Good morning, Memphis! ☀️
We’ve made it to August, where the school supply aisle turns into a contact sport and everybody's calendar gets a little tighter.
Today:
A local steakhouse hits 10 years
Bartlett gets a new escape room
A teenager walks off with the first Memphis Classic trophy.
And July's top five stories are here too.
Let's get into it.
Food & Drink
🥩 Char Hits 10 Years in Memphis
Char - Memphis tN
Most restaurants never make it to 10 years. Char just did.
Well done: The Highland Row steakhouse has been packing its dining room for a decade. The piano bar still plays seven nights a week.
A stake in the steak: Here's something most regulars don't know. The company sold part of itself to its own workers. That means the person bringing your food owns a piece of the place.
Read the anniversary story here.
Things to Do
🔐 Memphis Escape Rooms Broke Into Bartlett
via Memphis Business Journal
Memphis Escape Rooms just opened a third spot. It's in a room Bartlett players already know well.
Room for more: Bluff City Escape Rooms closed this summer after 10 years. Memphis Escape Rooms moved right into the space. The Stage Road location is open and taking bookings now.
Fourteen and counting: They now run 14 different games across three locations.
Book a room here.
Sports
🎾 A 16-Year-Old Just Won the First Memphis Classic
Kristina Liutova
Pro Women’s tennis came back to Memphis this weekend. Nobody expected this winner.
Serve's up: Kristina Liutova is 16 years old. She was ranked outside the top 200, so she had to win extra matches just to get in. She lost the first set of Sunday's final at Leftwich. Then she won nine games in a row and took the finals match 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Some week: She beat the tournament's top player on her way there. She's the youngest player to win a pro title since Coco Gauff in 2019. She started this year ranked 714th in the world.
Read more about her week here.
Greatest Hits
🏆 July's Top 5 (Spoiler: You're Hungry)
Some months Memphis is fired up about development news. Some months it's sports. In July, it was food. Here are the five stories that pulled the biggest response from 901 Today readers last month.
FoodieLand: the country's biggest traveling food festival makes its Memphis debut August 21–23.
El Agave: the new East Memphis taco-and-margarita spot's opening pulled the single biggest one-day response we've had.
Walt & Ricky's Seafood Kitchen: raw bar, seafood towers and lobster rolls headed for the old Fancy's space downtown.
Best Chicken Tenders in Memphis: the Commercial Appeal's bracket had you voting round after round all month.
The Southern Flea Market: antiques, vintage furniture and a whole lot of "I didn't need this" energy.
Four out of five are food. Message received, Memphis.
Daily Picks
🗞️ Other News Around the 901
🚔 Out of the water: Memphis police released body cam video of four officers saving a man from a flooded creek. He was floating down Cypress Creek yelling for help, and he was holding onto a tree branch by the time they found him. Police had been searching for him for over three hours. He made it out fine.
🛝 Court is in session: Former Grizzly Jaren Jackson Jr. put a seed gift toward a brand-new playground at the Vance Avenue Youth Development Center. The center has served neighborhood kids for more than 30 years without a dedicated outdoor space. Now it has a playground, a basketball court and new fitness equipment.
💉 Shot clock: The Shelby County Health Department is providing school-required immunizations and shot records for kids at five clinics around the county — call 901-222-9980 for an appointment, or just walk in. Need a birth certificate too? The Jefferson Avenue office is open late today until 5:30 PM.
🍺 Hoppy Monday: Cordelia's Market in Harbor Town is pouring a complimentary beer tasting tonight from 5:30–7:30 PM at 737 Harbor Bend Rd. The neighborhood market keeps one of the better beer selections in the city, growler station included.
🀄 Tile and error: Mahjong Monday runs tonight at 6:30 PM at Pike & West in Germantown. It's $25 to drop in, tiles and light snacks included, play goes till 9.
🦜 Wastin’ away in Collierville: A1A — The Official & Original Jimmy Buffett Tribute Show plays the Harrell Theater Thursday, Aug. 13 at 7 PM, and tickets are still available. The band formed in 1991 and won Buffett's own blessing a year later.
🗳️ Ten days and counting: Best of Memphis voting closes Aug. 12. That's 10 days to make sure your barber, your taco spot and your dive bar get their due.
💍 Pod squad: Netflix's Love Is Blind is casting singles across Tennessee for an upcoming season, one of six locations in this search. Producers want people who are "brave, open-minded and ready for a committed relationship" (and willing to get engaged before ever seeing each other).
Poll of the Week
📊 The Monday Poll
You're in an escape room with your family. What's your role?
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That's it for today!
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Have a great week, Memphis. We'll see you tomorrow.
— 901 Today