“We feel like it’s part of our job, especially on Christmas Day of all days, to get up and give back the way we know how, which is with a good meal and some company,” said owner Patrick Koplin at the restaurant’s 25th annual holiday community meal. 

A planned new performance venue from Crosstown Concourse and Live Nation has sparked both excitement and concerns from local music fans, concert bookers and venue owners.

First-time and veteran volunteers spent two days cooking and prepping enough food for more than 1,000 people during Westy’s annual mission to serve a Thanksgiving meal to Memphians in need.

Beale Street would not be what it is today without Rum Boogie Cafe owner, and former CPA, Preston Lamm. But, he’s turned the keys over to a new owner. 

The Greenline will grow to nearly 13 miles when the last planned extension eastward is complete in fall 2025.

The six-week event includes 270 gardens across 40 neighborhoods in Shelby and Fayette counties, as well as some public spaces. Vendors will also be in attendance at certain locations. 

The Daily Memphian photographer Patrick Lantrip traveled to Sikeston, Missouri, to photograph the solar eclipse. From Missouri, the disk of the sun was covered 100% by the moon, as opposed to 97.7% in Memphis.

Related content: 

Gallery: A live look at the solar eclipse

Path to totality: Memphians head out of town to get 100%

Opportunities to explore the universe offered at U of M

Daily Memphian photographer Mark Weber photographed the eclipse, and those watching the eclipse, on Monday, April 8, 2024, at the University of Memphis and Overton Park.

Related content: 

Gallery: Show me the eclipse from Missouri!

Path to totality: Memphians head out of town to get 100%

Opportunities to explore the universe offered at U of M

Two Memphis nonprofits are among 361 community-led, community-focused organizations who received funding from billionaire philanthropist and Amazon co-founder MacKenzie Scott. 

Construction is beginning on the new museum, which will be nearly 20 times bigger than the existing one. The developers hope to have it open by April 27, 2025, the 160th anniversary of the disaster. 

Starting in late April, two major broods of cicadas will emerge together in the U.S. for the first time in 221 years. Memphis, however, won’t see cicadas outside of our normal ones until 2028. 

The former Heisman Trophy runner-up and Super Bowl champion is this year’s Distinguished Citizen award winner.

After almost 20 years in operation, Cordova’s GameDay Baseball will soon close.

The lineup for the Tri-State Blues Festival’s 20th anniversary includes J-Wonn, Bobby Rush, Tucka, King George, Chick Rodgers and more.

Was the supermarket a good idea? Like Holiday Inn, another Memphis business with a feel for the future, Piggly Wiggly tapped into the changing habits of a century that would be defined by cars.

The Tennessee Triennial — a five-month art exhibition — kicked off in Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga in January. As the Triennial’s May 7 close approaches, Memphis becomes the final city to host a “highlight weekend.”

“By hosting a pop-up sale featuring these selections, we are hoping to share our love for spring ephemerals and the early pop of color they offer with our fellow Mid-South gardeners,” said Daniel Grose, Memphis Botanic Garden director of horticulture.

The pre-Valentine’s Day weekend “Love Wild” event allowed Memphis Zoo guests to eat while watching a keeper chat about African penguins, starring the renowned Dexter.

“We have families and rights. To see the children, who were having a good time, crying and terrified, was horrible,” said organizer Jenna Dunn. “It lit a fire inside of me that was already burning.”

Gloria “GloRilla” Woods visited her former high school, MLK Prep, to surprise students with a musical performance and a donation.

The city filed in Federal Court this past month following two elevated walkways collapsing and a fire that burned the apartment leasing office to the ground.

Klondike Smokey City Community Development Corporation, The Works, Inc. and Neighborhood Preservation, Inc. will host a May Day Saturday at Northside High School. 

Six months after residents at College Park, a government-subsidized housing complex in South Memphis, received letters informing them they would need to temporarily move out due to renovations, the site’s new owners hosted a groundbreaking ceremony. 

If there’s anything we can take away from this last week, it’s that the Cooper-Young neighborhood, although it has its stable businesses and celebrations, is constantly evolving while maintaining its unique character.