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Founded 1963 Relaunched 2019. The Postmodern South.
When I was younger, Memphis used to have Whataburger locations, one in Frayser and one in Whitehaven (both have since closed). But even before that, there was (and still is) Lot-A-Burger, a couple of walk-up burger stands, one on South Third and one on North Thomas near that historic corner where Elvis recorded at American Sound, and Bobby Foster and Bowlegs Miller recorded at Select-o-Sound on Chelsea. Perhaps they even ate a Lot-A-Burger! But it wasn’t until I began doing research toward my history of Memphis during the mayoral term of William B. Ingram (1963-1967) that I discovered advertisements for Lot-A-Burger in Memphis, bearing the slogan “A Square Meal On A Round Bun.” That led me to other interesting information online, namely that the Memphis Lot-A-Burgers were, at least at one time, franchises of a Tulsa, Oklahoma based Lot-A-Burger chain which began in 1951, long before McDonalds, or rock-and-roll for that matter. The Oklahoma locations still exist, and anyone interested can read about the chain at http://lotaburgernow.com. The Memphis locations that are still open do not appear on the company’s location list, suggesting that somewhere back in the day they went their separate way. But this afternoon, I tried a Lot-A-Burger at the South Third location in Memphis. The Lot-A-Burger was an old-fashioned, thin, greasy good burger with cheese in a no-frills setting. You walk up and order, then eat it on the wooden benches out front or take it home. Not outstanding, but good and comforting, and an edible piece of Memphis history.
Memphians will be glad to discover that the former High Point Coffee on Poplar Avenue at Perkins Extended has reopened under new ownership and management. The new coffee bar is called Poplar Perk’n, and features a full menu of espresso drinks as well as cheesecakes and cookies. It’s definitely worth a visit.
Nothin But Fire Records CEO Sess 4-5 had invited me to New Orleans to speak at a music industry workshop that he sponsors monthly, so after church, I headed out I-55 into Mississippi, and into some very bad weather indeed. Since the trip was taking so long, I just picked up some chicken from Raising Canes in Jackson, and then continued on my way, although by the time I got to Brookhaven, the rain was finally gone. At Hammond, I decided to drive over to the Pontchartrain Causeway instead of continuing down to LaPlace, but when I got to Mandeville I stopped there for gasoline, and noticed a Cafe du Monde location that was still open. so I picked up a cafe au lait and an order of beignets to go, and headed across the long 26-mile bridge. It was very dark and foggy, but I was surprised at how quickly I could begin to see the lights on the superstructure of the Crescent City Connection bridge, which had to still be 15 miles away or so. By the time I got into Metairie, both myself and my car interior were covered with powdered sugar, but there wasn’t much I could do about it at 11 at night. A room had been booked for me at the Holiday Inn Express just down from Canal Street, and as I gave my car to the valet, I could here the beat of drums from the corner of Canal and Carondelet, where a street band was playing despite the wet weather. Apparently the Saints had won their NFL game, and parties were in full swing.