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Yeah, that's right. Hello, everybody. Good morning to you, Memphis. I am Todd Stearns, and it is great to be back with you. I've taken a few days off in our nation's capital, and I just can't say enough great things about John Covington.
Didn't he do a great job filling in? Just terrific guest and conversation, and we sure do appreciate John Covington taking time out of his incredibly busy schedule to anchor Sterns' country.
So thank you, John, and we'll get him back. You have not heard the last of John Covington on AM990KWAM, but just want to say thank you again for all of the kind notes and messages. What an amazing few days in our nation's capital, not only broadcasting again from the White House, but being invited for a private meeting with President Trump. It was. Really, an amazing moment.
And one of the things that, and we'll talk more about this a little bit later on the national show at 11 o'clock this morning. But one of the things that I really appreciate about our president is the man is a multitasker and he works on so many different dimensions. It's just really breathtaking to see how his mind works and how he functions. And that's one of the reasons why he's been able to accomplish so much going into this second term in office. And the president, I will tell you, contrary to the reporting of the legacy media, the drive-by media, the president is very much engaged.
He is sharp as attack. As a matter of fact, before his assistant could usher me in, he was yelling at me to come on, get on in here, Starnes. And went in and we had a great conversation, and he talked about. Last Thursday's huge interview that made international news when the president announced that he was going to go on the ride-along with the police officers, and he was also looking at deploying National Guard troops. Around the nation to a number of cities, and he's also looking at Memphis as one of those.
And that was one of the goals. While I was in Washington, I had a chance to talk to my good friend, Janine Pirro. She's the U.S. attorney for D.C.
Now. And I told Janine, I said, look, the situation here in Memphis is really grim, and we need the administration to take a long, hard look at what's happening here. And I know she's going to pass along that info to the Attorney General. And I had a chance to talk to our Defense Secretary, Pete Hagstaff, Of course, his wife used to be my TV producer back day. during my Fox News Day.
They are aware of what's happening here. The challenge is, I'm not sure they're hearing it from many of the folks in our congressional delegation. And we need to be pressing our congressional delegation to make sure they're advancing our cause here in West Tennessee. Because I'm telling you right now, I think the rest of the state just has completely written us off.
So my the thing here is we're on our own.
Now I say that because the mayor doesn't want the National Guard troops here. Governor Bill Lee. Says, was telling reporters there is an organization called the Tennessee Lookout. And the Tennessee lookout actually asked Governor Lee whether or not he was going to deploy National Guard troops. To Memphis.
And he said, no, no, no, not. He says, we have no plans to do that. Instead, he's got the Tennessee National Guard troops in Washington, D.C. And I will say this. It was incredibly safe and peaceful.
Folks out having a good time. They were filling, I mean, it was just really remarkable. And people, everybody I talked to, from the Uber drivers to the waitresses to hotel staff. To a person, they told me it is like night and day difference, not only in the tourist areas, but even in many other residential areas.
Now, that's not to say they're done because they're not. And also, it does not look like some sort of an occupied city. Yeah, there were police officers there, National Guard troops there, but everybody, it was not overwhelming. It was just a reassurance. And really, I think that's what we need here.
Is that we need that reassurance?
Well, over a thousand bad guys arrested so far in Washington, and that's what we need here, and that's all we're asking for. But, Governor Lee, yeah, that's not going to happen.
So this guy, I I don't know what it is about Bill Lee, but he has. He is not a friend to West Tennessee. I'll just leave it at that. By the way, Floyd Bonner. is also weighing in on this.
And here's what Floyd Bonner had to say about the idea of sending in the troops. Cut number two, please. Another concern of Sheriff Bonner: many of the National Guard members aren't from Memphis. Do you really know the flavor of Memphis? And then where do they go in Memphis?
I mean, do you want them down on Bill Street?
So what message do we send to visitors that our city is so bad that we've got to have the National Guard down on Bill Street? How do they patrol the streets of Memphis? Are they patrolling in Humvees?
So I don't know, you know, if we really want to see that. According to Sheriff Bonner, he doesn't believe Memphis has gotten to the point where the National Guard is needed. He added, if they do come, there needs to be a sustainable plant for after they leave.
Okay, that was the great reporting of Channel 5, WMC TV. They tracked down the sheriff. I have a question for Sheriff Ponner, who I really like. He's a very nice man. But but his politics here are just off the charts insane.
