Taras Tweets

You know you are pregnant when... you will go to any length to fulfill your little tummy's desire!! I wish I could say I was one of those pregnant people that had healthy cravings! NOT SO MUCH!! This summer... with the intense heat, my pregnancy has brought on Jerry's Sno Cone cravings! During the entire pregnancy I have craved fruit and fruity things like smoothies, fruit roll ups, etc. But since the arrival of the blazing summer heat Jerry's Sno Cones has been at the TOP of my list! If you are a Memphian than you know about Jerry's! Nothing beats a good Jerry's Sno Cone! But since we have moved to Germantown... Jerry's is not exactly around the corner!! It takes a good 30 minutes to get there from our home! But I realized I was truly insane when one hot, afternoon day a few weeks ago, I drove up to Jerry's at around 2 in the afternoon thinking it shouldn't been too busy at that time of day! Boy, was I wrong!! I pulled up only to be in line behind a day camp group of 65 kids plus thier leaders!!! They were on a field trip to JERRYS! What an awesome day camp!! Wish they had that one around when I was a kid!! Needless to say... nothing was going to stop this preggo from getting a sno cone... so yes... I stood in the intense Memphis heat at 2 in the afternoon until every last of the 65 kids got their sno cones! That Rasberry/wedding cake sno cone never tasted so good! =) Not to mention... I had just been there the day before (by myself I must add) to pick up lunch... bc the only thing that sounded good to me that day was a Jerry's Sno Cone and a CORN DOG!! It is a very yummy combo!

Today all Sam's aunts and cousins threw Virginia Kate her Greek family shower (and my family too... but their family WAY out numbers ours)! It was so sweet! Virginia Kate was showered with gifts of all kinds!! I will say.. this little girl is already so loved! And we feel so blessed to have such sweet and supportive family as we celebrate the birth of our first born! Every detail of the shower was so wonderful! It took place at Melissa and Bill Taras' home which is so beautiful and of course the food was DELICIOUS! Here are a few pictures from the beautiful occasion!

We are very excited to announce that Jim's Place East will be relocating to EAST MEMPHIS in the Fall! Our family has been so blessed for many years to have the support of the Memphis community! And we hope to continue to provide great food and service for many more years to come! Thanks to all of you who have supported our family through the years and through the opening of Jim's Place Grille almost 4 years ago! We could not have done it without your support! We hope and pray that the Lord will continue to bless us in the upcoming relocation of Jim's Place East at the intersection of Poplar and Perkins!! Here is an article that was in the Memphis Daily News today about the new restaurant!!

