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Best Of?...or, You Get What You Pay For

November 09, 2005

"I do not wish to belong to any club that would have me as a member."
--Groucho Marx

Well this is becoming a predictable rant. The annual "Best Of" edition of The Memphis Flyer is out today and here is the ranking of the "best" smoke shops in Memphis:

1. Tobacco Corner
2. Wizard's
3. Tie, Whatetever & Madison Tobacco

Now, I'll give you Tobacco Corner, it's a venerable institution. I'll even give you Madison Tobacco, Mr. Gulla stocks hand-rolled cigars. But Wizard's? Whatever? The placement of these head shops on the list leads me to two conclusions, 1) the Flyer's readers are too stoned to tell the difference between a smoke shop and a head shop or, 2) the head shops advertise well in the Memphis Flyer. Take your pick because if you've ever been inside the Tobacco Bowl, or the Tobacco Corner for that matter, and you've confused the inventory and general environment with that of Wizard's or Whatever then a couple of your senses are failing you.

I'm not bitter because, well, because of what Mr. Marx said. I just find it more sad than anything. Sad, not just for me and my business, but for many other categories as well. To wit: Best Breakfast no. 2, Cracker Barrel; Best Burger no. 2, Back Yard Burgers; Best Italian no. 3, Olive Garden; Best Seafood no. 1, Red Lobster; Best Deli no. 2, McAlister's; Best Coffeehouse no. 1, Starbucks; Best Art Gallery no. 1, Memphis College of Art. And the list goes on and on and on. I don't begrudge the winners, I commend them all for having their names listed for free, and I don't hold it against the Flyer because the list is what it is, a marketing tool, they take a handful of ballots, count up the winners and then call those winners to advertise in this issue. But, come on Memphians, let's be a little more creative. Let's get out there and see what's available to our city. Get your coffee from some place other than Starbuck's, rent a video from Black Lodge, have a meal at Bari and buy your groceries from Square Foods, realize that Midtown Books has far and away more used books than anyplace in Memphis and that Shangri-La and Goner have actual records, and, for God's sake, buy your tobacco and cigars at the Tobacco Bowl and your patchouli and bong at Wizard's.

Here are some other categories I didn't make, by the way: Best Neon Sign, Best Local Blog or Best Coffeehouse (Memphis Coffee Exchange, located inside the Tobacco Bowl).

That's all for now. See you again next year...

Posted by Richard Alley at November 9, 2005 03:16 PM

Comments

Hey Richard,
I was talking to someone about this the other day. I'm afraid the people who's opinion I care about would not take the time to fill out a Best of Memphis ballot, and that leaves you w/ people who think the best seafood place is Red Lobster. I haven't read the Best of issue in years and tend to think of it as a week off for the Flyer staff, but for a small retailer like you it may carry some weight. Tourist looking at the list are sure to be dissappointed and will miss the really good places Memphis has to offer (the Tobacco Bowl being one of the best!) Next year I will participate and at least get enough votes to get you mentioned in the rag.

Posted by: Tim [TypeKey Profile Page] at November 13, 2005 08:49 AM

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