Good morning, Memphis! Today — Monday, April 14 — marks the start of TCAP testing for Memphis-Shelby County Schools students. And the stakes are particularly high for third graders. Just keep your eyes on your own paper, folks. That’s good life advice no matter the age. 

There’s no better way to fuel up for a big test than with a big breakfast, right? Barksdale’s restaurant in Midtown is finally reopening today after an ownership change and renovation.

Also today, the Shelby County Commission takes a final vote on pay raises for future commissioners, but that didn’t go so well on the last two votes. And former University of Memphis provost Thomas Nenon will be laid to rest at Memorial Park Cemetery, following a funeral mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. 

For more on what’s coming up, This Week in Memphis is here for you.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant gestured after hitting a 3-point basket against the Denver Nuggets on Friday, April 11, in Denver. (David Zalubowski/AP)

Grizz will play in to play off: The Memphis Grizzlies ended their regular season with a big win over the Dallas Mavericks, 132-97. It was a game that didn’t matter though, because Friday’s 117-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets already meant the Grizz aren’t guaranteed a spot in the NBA playoffs this year. But they’ll get a chance anyway. The Grizzlies are headed to Tuesday’s play-in game against the Golden State Warriors, and though the Grizzlies are the underdogs, they’ve come out on top in this exact spot before. If the Grizzlies win, they’re in the playoffs. If they lose, there’s one more chance on Friday. A play-in tournament may not be what fans or players wanted, but The Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins tells us where to find hope.

“I’m going to say the quiet part out loud. ... I didn’t want the City Council or the County Commission to add to this in terms of prevailing wages or minority participation goals,” said state Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Eads. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Not by Memphis, for Memphis: Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Eads, has paused a bill that would create a state board to bring commercial projects to Memphis, possibly without local input. But Taylor plans to bring it back next year with a little revamping. The proposed state-run board would have appointed members, who may not be from Memphis, to manage payment-in-lieu-of-taxes requests for Memphis projects. Taylor point-blank said his intention with that board would have been to get around “prevailing wages or minority participation goals” or other such “virtue signaling.” The bill was paused after Taylor heard input from Memphis Mayor Paul Young.

Houston High School opened at 9755 Wolf River Blvd. in 1989. (The Daily Memphian file)

Houston High needs money — lots of it: At Houston High School in Germantown, music and art classes are taught from closets, and science labs haven’t been updated in 35 years. The Germantown Municipal School District says the school needs $100 million in updates, but the City of Germantown has only earmarked $8 million in its 2026-27 budget. That’s a $92 million funding gap, and GMSD Superintendent Jason Manuel is accusing the city of prioritizing other projects over the school’s needs.

MEET MEMPHIS

Natalie Lieberman, founder of Collect + Curate Studio, has had her work featured in hundreds of restaurants nationwide, including more than a dozen in the Memphis area. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

If you’ve admired the decor at Hog & Hominy, The Liquor Store, Bar Ware, Kinfolk or Sugar Ghost, you’re already a fan of Natalie Lieberman’s work. The interior designer behind Collect + Curate Studio is responsible for the aesthetic vibes of some of Memphis’ hippest eateries, including the new Felicia Suzanne’s space that opens this week. Lieberman is a native Memphian who studied design at the University of Memphis, and she’s worked in restaurants, so she’s been on both sides. She also has an English degree, which helps her with the first step in decorating a new space — writing the story she’ll later tell through design. 

THE NICE TO KNOW

This tiger statue is one of several bronze animals at Todd Frankel’s Downtown properties. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Lions, a tiger and bears: If you’ve driven Peabody Street Downtown, you’ve no doubt wondered what’s up with the bronze zoo that lines the street. Along several blocks, metal statues of a horse, a bear, an elk, a tiger and some lions sit in the yards of residential buildings. One of our readers wanted to know the back story (me, too!), so our own Jody Callahan did some sleuthing for our Ask the Memphian series. Turns out California resident (and Memphis property owner) Todd Frankel added the statues as a way to identify his properties. And more animals are coming soon. (Unfortunately, there are no plans for a brass monkey.)

Memphis forward Ashton Hardaway shot a 3-pointer against Texas A&M on Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023, in College Station, Texas. (Sam Craft/AP file)

Family reunion: Ashton Hardaway is returning to Memphis to play basketball for his dad. The younger Hardaway played for the Memphis Tigers in the 2023-24 season as a freshman, but he transferred to Saint Mary’s last offseason. “I was just at a point where I wanted to kinda create my own journey and make my own footsteps, instead of having people say that I earned stuff because of my dad,” he said. But Ashton Hardaway announced on Saturday that he’ll return to Coach Penny Hardaway’s team next season “because I know how good of a coach [my dad] is, and I know how he can transform my game.”

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center has begun demolition on the old Holiday Inn at 969 Madison Ave., seen here April 4. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

No more rooms at the Inn: The long-vacant Holiday Inn at the corner of Madison Avenue and Pauline Street is coming down. The University of Tennessee Health Science Center bought the dilapidated hotel in 2015, and the demo has finally begun. Once the building is gone, the empty lot may be used for UTHSC parking in the short term. But long-term plans call for using the space as part of the school’s planned College of Medicine interdisciplinary building. And that’s just one of many building updates planned for or already underway at UTHSC. 

THIS WEEK’S WEATHER

In the words of Katy Perry, “you’re hot, then you’re cold” to start the week, and we’ll all be hot again by Friday. 

Alright, time’s up. Pencils down, class. And see you tomorrow!

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