The original Lafayette’s Music Room was short-lived but still vividly remembered. During the 1970s, it was a small but influential venue rooted in the most happening corridor of Memphis. A key stop on the showcase circuit for up-and-coming touring artists, Lafayette’s played a significant role in launching the careers of such music superstars as Billy Joel, Big Star, KISS, Barry Manilow, J.J. Cale and Leon Russell, to name a few. Today’s Lafayette’s Restaurant and Bar evokes that storied past. It boasts live bands seven nights a week, from local and touring acts playing rock ‘n roll to jazz to blues and everything in between. Lafayette’s Restaurant and Bar once again is a staple for all great music fans, and a place where new legends are being made.
Back in the 1930s Frank Schutt, General Manager of The Peabody, and a friend, Chip Barwick, returned from a weekend hunting trip to Arkansas. The men had a little too much Tennessee sippin' whiskey and thought it would be funny to place some of their live duck decoys (it was legal then for hunters to use live decoys) in the beautiful Peabody fountain. Three small English call ducks were selected as "guinea pigs," and the reaction was nothing short of enthusiastic. In 1940, Bellman Edward Pembroke, a former circus animal trainer, offered to help with delivering the ducks to the fountain each day and taught them the now-famous Peabody Duck March. Mr. Pembroke became The Peabody Duckmaster, serving in that capacity for 50 years until his retirement in 1991. Nearly 90 years after the inaugural march, the ducks still visit the lobby fountain from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
The original Commissary, in Germantown, Tennessee was a small country store for over 90 years, until Walker Taylor bought it in 1981 and turned it into one of the best Memphis BBQ joints around.
The name speaks for itself! There is a location downtown as well!
Some of the best burgers in town! There are multiple locations all throughout Memphis. Make sure you ask for a cup of toothpicks to shoot on the ceiling! There is a location downtown as well!