The Early Word: Growing beavers, winning bears and no more pies, oh my!
Welcome to Monday, Memphis. It’s Nov. 11, Veterans Day, so thank you to all who served. There’s are ceremonies today at the West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery and at W. J. Freeman Park in Bartlett, and there’s a parade in Hernando. See our Veterans Day guide for details and a list of what’s closed.
Two members of Germantown law enforcement will be recognized at the suburb’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting tonight for saving the life of a Germantown man. And in Collierville, the BMA will consider new residential and retail for Price Farms, which is anchored by Carriage Crossing.
For a look at what’s coming, check out This Week in Memphis.
The biggest local news to come out of West Memphis, well, maybe ever is that Buc-ee’s is planning one of its behemoth convenience-store palaces there. It’s great news for Arkansas’ sales tax revenue, and it’s good news for Memphians, many of whom will be able to load up on brisket and beaver-themed merch in just a 15-minute drive. It’s also excellent news for the local job market since the West Memphis store plans to hire 225 people with some pretty phenomenal pay. (Seriously, y’all wanna come work at Buc-ee’s?) That West Memphis shop and another planned for Fayette County are part of Buc-ee’s massive growth plan.
The Memphis Grizzlies dominated the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night, 134-89, without star point guard Ja Morant, who’s still nursing a hip injury. But they didn’t even need to call 12, because they had 1 (Scotty Pippen Jr.). Once a win was almost certain, the Grizzlies threw in two-way contract, fan-fave Yuki Kawamura with eight minutes left in the game — and even Trail Blazers fans went wild. Back to Pippen: He recorded his first career triple-double on Friday while filling in for Morant in the Grizz win over the Washington Wizards.
If you were planning to serve The Pie Folks’ Good Googa Mooga pecan pie at the Thanksgiving table, you’re out of luck this year. The Cordova pie shop, best known for serving chocolate pie so good you’d want to “Slap Yo Mama,” closed at the end of October. Owner Audrey Anderson said she was looking to do something “less stressful.” But there’s good news if you’re a fan of Anderson’s banana pie: She’s opening a new shop that you’ll find quite a-peeling (wink, wink).
Plus, a family sues Germantown schools over a service dog, CBU cuts more jobs and a Hernando eatery brings the noise (complaints).
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Bianca Phillips
Bianca Phillips is a Northeast Arkansas native and longtime Memphian who’s worked in local journalism and PR for more than 20 years. She’s a diehard morning person who spends her free time running marathons and ultras. She’s the author of “Cookin Crunk: Eatin’ Vegan in the Dirty South.”
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