By Dr. D. Jackson Maxwell
September is here and hopefully cooler temperatures will become the norm. For Memphis Midtowners that can mean only one thing —I t’s porch weather! Throughout the Cooper-Young, Central Gardens, Vollintine-Evergreen, and associated area historic neighborhoods, you will find residents porch sitting. They porch sit with neighbors, family, and friends sipping cold ones, eating snacks, and sharing stories while greeting passersby. Porches and sitting on them are a few of the things that add to the Midtown charm.
Over the last couple of decades or so, Midtown Memphis has been revitalized. Businesses have realized the vibrancy of the area and “hip-ish” culture that has developed with the infusion of younger, diverse residents moving in and folks who just like visiting to soak in the good vibes. As it turns out, these groups gravitate toward porches and patios, and businesses have recognized this. Café Ole was one of the first to push this concept. With pleasing Mexican fare, frozen drinks, and a patio under a shaded canopy of trees, they hit on a winning combination. Other entrepreneurs took notice, and in recent years this idea proliferated throughout Midtown in a variety of forms. In fact, even the Young Avenue Deli next door to Café Ole added a small open-air sidewalk patio for those willing to brave the weather for a sandwich and a taste of their famously wide beer selection.
A couple of the bigger patios serving up good eats and drinks in our historical area are Celtic Crossing and Slider Inn. These two establishments encourage patrons to have a leisurely meal in the company of friends over a few bevvies. At Celtic Crossing, you can often enjoy live music on the covered patio that is even heated during the winter. Similarly, the Slider Inn offers a covered patio to beat the summer heat but also provides open air seating on those comfortable temperature days we occasionally get in Memphis. The original Central BBQ has a large covered patio where you can enjoy some of the best food in town. However, due to the volume of business, an eat and run is usually the best policy.
Canvas’ patio on Madison Avenue, although not large, has a pool table and a full-service bar inside. Just down the street you will find the P&H Café, which in what may be a surprise to many, has a small patio overlooking the back parking lot where you can indulge in one of their world famous stuffed burgers with a beer (no wine or liquor) or soda. Across the street is Murphy’s. Murphy’s sports a side patio where you can have a burger or basket of food while keeping an eye through the sliding glass doors to see when you are up on a pool table.
All of this brings me to Overton Square. Memphis Pizza Café has the longest standing patio in the area. It overlooks the Tower Courtyard where parents can watch the kids playing bag toss below. If you are lucky, you can catch some live music coming from the courtyard stage. Babalu’s shaded patio has an outside bar attached where on Tuesdays you can enjoy $2 tacos. The Bayou and Robata both have full service, open air patios where you can people watch those strolling Madison Avenue. My favorite patio is the upstairs one at Lafayette’s Music Room. It allows you to gaze up and down Overton Square while sitting at an outside patio as you dine and listen to live music on the stage just beyond the open doors.
There are many other midtown patios such as the ones at Hattie B’s, Hopdoddy, Huey’s, LBOE, Mulan, Tsunami, Saltwater Crab, Red Fish, and of course, the mother of them all–the Railgarten. The Railgarten has incorporated a little bit of everything a patio setting can offer such as food, drinks, games, and live music. In the end, no matter your taste in food or entertainment, there is a Midtown patio for you. So as the weather mellows with the coming of fall, get out and enjoy a patio or at least, a porch. It’s the midtown thing to do!
Dr. D. Jackson Maxwell is an educator, freelance writer, and a Midtown porch and patio enthusiast. Please forward questions or comments to: djacksonmaxwell@gmail.com
