As work winds down, three local food vendors tapped for Tom Lee Park

Visitors to the renovated Tom Lee Park will have their choice of popsicles, coffee, cocktails or a “Mac Daddy” brisket macaroni and cheese while they explore the park’s new pathways, play areas and pavilions.

On a group tour Tuesday, April 18, hosted by the Downtown Memphis Commission and led by Memphis River Parks Partnership director of external affairs George Abbott, attendees walked the northern two-thirds of the 30-acre park. MRPP representatives said the $61 million park renovation is “80% complete.”

During the tour, Abbott announced that three local concessions vendors will take up permanent residence in the park’s log pavilions near the Sunset Canopy. The vendors plan to open at the same time as the park’s scheduled Labor Day weekend reopening.

MemPops — which has two brick-and-mortar locations in the Mid-South — will offer frozen fruit and cream popsicles, while Vice & Virtue will serve coffee, cocktails and a grab ’n’ go food menu from their log pavilion. Paper Plate Pavilion — which opened as a food truck in November 2022 — will operate out of a third space with a full food menu.

Chef Jorie Williams of Paper Plate Pavilion says the food truck specializes in smoked brisket and chicken — but it’s not a barbecue joint. They serve a lightly sweet cornbread waffle with all of their entrees and use the waffles for their sandwiches, including a smoked peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

“We have flavor profiles all the way from Mexico; you can get American-style flavors down here, and we have a jerked dish, as well,” Williams said.

He noted that the colorful dishes are meant to be aesthetically pleasing.

“It’s very beautiful down here, and so the food is going to play a role in that, too,” Williams said. “You eat with your eyes first.”

Paper Plate Pavilion co-owner David Self said the menu also deliberately avoids fried foods.

“We believed in having no French fries; we wanted to have vegetables instead for side items,” Self said. “We wanted to set ourselves apart with a healthier menu.”

Some of their dishes, such as the stuffed bell peppers, can be made vegetarian or vegan.

The brisket is sourced from Millington; all of Paper Plate’s produce comes from Blackberry Pond Farm in Martin, Tennessee.

Currently, the Paper Plate Pavilion food truck is often stationed at Sea Isle Park on weekdays. But they’ll also serve food during the official Memphis Grizzlies playoff game watch parties at Fourth Bluff Park. Williams says their No. 1 bestselling item is the “Mac Daddy” brisket macaroni and cheese.

Vice & Virtue co-owner Tim Perkins said the new Tom Lee Park location of Vice & Virtue will offer multiple kinds of beverages, noting that MRPP requested they serve cocktails.

“We intend to have some kind of adult refreshments in addition to our specialty coffee, and being near the activity and playground areas, we’ll have beverages suitable for kids,” Perkins said.

Perkins runs the coffee cafe at the Arrive hotel with his wife, co-owner Teri Perkins. The food menu for the Tom Lee Park Vice & Virtue is in development but may include pastries from Hustle & Dough, the cafe in the shared lobby space at Arrive.

Tour attendees — which included DMC and Design Review Board members, along with representatives from the media — were provided food samples from Paper Plate Pavilion and spent about an hour seeing the park’s new features.

The group walked the park’s 15-foot wide walkways — rated for “the heaviest trucks you can imagine,” according to Abbott — to view the progress in multiple areas, including a playground featuring otter and salamander play structures, the Sunset Canopy, and three large, open lawns.

Thousands of native plants and trees fill groves within the park, along with various seating areas.

Nearly complete is artist Theaster Gates’ “A Monument to Listening,” an interactive sculpture consisting of 32 basalt seats carved from large rock pieces, each one representing a person who the park’s namesake, Tom Lee, saved from a sinking riverboat on May 8, 1925.

Abbott explained that after this year’s Memphis in May International Festival concludes, a full-sized basketball court will be painted on the ground underneath the Sunset Canopy, but that the 20,000-square-foot space will be multipurpose and has already been booked as an event rental space for the fall.

Memphis in May will use the pavilion space as a bar area during the Beale Street Music Festival, according to Abbott.

Memphis in May begins setup at Tom Lee Park on April 22, and construction in the park will pause until the festival’s conclusion and load-out in early June.

This article was originally published on “dailymemphian.com”

You might also be interested in: Memphis Restaurants | Best Places to Eat In Memphis Near You

You Might Also Be Interested In…

 

WAMM in Rotation: 5 Songs for March ’24

Memphis music is truly unstoppable. Each month welcomes more and more incredible new projects. Here are just 5 we’re highlighting […]

 

Femme Fatales of Memphis: Women-Owned Businesses Redefining Entrepreneurship in the Bluff City

Many women around the 901 are making a positive difference in the city. From unique stores to helpful organizations, there’s […]

 

On New Album “Temple Needs Water. Village Needs Peace,” Memphis Rapper Lukah Finds Peace Through Nature and Community

Story by Ezra Wheeler Photos by Shane Smith Lukah, the South Memphis rapper with a rapidly growing profile, seems to […]