I'm just curious, Sheriff Bunger, what message does it send that so many people are dying at 201 Pomplar? What what message does that send, sir? But beyond that, I'm curious, what does he mean?
Well, we know what he means when he talks about the National Guard troops not being the flavor of Memphis. May I just want to say something here. Because I'm just getting the impression. Since I've been back for the past five years, I just get the impression that white folks are not exactly welcome in Memphis or in the Mid-South anymore. I'm just picking up that five.
You know, it's a Mayor Young, he was talking about how he wants Memphis to be known for being the largest black city, majority black city in America, and talks about the swagger and the soul and all this kind of stuff. And then you've got Floyd, you've got old Sheriff Bonner there saying that the National Guard troops. He's concerned they won't be the flavor of Memphis.
Okay, so fine. You don't want white National Guard troops here, Sheriff. What about Black National Guard? I'll take them. Come on, let's let's bring I don't let's bring them.
But I'm just curious, how bad does it have to get? For the National Guard to be needed here, because right now our murder rate is twice that of Washington, D.C.
So I'm. Just want to throw that out. But again, the sheriff says we don't need National Guard troops here because he's concerned they won't look like Memphis. They won't be the flavor of Memphis. You cannot make this up.
All right, our telephone number, 901-260-5926. And I'm curious, would you like to see National Guard troops here on the streets of the Bluff City? 901-260-5926. If not the city of Memphis proper, here's another thought. Maybe the suburban mayors could request for the National Guard troops to come in and station them along the city limits.
Maybe that's the right answer here. Oh, by the way. Huge day in South Haven. This is so exciting. And if you want to talk about explosive growth, Don't yet.
You're not going to find it in Memphis. You're just going to find a lot of vacant, empty fields and a giant hole in the ground where one beal was supposed to be. But if you're looking for really incredible, explosive growth, take a look at what's happening in West Memphis. Take a look at what's happening in South Haven today. They're having the huge groundbreaking over at Lander Center, a really great concert venue and event space.
They are knocking down the walls, a $180 million expansion project. They're going to have a beautiful luxury hotel that's going to be built on site, a new Hilton embassy suites, more than 200 rooms. And it is going to be an exciting time. Also, our friends at the DeSoto Family Theater, they're getting a brand new theater complex as a result of all of this as well.
So there's some exciting stuff happening there in South Haven. Also, I've got to weigh on this before we take a quick break. The Memphis Flyer. Does anybody read the Memphis Flyer anymore? This is a hoot.
So they they did a hit piece on KWAM, but the problem is it turned out to really be a puff piece on us, and they hate they hate KWAM and they hate conservatives, and they call us far right radio. And so the guy who wrote this, and I think I've met this guy. I was at a nursing home or something covering a story, and I think I ran into this guy. His name is Jackson Baker. And he just wrote this long screed.
And what we found fascinating, a couple of things. He hated the fact that I went to go visit Donald Trump. In the White House.
So he got up, and I guess maybe it was around 3 or so a.m. in the morning. And you know how it is with the old guys. They got to get up, they got to go use the bathroom.
So he's doing his business. And I guess he just suddenly thought, I really hate Todd Stearns and K-Wham, so I'm going to write a nasty hit piece. At 4 a.m., it was published. And the guy goes on and on and on about how we're far-right radio. And all I can say is: well, thank you.
You're welcome. The reality here, by the way. He also, in the caption of me and President Trump, he has such great disrespect for our president. He identified the two people in the photo as Todd Starns. With his friend.
What? Come on, dude. That's the president of the United States. Be better. Cracks in the barrel is the name of the headpiece there.
But honestly, everything he said, yeah, we're proud of. We are proud to be the conservative blowtorch of the Mid-South. We're proud that on this radio station, we're not afraid to invite people onto our airwaves that might have a different opinion. I'll tell you this: we're also proud of the fact that we don't ask for a government handout like some of the other radio stations in this market. We are proud to be locally owned and locally run.
So, I'm not sure why the guy's got a B up his bonnet, but again, maybe somebody put something in the gerital. I don't know. But there you have it. Thank you, Mr. Baker.
All right, again, we have got to take a quick break. Got some great guests coming up. We're going to be talking to Randy Hutchinson from the Better Business Bureau. He's coming up at the bottom of the hour. Also, we're going to introduce you to a guy, graduate of Christian Brothers High School, now at UT Knoxville.
