Jerry Lee Lewis club to open in May on Beale

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Jerry Lee Lewis' Cafe and Honky Tonk is scheduled to open in May on Beale Street.

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A new club called Jerry Lee Lewis’ Café and Honky Tonk is slated to open May 1 at 310 Beale, the site of the old Pat O’Brien’s nightclub, according to Bud Chittom, who will be general manager of the business.

Asked if Lewis will perform at the club, Chittom said, “Details of his appearances are being worked out.”

J.W. Whitten, Lewis’ manager, said, “We’ll do something for the opening.” He added, “We’ll do something from time to time. Maybe a fan appreciation day or something like that. (Lewis) won’t be down there every Saturday night drinking and carrying on.”

Chittom said the restaurant will offer live rock-and-roll music and will feature memorabilia of Lewis, also known as The Killer, including his motorcycle, piano, posters and clothes he’s worn on stage.

The food will be “all Southern, from Louisana to low country to Mississippi to Memphis,” Chittom said.

About $150,000 will be spent getting the place ready, changing the dining room and acquiring artifacts, Chittom said.

The decor will not be set in the 1950s, the era Lewis rose to fame, Chittom said. “It will not be a sock hop or a malt shop. It’s a honky-tonk and cafe. Those haven’t changed in 60 years.”

Also May 1, Chittom and Wilbur Hensley plan to open Riverside Grill, a restaurant and gift shop at Beale Street Landing.

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