Anyone know what happened with the restaurant Morgan Freeman was supposed to open in Memphis? It was announced he was opening a Ground Zero Blues Club there, but I haven't seen anything about it since.
Here is an article from last year about it:
http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=6493221
If it didn't open the past week or so, it's REALLY close. Not sure what the final holdup was/is, but it's close.
I'm sure it'll be OK, but I can't see there being any way it duplicates the real one in Clarksdale. I think Oxford is getting one, too.
I hope they decided to put the soft opening off. If not, this is going to be a long weekend for everybody in there.
Whenever they do open, having the Rooster next door ain't going to hurt. I don't think they've tailed off a bit since they opened.
RationalRebel Wrote:I'm sure it'll be OK, but I can't see there being any way it duplicates the real one in Clarksdale.
Isn't the "real" one in Clarksdale simply a fake juke joint? What makes it any different than the fake roadhouses, bait shacks and saloons that have taken over suburbia? Not trying to pick a fight because I've never been there and have heard that it's fun. I simply think it's hard to make something feel authentic when it's brand new and you try to make it look old.
Just to clarify...
Freeman owns a restaurant (Madidi) and a blues club (Ground Zero) in Clarksdale. The Ground Zero sign has been up in Memphis for a couple of months. It's between the Westin main entrance and the Red Rooster. I haven't heard any plans of a restaurant yet. As RR said, Ground Zero should be open any day now. A couple of months ago they said they wanted to be open before Memphis in May.
if you want to go to a juke joint, go to Wild Bill's over by Rhodes. Good times!!
3601 Wrote:RationalRebel Wrote:I'm sure it'll be OK, but I can't see there being any way it duplicates the real one in Clarksdale.
Isn't the "real" one in Clarksdale simply a fake juke joint? What makes it any different than the fake roadhouses, bait shacks and saloons that have taken over suburbia? Not trying to pick a fight because I've never been there and have heard that it's fun. I simply think it's hard to make something feel authentic when it's brand new and you try to make it look old.
if you want to go to an authentic juke joint, go to Po Monkeys in the delta, or club ebony in indianola. total, absolute shacks in poor remote areas. bb king just bought club ebony. he got his start there eons ago.
as for ground zero, it is in an old warehouse at the end of a dirty road and the end of downtown clarksdale, next to some old train tracks, depot and blues museum. it may be a recent renovation, but the place is fantastic, looks and feels the way it should, down to the oil drum grill on the front porch where they make burgers and steaks.
i have photographed many of the juke joints, including ground zero, and they are something else.
go on a weekend and i assure you you will have a blast, and yeah, you might bump into freeman. he has an apartment above the place and sometimes stays there, although he does have a nice home down the road.
phototiger Wrote:3601 Wrote:RationalRebel Wrote:I'm sure it'll be OK, but I can't see there being any way it duplicates the real one in Clarksdale.
Isn't the "real" one in Clarksdale simply a fake juke joint? What makes it any different than the fake roadhouses, bait shacks and saloons that have taken over suburbia? Not trying to pick a fight because I've never been there and have heard that it's fun. I simply think it's hard to make something feel authentic when it's brand new and you try to make it look old.
if you want to go to an authentic juke joint, go to Po Monkeys in the delta, or club ebony in indianola. total, absolute shacks in poor remote areas. bb king just bought club ebony. he got his start there eons ago.
as for ground zero, it is in an old warehouse at the end of a dirty road and the end of downtown clarksdale, next to some old train tracks, depot and blues museum. it may be a recent renovation, but the place is fantastic, looks and feels the way it should, down to the oil drum grill on the front porch where they make burgers and steaks.
i have photographed many of the juke joints, including ground zero, and they are something else.
go on a weekend and i assure you you will have a blast, and yeah, you might bump into freeman. he has an apartment above the place and sometimes stays there, although he does have a nice home down the road.
Care to share some of those pics with us?
3601 Wrote:RationalRebel Wrote:I'm sure it'll be OK, but I can't see there being any way it duplicates the real one in Clarksdale.
Isn't the "real" one in Clarksdale simply a fake juke joint? What makes it any different than the fake roadhouses, bait shacks and saloons that have taken over suburbia? Not trying to pick a fight because I've never been there and have heard that it's fun. I simply think it's hard to make something feel authentic when it's brand new and you try to make it look old.
No I agree with that. I've been there and, like phototiger said, it's something else. It "feels" real unlike something in Suburbia.
I think there have already been two events held at Ground Zero in Memphis during the past week.