And he is knocking down the doors on Instagram with a food blog he has. Grayson Groves is going to join us. That's going to be a fun conversation. And we'll tell you how you can follow his great food blog here in the Mid-South. Also, We've got a trivia question, and Casey told me this is really one of our better trivia questions.
So I'm excited about this. Here we go. And the winner, you're going to get a nice book of mine, Star Spangled Blessings: Devotions for Patriots. And here's the deal: you'll be able to read it over the long Labor Day holiday. Might want to read it today because it's going to be a little rainy day.
Laura Huck can be standing by in our KWM Weather Center with your forecast coming up. But here is the question: the image of the old guy sitting in a wooden chair.
Next to the cracker barrel is actually based on a real person.
Now, we don't need his last name, we just need his first name. Can you name the person? Again, the image of the old guy sitting in a wooden chair next to the cracker barrel is actually based on a real person. Can you name the person? Can see We're not going to get the hint out yet.
I think our crowd could get this. Our telephone number is 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926. It is 68 degrees at Christian Brothers High School. Let's check in with Commander Chuck.
Has a look at your morning commutes. Happy handheld. All right, it is 69 degrees right now outside the Memphis Zoo. Welcome back to Sterns Country. I'm Todd Stern.
So honored to have you with us this morning. By the way, how's your singing voice, Memphis? Our Memphis Symphony Chorus, they need some sopranos, altos, tenors, and baritones and basses. The Symphony Course holding audition for professional amateurs.
So if you've got a good singing voice, then you need to go and check out the Memphis Symphony, all the information on their website. But here's the deal. The first day of auditions for the upcoming season is today.
So go ahead, start doing the vocal warm-ups. We're not going to have you call in and do them on air. But go ahead today, opening a season. Oh, the opening season auditions. The next chance to audition is going to be January the 12th.
So if you are interested, you need to head over to the website, all the information there for the incredible Memphis Symphony Chorus. They do a terrific job. By the way, Cassie, I think we're going to have to give them a hint. I really am surprised by this.
So here's the deal: the trivia question out on the table. It turns out that the Cracker Barrel, the guy, the old guy in the Cracker Barrel logo sitting on a wooden chair is actually based on a real person. His name appears. In the Cracker Barrel menu. And so we need his first name.
Who are we talking about? The guy is based on a real person, a real live person, and his name actually appears in the Cracker Barrel. Menu.
So our telephone number, 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926. All right, Otis Sanford over at the Daily Memphian is raging, pitching a giant hissy fit. He's enraged because the University of Memphis has eliminated its DEI programs. And Otis Amford says that, I mean, he makes all sorts of heinous accusations.
He says our lawmakers are counting to a vindictive president Whose goal in life is to demonize black and brown people, and who believes white privilege is a constitutional right. Who believes that here? And by the way, if you want to talk about minorities in Memphis, well, that has a different definition than many other major American cities. I think Otis forgot that. He says, what's next?
Will the legislature seek to ban the The student chapters of the NAACP and the National Association of Black Journalists and other cultural groups from campus. Will it outlaw the teaching of media, diversity, and society? A course I taught. at the university for years. And any subjects that mention diversity?
Will Trump sign executive orders bringing back Aunt Shemaima, honoring Uncle Remus and demanding that America return to separate water fountains? The guy is off his charts insane. It's unbelievable.
So I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this. 901-260-5926. Do you have a problem? Do you have a problem with the fact that That the University of Memphis is now in compliance. with state and federal law.
On diversity programs, 901-260-5926. Let's go to Devontae in Memphis. Devontae, what do you think about the university eliminating these programs? You know, I'm actually uh a part of of what's being called a DEI initiative at the University of Memphis. Of course, I was a student there.
A decade ago. And uh I think what's happening on a national level, of course, I'm bi-coastal. I live, have a home in DC and a home in Memphis now. I think what's happening on a national level is that there is a national narrative for what DEI is. And I think at the University of Memphis, There is a local work.
To what is now being called a DEI initiative. And I don't know if. The other party is making an effort to understand the data. If we just take the emotions out of things, to understand the data and the retention work that the Office of Multicultural Affairs was actually doing. And so this being state compliant you know, obviously I understand the university's position of having to do so.
But it is incredibly frustrating that we have state lawmakers that are not taking an opportunity Foodastic. understand the data behind the work. that's happening. And so people are just thinking that it's just a uh an initiative to amplify black people and not white people. But it is Devontae.
