I'm probably out of touch but can anyone please confirm if this restaurant/bar is still open or has it been closed down. If the latter applies what is the building being used for now?
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I'm probably out of touch but can anyone please confirm if this restaurant/bar is still open or has it been closed down. If the latter applies what is the building being used for now?
I think it was closed by EPE because of "lack of interest" September 15, 2003 resulting in financial losses......Quote:
Originally Posted by stillrockin
Thanks for the link Cherokee.
I have been there on a couple of occasions and thought it was superb, didn't appear very busy though. Perhaps the prices were too high. Even so, shame it had to close.
Yes it is a shame they closed it, I really enjoyed it there. The menu with the little guitars indicating which food he liked to eat, the clothes on the wall, the live music. Now it is just anouther souvenir shop.
And it needs some fixing up too ... to me it looked a little rundown .... sad actually :'(
I had the honor of visiting EPM during my visit to Memphis for Elvis Week 2000! Had a delicious lunch and dinner there and enjoyed the annual "Gospel Brunch" there, enjoying a great meal while listening to The Imperials! I was disappointed, though hardly shocked, to see that EPE closed it down. As a general rule (in my opinion), unless EPE can make a 400% or better profit on a particular project, it isn't worth their time and they turn their backs on it.
It doesn't even seem like they tried to do whatever was necessary to make EPM work....once it was announced that EPM wasn't doing well, EPE just decided to close it. No attempts at re-structuring, or seeing what they could do to make it work....just PULL THE PLUG! That's the EPE way! (n)
Sorry for my cynical sounding attitude here...it's just very frustrating when EPE does things like this! :mad:
Anyway...sadly, EPM is closed and I'm sure will not be resurrected! According to various sources, EPE is planning to look into leasing the building out for other uses!
TCB!
Mike
I had heard that EP's Memphis went out of business due to lack of interest from the local Memphians. The only patrons were EP fans. Then, the management only opened it on the weekend, until they finally closed it. I had been there several times, and thought it was great.
The problem with theme-restaurants is that the food and drinks are very expensive. It's hard to let customers pay more only because of the nice theme.
It works when there are many people digging the theme (hard rock, disney, Elvis, Hollywood, etc.). But when that amount of people are too few, you have to fill the restaurant with non-fans also (people who come to eat, but don't really care for the theme). These people aren't willing to pay much more for the food and drinks.
So when the ratio fans/non fans isn't in balance, then the formula won't work.
You DO have a point Albert... :hmm:
Although I am hardly qualified as a "world traveler", thus I haven't experienced many themed restaurants, I can see your point about higher prices in theme restaurants and how that would detract regular patrons who are more interested in eating than in the theme of the restaurant.
Still....I can't believe that there wasn't SOMETHING more that could have been done to preserve EPM for the visitors and fans who come to Memphis!! I mean, look at HARD ROCK CAFE (as Albert mentioned)...true it is a much wider scope of theme, encompassing ALL rock music and not just one performer like EPM, but still....they are ALL over the place, and since they are also a "theme" restaurant, they must have a business plan in place that allows them to succeed as they have for all these years!
After I posted my original thoughts here last night, I went over to EPE's site and read their comments regarding the closure of EPM in their frequently asked questions section...and their statement about operating at a financial loss for years is a bit puzzling....if things were THAT bad all along, why did they stay open as long as they did? I'm wondering if there wasn't another reason why they decided to close EPM...I am sure finances played a role in their decision no doubt (this is EPE we're talking about, where the DOLLAR is King...NOT Elvis, sadly in my opinion), but I just find it hard to believe that they operated at a "loss" for the entire existance of the restaurant! The 3 times I was in there during Elvis Week 2000, it was STANDING ROOM ONLY and the wait times were LONG!! Now, granted, this was during Elvis Week when a larger business is certainly expected, but I can't believe that EPM was empty aside from the 2 weeks a year that Elvis fans are in town for the birthday celebration and Elvis Week!!! Tourists come to Memphis all year around, for both Elvis and non-Elvis related vacations....I just can't believe that there wasn't enough interest all year long to maintain a viable restaurant! And, in conjunction with this....there must be SOME business down on Beale Street for EPE, as they state on their website that they still operate a gift shop out of the building...interesting that they can maintain a VIABLE gift shop, but NOT a restaurant! (I know there are major differences and overhead involved in running a restaurant versus a gift shop, but still....)
I just find the whole thing a bit unsettling to me.... (n)
TCB!
Mike