The Commercial Appeal - Go Memphis
Alcenia’s celebrates 23 years of love and soul food
For more than two decades, B.J. Chester-tamayo has been delighting her customers at Alcenia’s with her made-from-scratch soul food with a generous side of Southern hospitality.
On Saturday, Alcenia’s will celebrate its 23th anniversary with an outdoor block party. The Soul-n-love party will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in front of the restaurant.
On Nov. 7, 1997, Chester-tamayo opened her Downtown eatery Alcenia’s.
Named after her mother, the restaurant serves the dishes that Chester-tamayo grew up eating in her mother’s kitchen. Dishes like her fried chicken, smothered pork chops, slow-cooked black-eyed peas, perfectly seasoned greens and sweet potato pies made this tiny restaurant a dining destination in Memphis.
When you walk into Alcenia’s during NON-COVID-19 times, don’t be surprised if you get a big hug or even a kiss on the forehead.
Chester-tamayo runs her soul food restaurant with lots of love, and it shows in both her hospitality and her food. She’ll be the first to tell you, “You may walk in a stranger, but you leave as a friend.”
At the anniversary celebration, Chester-tamayo will be serving a limited menu of some of her most popular dishes (expect things like her famous Chicken and Waffles and her Salmon Croquettes) as well as some dishes made just for the day. Music will be part of the festivities.
Chester-tamayo was born in Meridian, Mississippi. Her ex-husband is what brought her north to her now adopted hometown of Memphis.
How she opened her restaurant is a story of tragedy and hope.
She opened her now famous soul food restaurant a little over a year after her only child Will Adler (Gogo) Tamayo III was killed in a motorcycle accident. “The only way I was going to survive was to change my life completely,” she said. From the tragedy grew a dining establishment filled with happiness and good food.
Located in a small building in the Pinch District of Downtown Memphis, Alcenia’s dining room is a brightly painted room that exudes the bright personality of its owner. Chester-tamayo makes everything from scratch, so come knowing that you may have to sit a spell depending on your order and how busy the place is. But, trust us, the wait is worth it.
Alcenia’s dining room has been closed since March, but Chester-tamayo has stayed busy.
This chef has continued to serve takeout at the restaurant Tuesday through Friday. She launched an on-line
store that sells her preserves and baked goods. All items on the site can be shipped nationwide. She also launched a Youtube cooking show, “Alcenia’s family with Southern Girl.“
Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.