That's at the I mean, that's what even Dr. Ben Carson says. That's the problem here, is that we are not going after the best and the brightest. This should only be about merit, not diversity. Understood.
And you know what? I can reason with that. If you would extend an opportunity to understand, I guess, at least what the other side is at least saying. Even if you don't agree, right?
Well, let me say this, though, Devontae, and we're coming up on a hard break here, but let me say this. Here in Memphis, let's use Memphis as an example. Every single major political office, leadership position in the city is controlled by a black person. And it's a bit hard for people to wrap their heads around the idea, okay, Yet black people still say they are they're oppressed and they can't get a leg up in Memphis, Tennessee, when they control everything here. That makes absolutely no and then you've got the mayor and people like the sheriff suggesting that white folks are not exactly welcome in this city.
That is problematic, and I don't like where that is going. But again, Dr. Ben Carson said the bigger issue here is it takes away merit and we promote diversity. And that's the problem. Devontae, I want you to give us a call back when we have a bit more time to discuss the issue because this is going to keep on going.
Hang tight, everybody. Got to take a quick break. And welcome back to this beautiful morning. It's a little cloudy outside, and we are probably going to get a few showers. I know our friends that anchor the Mid-South Gardening Show on Saturdays are very excited about that.
By the way, Laura Huckabee will be along in just a few moments with your forecast. And Jim Miller standing by in the Mighty 990 newsroom, coming up with your top-of-the-hour local headlines. Real quick, let's go to the phone lines. We have a trivia question out. Mike in Cordova.
Mike, hope you're doing well this morning. Let's try to win you a prize. We talked about the old guy in the Cracker Barrel logo, and he's actually based on On a real life person. Mike, can you tell us who we're talking about? Yeah, that's Uncle Harshall.
Yeah, that is uh correct. Mike, it is in fact The real life uncle of the founder of Cracker Barrel, Dan Evans, and his uncle Herschel was the um was the guy who sat for the um the painting there.
Well done you. Thank you very much. Mike, we're going to put you on hold this morning, and congratulations. You've just won a signed copy of Star Spingle Blessings, and the lovely Miss Cassie will get your info. I want to bring into the conversation and welcome back to Starnes Country.
The great president of the Better Business Bureau here in the Mid-South, Randy Hutchison. Randy, good to have you back. Yeah, well, thank you. Better Business Bureau is great. I'm not so sure about me, but I appreciate the compliment.
I didn't want to call you an old-timer, so that's a.
Well, that might be more applicable also. But you've been around for a while. You know, Randy, one of the things I love about you guys is you're keeping people safe and you're keeping their pocketbook safe here in the Mid-South. And that really is, I think, the ultimate mission of the Better Business Bureau.
Well, you know, I tell people, I give a lot of speeches. Tell people the vast, vast majority of Businesses, real businesses are good businesses, good, honest businesses. But unfortunately, it's just enough that are not good or dishonest, and more than enough scams to keep us busy trying to help folks. And one of the latest scams, and I'm shocked by this, but apparently people are using the tariffs to cause people big problems and scam people.
Well, the truth is that scammers. Uh, many of whom, by the way, are overseas crime rigs. It's not some guy down on the corner selling phony Gucci watches or something, but they exploit the headlines, whether that could be a natural tragedy, it could be changes in regulations. But anytime there's headlines and particularly some confusion and uncertainty, the crooks run right in and try to exploit them. And, you know, the different negotiations regarding terror certainly fall into that category.
So we have a lot of senior saints out there that listen. A lot of times, seniors do fall prey to these online scams here. But everybody's at risk.
So how does it work? How does it play here? What's the first thing these bad guys do?
Well, there's several variations that we've had reported. From consumers about tariff scams. For example, you get an email or a text message that purports to come from the government. Or a retailer that says you have to pay the tariff. You already purchased something, but now there's a tariff and you need to pay it.
Or you may get a social media message that offers tariff relief benefits like a gift card or a digital payment. Both kinds of phony messages direct you to what looks like a government website to pay the tariff or to get the benefit. Of course, you pay the money, or even if you don't pay the money, you may provide them personal information they use to commit identity theft. Other scams, phony or disreputable online retailers. May use tariffs as an excuse for non-delivery of an item you ordered And the fact is that there will be some legitimate businesses that do try to recover the cost of the tariff by imposing a surcharge, which, if it's properly disclosed and legal, is okay.
