating until it sells.
🎄 Christmas in August. The Collierville Burch Library is already booking vendors for its Holiday Market. The event is Saturday, Nov. 14, but vendor applications are due by Aug 31.
🎸 The Neon Mooners are headed to Lakeland. The city's LAMP Concert Series kicks off its next round Aug. 22 at IH Park, headlined by the Neon Mooners — the 80s and 90s country cover band that's become a Memphis-area staple.
👑 Elvis Week is (almost) here. Elvis Week kicks off this Saturday, Aug. 8, and runs through Aug. 16 at Graceland, with tribute contests, concerts and a candlelight vigil. Heads up: multi-day packages are already sold out, so grab single-event tickets if you're going.
⛳ Fore! It's coming back. Quail Ridge Golf Course in Bartlett is under new management and aiming for a Labor Day reopening. Construction on the new clubhouse is in full swing. Check out the progress here.
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That's it for today!
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Have a great Tuesday, Memphis. We'll see you tomorrow.
— 901 Today
