Memphis Is Not The Problem

In the latest issue of Memphis Daily News Chef Ben Vaughn details the demise of his Cooper Young restaurant Grace. For the article click here.

There have been a rash of restaurant closings in Memphis lately. When any independent restaurant closes its a very sad sad time. No one wants to see an independent restaurant close because they speak so much about our culture & overall personality of our wonderful Memphis.

However, I take issue with a few things in this article. "We did well with people coming to town, but in my opinion, there's a small group of diners in Memphis and all the restaurants share the same customers." The first part of this statement implies that Memphis isn't ready or "cultured" enough for what this restaurant was putting out. I beg to differ. A few examples are as follows. Bari Ristorante puts out unique & distinctively Southern Italian cuisine that is unlike what most people think of when they think of Italian. Restaurant Iris has dishes such as roasted marrow bones, foie gras & sweetbreads. Sweetgrass serves duck rillettes & beef carpaccio. There is no shortage of cuisine in Memphis that goes against the typical "meat & potatoes".