But again, that just means the possibility of extra charges for tariffs seems more legit.
So let's take a look at the red flag so people can prepare and they're going to know what to look for. Again, if you bought something, particularly online, If you bought something in the seller and you're not getting it, you're not getting it in the Seller keeps saying tariffs or customs, delayed in customs and delivering a product, red flag. Again, you're asked to pay more money after you've already placed your order, paid for the order, tracking numbers you get that are fake or show delivery to the wrong location, or poor customer service. Again, a lot of these scams originate overseas and maybe talking to folks that are not really legitimate customer service people, don't quite speak well, and that sort of thing. I've gotten some of those calls myself, and I'll always say, oh, yeah, sure.
Can we please verify who you are? I would say, sure, but let me verify who you are first, and then there's a click on the other end. Absolutely.
So let's talk about some advice and some really some common sense things that people are going to do to make sure they don't become a victim of these tariff scams. And again, the whole system of tariffs is changing, but these are the general advice that should cover you up. Typically, consumers are not required to pay tariffs after placing an order. order. And if a company says your package is stuck in customs or they ask for additional payment due to tariffs, major red flag.
And then the rest of this advice really applies to any sort of particularly online purchase. Always research a company first, especially if it's somebody you haven't dealt with before. Check them out with us. That's free, easy. Uh and then go online.
These days you can uh go onto Google, put in the company name, put in scam, complaint, reviews, see if other people have reported a problem with them or by the way reported a good experience with them. Look at a website, again, particularly an email or a text message. Look at them very carefully because sometimes. One letter will have been changed or a different word inserted, and what seems like a legitimate website isn't.
So, just last week, this happened to us right here at KRAM, and we were expecting some FedEx packages. And of course, got the email from FedEx. But what I always do is you can click on the email address, and it'll show you the full address. And then you realize, oh, wait a second, this is a scam. It's from a Gmail or some crazy thing like that.
I tell you, Todd, it's particularly important. You know, these days, many of us transact our business, make purchases on the phone. The screen is a lot smaller, a lot harder to detect that one small change that means you're not really on Amazon, you're on somebody else.
So look very carefully. Again, more important if it's not a company you've dealt with before. When it comes to emails, if you get an email that purports to come from the government, But it's a Yahoo address or a Gmail address. It's not.gov. It is almost certainly a scam.
And then, always, particularly again when you're purchasing online, if you can use a credit card, not telling people to go into debt, pay the bill when you get it. But if you use a credit card, you'll have some protections if something goes wrong, if it ends up being fraudulent, if you're asked to pay using a Prepaid debit card or cryptocurrency or a wire transfer or some other form of payment that, frankly, the way the reason the crooks like it is once they get the money, it's almost impossible for you to get it back. Another big red flag. This is really terrific common sense advice. And again, ladies and gentlemen, in studio with us this morning, our friend Randy Hutchison from the Better Business Bureau.
Randy, where can people go if maybe they have questions? And I know you and your team are there to help folks. Where can people go to get information? The easiest way to check out a company anywhere in the country. Or file a complaint about a company, or file a review.
If you had a good experience about a company, come to bbb.org. Put in the company name and we'll come back and tell you what we know about them. Um uh it's free, it's easy, it's quick. Uh better to do it than to find out later that you ended up dealing with a disreputable company or non-existent company. Or you can call us 901-759-1300.
or 800 Two two two 8754. And say somebody calls up and they want to talk to somebody at Better Business Bureau, they'll be talking to a real live human being. Yes, absolutely. I like that, so that's good. Again, folks, the website address, bbb.org, and the number 901-759-1300.
That's 901-759-1300. They also have a toll-free number for you to call, 800-222-8754. And I mean, Randy, I just really so appreciate what you guys do at the Better Business Bureau. You're protecting the good people here in the Mid-South. People work hard for their money, and you just don't want the bad guys to steal it.
Well, I want people to understand, by the way, we appreciate having the opportunity to work with you folks to share the information. The vast majority of people do not fall for scams, but the crooks are business people, and they're like any business person, you, me, anyone else. They wouldn't keep offering their product if somebody wasn't buying it. In their case, Fallen for the scam. It's a great point.
Every Thursday, right? We're doing this every Thursday, and Randy will be with the very latest because these things, and I, you know, these days with digital, It's like you've got a new scam popping up just about every day.
