Entry No. 51 — the Memphis file — filed under: soul-food
Alcenia's
Betty Joyce Chester-Tamayo — Ms. B.J. to everyone — opened Alcenia's on North Main in 1997 after her son's death, and she is blunt that she hadn't cooked growing up; people back in Meridian told her she had no business trying. She learned her mother Alcenia's recipes with her mother's guidance, and the fried chicken, chicken and waffles, and sweet potato cobbler that came out of that turned a small room hung with beads and ribbons into a national soul-food stop. The hug at the door isn't a marketing line — it's the actual door policy, and the tagline on her own site is that you come in a stranger and leave family. The Pinch District around her has been less generous: she told WREG in January 2026 that for years the downtown trolley skipped her block, and that convention weekends barricade Main Street to cars and park food trucks where her customers would be. She's still there Tuesday through Saturday, and she is not quiet about wanting the city to notice.
→ Three more weird eats & drinks in Memphis — never the same twice
The story
Betty Joyce Chester-Tamayo — Ms. B.J. — opened Alcenia's at Main and Commerce in the Pinch District on November 7, 1997. It came out of the worst year of her life: her only son, Will A. "Go-Go" Tamayo III, was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1996, and the restaurant was the thing she built to keep functioning. She had wanted for years to manufacture her mother's preserves. What she had not done was cook — and, as she told WREG, people back in Meridian said so: "You didn't wash dishes, you ain't boiled eggs. I don't know how you're going to open a restaurant." She learned the recipes with her mother's guidance and named the place for her: Alcenia.
The room is small and thoroughly decorated — 1960s beaded curtains, folk art, white wedding-veil lace strung across the ceiling. The cooking is slow and old: fried chicken, salmon croquettes, fried green tomatoes, hot-water cornbread cakes, cinnamon waffles, egg custard and buttermilk pie, and the sweet potato cobbler people drive in for. The hug at the door is not marketing. "I feel so guilty if I haven't hugged you, I'll chase you down the street when you leave," she told Roadfood. The Today show, Food Network and a New York Times list of 200 places to go in the United States and Canada have all been through.
The block has been less generous. In January 2026 she told WREG she was the only business downtown the trolley did not come by, out of 200-plus on the line; that she went to city council twice, got three signs, and was then told she was ungrateful; and that COGIC conventions, the St. Jude Marathon and other events barricade her street and take the parking. She has been asking since 2002 for the Pinch to be revamped. She is still open Tuesday through Saturday, and still not quiet about it.
What it's like
Tuesday to Friday it opens at 11 and shuts at 5; Saturday it opens at 9 and shuts at 3. There are no reservations and not many tables, so on a Saturday morning the line forms and you wait. The greeting is a hug and often a kiss on the forehead, from Ms. B.J. herself if she is in — accept it, that is the house custom and the rest of the room is doing the same. Brunch is assembled rather than ordered off a list: pick a meat, a bread, two sides, and rice or grits. Then it is slow, and rushing it reads badly. Order the sweet potato cobbler at the same time as everything else rather than after, because it goes. No alcohol is served.
The move: The move (a daytime one — she closes before dinner): Saturday, be at the door when it opens at 9. Order the chicken and waffles and one sweet potato cobbler with two spoons, let her hug you, then walk the two blocks over to the Bass Pro Pyramid and ride up to the observation deck to look down the Mississippi on a full stomach.
📍 Before you go Tue-Fri 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat 9 a.m.-3 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday — this is a daytime restaurant, no exceptions, so don't plan a dinner around it. (901) 523-0200. Small room, no reservations, cobbler is the thing to get early. When a convention is running at the nearby Renasant Center, Main Street in front can be barricaded to cars — park a block off and walk in.
- 📍 Memphis
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 317 N Main St, Memphis, TN 38103
Hours: Added 2026-08-26 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Fire Museum of Memphis — Four-tenths of a mile south on Adams, and its 3:45 p.m. last-admission cutoff lines up neatly with a restaurant that locks the door at 5.
- Belz Museum of Asian & Judaic Art — Straight down Main under a mile, and about as far from soul food as downtown gets — jade carvings and Qing dynasty work on a concourse level, with a 4 p.m. real cutoff of its own.
- Cozy Corner BBQ — Under a mile east on North Parkway and open until 8, so it picks up the evening that Alcenia's hands off — smoked Cornish game hen instead of a second plate of chicken.
More weird in Memphis
Good to know
Can I have dinner here?
No. Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m.–5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.–3 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday. It has been a daytime restaurant since it opened, so build the outing around lunch or a Saturday brunch and put dinner somewhere else.
Where exactly is it, and is parking a problem?
317 N Main St, at Commerce, at the north end of Main in the Pinch District — walkable from downtown and about half a mile from the Fire Museum. Parking is the catch: during COGIC conventions, the St. Jude Marathon and similar downtown events her street gets barricaded to cars, so park a block off and walk in.
Do I need a reservation?
There are none. It is a small room, first come first served. Call (901) 523-0200 if you want to check the day's cooking or arrange a larger order; Saturday mornings are the busiest stretch of the week.
What should I order if it's my first time?
The chicken and waffles is what the Memphis lists send people for, the fried chicken and salmon croquettes are the other anchors, and the sweet potato cobbler is the dessert to claim early. Sides worth spending on: the smothered cabbage, the fried green tomatoes, and the hot-water cornbread cakes that come alongside.
Is there a bar, and do they take cards?
No alcohol is served — this is a lunch room, not a bar. Cards are accepted. There is some outdoor seating, but the point of the place is the inside room.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · wreg.com · choose901.com
last checked: 2026-08-26