614 VANCE: IT‘S A HOLY GHOST (PIT) BUILDING

Well, sort of, and likely not for too much longer.

In the early 1970s, 614 Vance was home to Culpepper’s Bar-B-Q and Chicken Shack, run by Walter and Hattie Culpepper. I wrote about the Culpeppers and this place four years ago. Here’s a chunk of it:

This ghost pit was the last in a line of restaurants known as Culpepper’s Chicken Shack, a name that was legendary in early Memphis barbecue. Four decades of that famous cooking ended tragically here.

The owners, Walter and Hattie Culpepper, started in 1932 on Fourth Street, just off Beale. They served average folks, gamblers and “sporting people” (according to Mr. Culpepper’s obituary), and some of the top entertainers of the day, from Cab Calloway to Bing Crosby to Elvis Presley, and Stax musicians in the 1960s. They served blacks and whites alike, despite the deeply segregated society. Mr. Culpepper’s obit stated that Boss Crump was a patron, which served to blunt police harassment and bring the Chicken Shack to the attention of white Memphis.

A fire led to a move to 204 Hernando, and the restaurant continued to flourish throughout the 1940s. A second shop was opened at 1664 Kansas. Around 1970, this building at 614 Vance became the Chicken Shack’s new home. In 1971, during a robbery at the restaurant, Hattie Culpepper was pistol-whipped, a beating so severe that her injuries kept her hospitalized until her death in 1992, according to Mr. Culpepper in an interview for her obituary. He said the attack erased any desire to keep the Chicken Shack going. He died three years later at age 85.



I found the Chicken Shack by accident in 2010.











It was in the “unknown” file for a long time because most of my research was focused on the 1950s and 1960s. In those years, the front of the building housed a variety of businesses, while the back half was a cab stand. An income tax business was an occupant in 2011.











Until last week, I hadn’t been past 614 in nearly a year. I almost never leave my car to photograph places, but this was too tempting.











Looking into the back half of the building and all the mattresses stacked inside, it looks as if it has been a shelter of some kind. A satellite dish was installed at some point. A wall runs down the middle of the building; can’t tell how far, and I can’t see into the part of the building where the pit is attached.

The sign says a community garden will occupy the site, which likely means the building will be razed. I like the garden plan. Once again, 614 Vance will be feeding people.









SO WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

After seeing 614, and since I don’t go downtown every day anymore, I got curious about a couple of other places. The Cozy Corner was conspicuously empty, and a sign says the restaurant is temporarily closed.











Some type of construction is underway on the east side of the building. A couple of years ago, The Commercial Appeal reported that the restaurant had taken out building permits for brick barbecue pits on the east side. The shape of the excavation looks right for pits, but I can’t figure out what the pipes would do.











I knew I should have majored in civil engineering. The glass/metal Chicago-style smoker is no longer across the street.

And one more place to revisit: The old Neely’s at 670 Jefferson looks poised to finally reopen as











The CA reported this about a year ago: “Central BBQ and Ryan Trimm, owner of Sweet Grass and Next Door, will come together to open two new breakfast spots within the next three months or so. One location of the still-unnamed restaurant will be at 2235 Central, in the recently closed Goodwill, and the other will be at 670 Jefferson, in the former Neely’s Bar-B-Que.”

The name made me wonder if they could get the Sunrise auto dealer guy to bring over his dogs and pickup truck to do some TV ads for them.

“Hi, folks! Bob Berkheimer here for the new Sunrise Memphis on Jefferson Avenue. Are you stuck in a breakfast rut, podner? Then git on over to Sunrise Memphis. We’ve got fresh new fixin’s that’ll jumpstart your day, and we specialize in meals under $20 (hope so). Bad credit? No credit? No problem, podner. We’ve got financing for breakfast and lunch. Just bring your appetite to the new Sunrise Memphis, the handsome new building on Jefferson Avenue.”

Nah, probably not.