Cordova Weekly New market offers no-contact shopping
Since the coronavirus pandemic reached Memphis in March, Matt Wilson has been on a quest to find ways that his restaurants, Swanky’s Taco Shop and Cheffie’s Café, could help Memphians.
In March, he launched #dontletmedownmem. The livestreaming concert series was designed to not only lift spirits, but also raise money for Slingshot Memphis, a nonprofit dedicated to helping lift Memphians out of poverty. As of March 13, more than $34,000 had been raised.
Wilson’s latest project is a contactless market at Shelby Farms Fedex
Event Center.
“I said to myself, ‘What else can we be doing?’” Wilson said.
He knew first-hand from his family about the desire for contact-less shopping for essentials, as well as a need for prepared foods for heatand-eat easy meals.
Shelby Farms Market by Cheffie’s Café, which opened in May, was his solution to help his customers.
The new temporary market is located in the Fedex Event Center at Shelby Farms Park.
The space has been sitting empty since all event rentals this spring were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wilson saw an opportunity to help his customers, along with Shelby Farms Park. The Memphisbased café has a location in the park’s visitor center, in addition to two larger locations in East Memphis and Collierville.
The new market offers contactless curbside pickup for grocery staples like ground beef, eggs and cleaning supplies, plus prepared foods that range from soups to casseroles to dishes like shrimp and grits.
“We are offering dishes that we already make at Cheffie’s, plus a few new items,” Wilson said.
Customers can place orders online at shelbyfarmsmarket.com. When they arrive at the event center, they place a call to have their order brought to their car.
The market will be open until the Fedex Center starts hosting special events again.
“This is a three-way win,” said Angie Whitfield, Shelby Farms Park marketing and communications manager. “It’s a win for Cheffie’s to have another revenue source, a win for us to have a rental in the space and a win for our park visitors to be able to pick up essentials in a safe fashion.”
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.