Hey, there! And happy Thursday to you. 

Today is Aug. 27, and the UrbanArt Commission will host a sneak peek of the mural-making process for the renovated Renasant Convention Center tonight at 5:30 p.m.

After that, Babalu bartender Michelle Laverty will host a virtual cocktail class at 7:15 p.m. I hope you’ve already got your tickets because we have a lot to get to today; you just might need a drink by the time we’re done. (Just me?)

THE NEED TO KNOW

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen attended a press conference on Aug. 17, 2020, to ask citizens to make sure they are counted in this year’s census. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian file)

The census counts: Remember Mayors Jim Strickland and Lee Harris and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen holding a rare, in-person press conference to urge area citizens to register for the census? Less than 60% of Shelby County households have responded to this most recent census, putting the county at risk of losing one of its Tennessee House seats, as lawmakers will use the population data to create new districts in 2022.

Focusing on what works: In this week’s edition of Bread & Butter, our look at how restaurants are surviving the pandemic, SOB owner Ed Cabigao talks about initially closing two of his other businesses to focus on what was working at SOB. While the Downtown restaurant’s location made SOB the perfect place to hang out pre-COVID, takeout has recently grown from less than 5% of sales to as much as 25%. “A lot of our customers rediscovered SOB food on its own,” Cabigao said. “They started coming to us for the food again.” He also credits technology, specifically the video screen system that helps chefs get plates to the pass in as little as eight minutes, for keeping the operation moving efficiently.

Rachel Black speaks during an Aug. 26, 2020, protest held at the South Memphis Mapco. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)

A homicide suspect, a mistaken identify and a police-involved shooting: Protesters gathered in South Memphis yesterday after a U.S. Marshals task force was involved in the shooting of a 17-year-old. On Tuesday, the Marshals planned to arrest a fugitive accused of murder. “When the officers tried to surround the vehicle with theirs, the driver — later identified as a young man who was not the fugitive — reportedly tried to flee by backing up and ramming nearby vehicles several times, including those belonging to officers and at least one civilian,” the TBI said. The teenager was arrested after being released from the hospital; both the vehicle and a loaded gun in the car were said to be stolen.

As seen on TV: With 12-foot ceilings and large windows with views in all directions, a long-vacant, five-story building seems ripe for a new mixed-use project. The building, located near the Poplar Viaduct, was once home to the local ABC-TV affiliate, WPTY-TV Channel 24. To proceed, however, the developers will need a variance from the Board of Adjustment.

MEET MEMPHIS

Chef Alex Grisanti sits in his soon-to-open new restaurant in Southaven. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)

If you’ve lived in Memphis any time at all, you know the name Grisanti. Alex Grisanti is one of Ronnie Grisanti’s sons — and a brother to Judd and Dino — and the chef behind the 9 Dough 1 food truck. But now he’s opening up the first Grisanti restaurant in DeSoto County, based off of the restaurant he opened with his dad in 2003 and moved to Germantown in 2008. The new Elfo Grisanti’s is expected to open next month in Southaven with Alex sober and more than 60 pounds lighter than he was 10 months ago.

THE NICE TO KNOW

“The meter of expenses is gonna continue to tick at Hattiloo,” said Ekundayo Bandele. “Utilities must be paid, elevators must be repaired.” (Ziggy Mack/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Staging a comeback: Last April, Playhouse on the Square was already taking its cue, adding distance markers, Plexiglass and all the trademarks of a COVID-19 communal space and talking about “Little Shop of Horrors.” But that plan, like many made in the local theater community, has also been a victim of the coronavirus pandemic: “Live theater companies in Memphis endured a long exercise in improv in the second half of the 2019-20 theater season. And 2020-21 is shaping up as more of the same.” But there are exciting and innovative shows on the horizon, and some of them are sooner than you might think. 

True story: Chris Herrington’s ever-engaging Memphis 10 column is back, and he’s taking on Record Store Day, protests, the timing of MLGW’s massive cut-offs, Fire-Eaters and a man named Wigfall.

The 2018 Collierville High football team jogs to the locker room during better days. (Daily Memphian file)

Collierville can’t catch a break? The Collierville High School football saga (yes, I think it’s fair to call it a saga) continues. First there was the media ban. Then the ban was overturned for this Friday’s upcoming game … which has now been postponed due to two confirmed coronavirus cases specific to the school’s varsity football team. Obviously, all those events aren’t exactly related, except that they happened at the same school during the same pandemic. But they are notable. As Geoff Calkins writes, “By allowing high school football to proceed, we are accepting a level of physical contact during a pandemic that we don’t allow anywhere else.” 

Charting Graf: If you read yesterday’s interview with outgoing FedEx CFO Alan Graf, you know that the company has positioned itself strategically to weather the pandemic and perhaps even grow during this time of disruption. Today, he’s looking at other times in the company’s history when it operated similarly and looking back to his earliest days with the global logistics company: “Nothing really rang my bell like when I came to Memphis and interviewed. … There was just an aura about the company where everybody seemed aggressive and wanted to win and there was high energy and Fred Smith was talking about buying airplanes from Continental and putting cargo doors in them, and I thought, ‘My gosh, this guy might even be crazy...’” 

It’s inevitable that KKW will be president someday, right? But for now, KKW’s husband, Kanye West, has qualified to be on the ballot in Tennessee, getting signatures from at least 275 registered voters in the state. Yesterday, Bill Dries looked at those signatures and noted several local VIPs in the mix. 

Wet weekend: Get ready for some rain. It’s not my usual look-at-the-weather day, but Hurricane Laura is expected to bring more than 2 inches of rain to the area through Saturday afternoon.

WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Yes, yesterday was International Dog Day, but that’s not all it was. 

Maybe there just aren’t enough days to go around? FWIW, today is International Lottery Day and National Just Because Day. 

I guess we should all go out (or stay in) today and do something “just because.” See you tomorrow! 

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