Memphis Daily News
http://www.memphisdailynews.com/


Jim’s Place East Finds New Home on Poplar


RICHARD J. ALLEY
Special to The Daily News
Jim’s Place East – a Memphis tradition since its founding nearly 90 years ago – is opening a location at Poplar Avenue and Perkins Road, having signed a 10-year lease for the 5,900-square-foot space that recently housed Harold’s women’s boutique.
The restaurant, a popular site for events such as wedding receptions, parties, business meetings and intimate dinners, has operated at 5560 Shelby Oaks Drive since 1976.
The move is a relocation from Shelby Oaks, yet the current location will remain open until the doors open this fall at 518 Perkins Road Extended.
“We want people with special memories to know that we’ll continue to operate the current location and that people should come back and visit,” said Sam Taras, son of co-owner, Dimitri Taras.
Jim’s Place is owned by brothers Costa Taras and Dimitri Taras, and brother-in-law Angelo Liollio. The Taras family founded the restaurant in 1921 and operates Jim’s Place East on two acres at the Shelby Oaks location, and Jim’s Place Grille at 3660 South Houston Levee Road in Collierville.
Costa and Dimitri are listed on the new lease along with Costa’s son, Bill Taras. Costa and Bill will be running the new location.
The Tarases plan to sell the Shelby Oaks location and hope to open the new restaurant by Nov. 1, offering lunch and dinner as well as space for banquets just as they have in the past.
“You can’t beat Poplar and Perkins,” Dimitri Taras said. “We just found that where we are now, the traffic has really gone down, the whole area has kind of gone down.”
Donna Woolfolk of Graber Investments, leasing agent for the restaurant’s new home, said Jim’s Place East will occupy all of one bay and part of another in the center.
“They’re taking where Harold’s was and then they’re taking a small portion of where Broom Corn was in the back area to extend the kitchen somewhat,” she said. “They had decided they needed a little extra room for the kitchen.”
Graber Investments, which manages and leases the property, also inked Family Physicians Group to a 6,100-square-foot lease in the center, which got hit especially hard by the recession as BA Framer, Broom Corn Fabrics and Harold’s all vacated the strip.
Woolfolk said the commercial real estate market “has slowed down, but considering the economy I think we’ve done real well. Do we have empty spaces that I need to get leased? Yes, but it could be a lot worse conditions.”
Jim’s Place East’s move to Poplar and Perkins is a “tremendous upgrade in location” and the restaurant “will undoubtedly experience a huge increase in sales,” said Scott Barton, CBRE Memphis senior vice president for retail services.
“It will also allow them to be noticed by a new and younger generation of upscale diner who likely would not have considered dining at the current location,” Barton said. “Poplar and Perkins is still arguably the best commercial corner in the city of Memphis, so for most retailers anytime there is an opportunity within their price range to obtain a location there, it is worthy of serious consideration.”
The risk of a move or expansion in this economy is mitigated by years in business and expertise, of which the Taras family has plenty.
“If it’s someone that’s been open for six months, it’s risky, but Jim’s Place is just such a fixture,” said Patrick Reilly, vice president of the Memphis Restaurant Association and owner of Majestic Grille. “Most businesses would love to own a brand that strong. … The brand will carry it wherever it goes. They’ll be just fine; they’re good guys and they do a good job.”
Other tenants in the center were thrilled with the news.
“We’re delighted to have neighbors,” said Buzzy Hussey, owner of Babcock Gifts located just next door to the south at 4626 Poplar. “It’s a fun business where we are and I think having a place to eat next door is going to be fun, too.”
Jimmy Whidden opened his coffee bar, Poplar Perk’n at 4610 Poplar, in an old Fox Photo lab in the shopping center’s parking lot, in November and looks forward to any increased traffic and business the restaurant will bring.
“It’s the center of the city and it’s fantastic that they’re going in there,” Whidden said. “The hub of the city is Poplar and Perkins.”

For dessert on the 4th of July, I made a family favorite!... Gran's Banana Pudding! It is so yummy and so simple... I just thought I'd share the recipe!
Ingredients:
10-12 ripe bananas
2 boxes Nilla Wafers
2 boxes of 5 oz instant vanilla pudding
1 contained of cool whip
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Make pudding according to box directions! VERY SIMPLE! Let the pudding set up in the fridge for about 10 minutes after making. Fold entire container of cool whip and sweetened condensed milk into vanilla pudding. Set aside. Get a LARGE glass bowl.  (I used a large salad bowl that was wide at the top). Line the bowl with nilla wafers, then layers slices of bananas, then add a layer of pudding. Repeat these steps until all the ingredients have run out. Make sure to save enough pudding to cover the top! Then I top the pudding off with a layer of nilla wafers! Best to make 24-48 hours in advance so pudding has time to absorb all the banana flavor!! Enjoy!!

I have finally figured out how to blog! For all you bloggers out there.... this was confusing!! I am even MORE appreciative of your blogs now that I know how difficult they are to set up!! Am I just dumb? Seriously... I had to resort to finally asking for a blogger tutorial from a friend (Mary Kate Whelan at that =)!! Anyway, for friends and family who are interested this is just a little peek of the Taras nest... since it will soon be EXPANDING with the arrival of Virginia Kate in only 9 weeks! I guess getting the blog set up was just all part of the "nesting" phase of my pregnancy! I figure life is only getting busier so I can't promise I will be any "Darby" when it comes to blogging, or actually any aspect of life! But I will attempt for those of you who care!

To start... back in May we MOVED! It all started back in March, Sam and I were just throwing around the idea of putting our house on the market.... little did we know the road it would take us down! With the help of Judy Mac and her hubby Mickey and their real estate team, we got the ball rolling! In a matter of 2 months we sold our home and moved to Germantown! We are very thankful for the quick sale of our house and all the pieces the Lord worked out to bring us to our new home! We have never lived in Germantown before, but so far we have been warmly welcomed by our sweet neighbors and are loving the close proximity of the hospital and the Grille! It makes time spent in our car driving to work alot less which we LOVE!

Here are a few pictures of the new nest!