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I’ve spent enough time in Memphis restaurants to know when a place has its rhythm down. Patrick’s Neighborhood Bar & Patio in East Memphis has that rhythm.

On a recent visit, I walked in just before lunch, and the dining room was already humming at 11:30 a.m. — just half an hour after opening its doors. Less than an hour later, it was close to 70% capacity in a dining room that seats about 130 people. While some eateries are working to find their footing in a post-COVID world, business is steady at Patrick’s.

It’s easy to credit customer loyalty to the restaurant’s leadership.

“We’ve more than doubled sales in 20 years,” said Mike Miller, owner of Patrick’s. “And we’re thankful for everybody that comes to see us.”

Mike Miller has owned Patrick’s since 2005 when he bought it from founder Patrick Scanlon. But even back then, Miller, a Kansas City, Kansas, native, was no stranger to the restaurant business. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Miller has owned Patrick’s since 2005 when he bought it from founder Patrick Scanlon. But even back then, Miller, a Kansas City, Kansas, native, was no stranger to the restaurant business.

“I started (working in restaurants) when I was a kid,” he said. “I’ve been in the business for 41 years.”

These days, his work extends well beyond the Patrick’s dining room. In February, the National Federation of Independent Business named the East Memphis restaurateur chair of its Tennessee Leadership Council, a committee made up of small business owners from various industries across the state. They advise the organization on policy issues affecting its roughly 7,000 members in Tennessee.

“I was absolutely honored to be considered, let alone be the guy,” Miller said. “I’ve been so focused on hospitality. Now, I’m learning what independent contractors need, what farmers need, what truckers need.”

His path to Patrick’s went through several familiar restaurant stops. He worked his way up through the ranks at Chili’s Grill & Bar before helping run the original Half Shell at Poplar Avenue and Mendenhall Road and opening another location in Memphis. When the chance arose to buy Patrick’s in 2005, he took it.

“We’re just trying to make sure we’re doing a great job inside the four walls,” Patrick’s owner Mike Miller said. “We have a great, great local customer base, and we’re thankful for everybody that comes to see us.” (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

“It was just a great opportunity,” Miller said. “Pat (Scanlon) had built a good business as a bar and music venue and had kind of migrated into serving more and more food.”

Under Miller’s ownership, the restaurant has grown steadily. Patrick’s now seats about 170, including on its patio, and employs around 50 people. Some of the staff have been there for two decades, with one person having a longer tenure at the restaurant than even Miller. 

Naturally, I sat at the bar when I visited Patrick’s for lunch recently. (Bartenders give the best conversation, and they don’t have to run around the entire restaurant serving other folks.) Carrie Stephens started working at Patrick’s in 2003, two years before Miller bought the restaurant. This week, she effortlessly glided between popping tabs off bottles, mixing cocktails, pouring sodas and being greeted by name when regulars walked in. She greeted them right back in the same fashion.

“Mike just tells everybody I came with the building,” she said.

Stephens’ knowledge of the menu is extensive. She can rattle off ingredients in signature dishes such as the Firecracker Corn Dip and make suggestions based on diners’ preferences. She’s not alone in that either.

“We’ve more than doubled sales in 20 years,” said Mike Miller, owner of Patrick’s. “And we’re thankful for everybody that comes to see us.” (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

One regular I met, Kimball Gordon II, told me he’s been eating at Patrick’s for more than 25 years. He can recite the weekly specials from memory. He said he comes in weekly for the restaurant’s stuffed bell pepper.

That kind of loyalty is part of what keeps Patrick’s busy long after the lunch rush begins to taper off. Around 1:30 p.m., the dining room looked much like it had earlier in the morning: still lively with a steady stream of people coming through the door.

For Miller, that consistency is the point.

“We decided many years ago just to do good food and good service,” he said, noting the restaurant is no longer a live-music venue, though he may occasionally invite a musician to swing by throughout the year.

But let’s be real, people. Patrick’s keeps its customer base because of its menu. The food is good, and everything is house-made, even the sauces and salad dressings.

“We’re just trying to make sure we’re doing a great job inside the four walls,” Miller said. “We have a great, great local customer base, and we’re thankful for everybody that comes to see us.”

This week on the Memphis food scene

This is Jarrett's horseradish-encrusted grouper. (Courtesy Justin Fox Burks)

City & State has eliminated the retail side of its business in favor of a sharpened focus on coffee, but unwinding the retail end and expanding the seating area wasn’t without its challenges.

In the latest Recipe Exchange, Jennifer Chander shares the steps to recreate Rick Farmer’s horseradish-encrusted grouper from his previous restaurant, Jarrett’s.

Sophia Surrett tells the story of two entrepreneurs and their new British pub opening in Overton Square.

A new coffee shop is coming to town featuring brews from Yemen, Ethiopia and Costa Rica. Surrett tells us who, when and why they’re considering franchising models in the latest Food Files.

Brandon LaGrone II explains why DeSoto County liquor stores are having trouble keeping the shelves stocked.

And Gracie Driver’s $15 Deal, quiche lorraine from La Baguette, has her feeling like she’s spending time in Paris. 

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