Well, and we'll talk periodically about artificial intelligence. The FTC says that is do a lot of good. Artificial intelligence will do a lot of good. It is doing a lot of good. But the FTC, former FTC chairperson, said it will be used to turbocharge scams.
No doubt. I believe that. I believe that. I'm looking forward to that conversation. Randy, we're going to let you get back to Uncle Herschel's favorite breakfast over there at the Cracker Barrel.
Randy Hutchison, ladies and gentlemen, from the Better Business Bureau. Again, the website address, super simple, bbb.org, and that number is 759-1300-800-222-8754. Coming up, we're going to be talking to Grayson Groves, a local food blogger who is blowing up, going viral on Instagram. It's going to be a great conversation. This is Stern's Country.
We'll be right back here in the principal Toyota Memphis studio. Hello everybody, Sandwich Review Time. We are here at Smackers. This place is very famous for. This place is very famous for burgers.
I know Jason Tatum's been here, DeBaby's been here. Uh Drewski's been here, they all hype this place up. Uh Is that my secondary analyst is over there in the cornfield? All right, there you go. That is the voice of our next guest.
He has an incredible Instagram page that's going viral. People are really, really intrigued by the content of this incredible blogger, Grayson Groves, who is from Memphis, now a student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and joins us by phone this morning. Grayson, good to have you with us on Stearns Country. Yeah, it's it's Great to be here. Thank you for having me on.
So, first of all, congratulations on the success of this food blog. And I'm just curious: how did you figure out? You know what? I love sandwiches. I'm going to video myself eating sandwiches and giving reviews.
Yeah, so Um so last last semester I took a social media class. at Tennessee and it uh really just kind of showed me how the power social media can have. And um we were busy traveling all June and so I couldn't really get a job. for one month in July. And so I just thought to myself, I was like, the sun.
might be the fir uh best time to start. I love watching Dave Fortnoy's reviews and Fat Vic TV's reviews. And I've worked at two sandwich places, Jersey Mike's and Bogie Deli.
So I was just like Why don't like and I thought to myself I was like I would love it people reviewing the places that I go to in Memphis. Yeah, I was just like, yeah. I can do it. I think it's wonderful. And as a matter of fact, it was Little Starnes, Caden, who plays, he's a great football star at Christian Brothers High School.
Got to give them a shout out and said, you got to follow this guy.
So I said, all right, if Little Starnes is going to do it, then I got to follow this guy. You call yourself a sandwich connoisseur. Take me through the process. When did you realize you're just not like a bologna sandwich guy, but you, Grayson Groves, are a sandwich connoisseur? Um I realized that when I've worked at T Sandwich.
places. I've had probably way more sandwiches than the most average. Average person, my age is that. It's funny, like, I call myself that, and people just kind of get mad. They're like, what makes you a sandwich?
I love this. You've got to put it on the business card. You've got to do that. I do. Yeah, it's fun.
I'm having fun with it. By the way, folks, Grayson, that's G R A C E and Groves T V is the Instagram page. You've got over 4,600 follow were you surprised by the numbers of people that are flocking to your page? Yes. I was actually very surprised.
When I first started it, I thought it was just going to be like a. Kinda like a thing to say me and my friends watch. And then like, I guess the algorithms. starts pushing it out to all these all the people native Memphis people. and they follow 'cause it's places they know.
It's kinda crazy. It's kinda It's kind of been surprising. I was at the uh golf tournament the other day. I had people coming up to me recognizing me. It's kind of a funny feeling.
So they'll recognize you out on the streets of you're like a local celebrity. I guess so, a little bit. A little bit.
So we have with us Grayson Groves, who is a sandwich connoisseur. And every day he's posted he posts a daily review of sandwich shops uh here in in Memphis and and the Mid South. And I will say this, Grayson, and I I I have eaten at a lot of the restaurants that you've been to and your reviews are spot on accurate. Thank you. I appreciate that.
That's what I pride myself on, being super honest.
So, when you're going in and you're about to look at your sandwich, you're going to be reviewing the sandwich. What are some of the the the non-negotiables uh for for a good review. Um It really I really kind of just freeball it. Me and my friend. Asher.
I couldn't have done it without them. We went around town this summer.
Some non-negotiables, I usually mention the price if I. Very good. too expensive or if I think it's a great deal. Uh I ri really I don't really know. Um I just kind of free ball it, take a bite and I just like I try to be as honest as what I say.
Bye. And I feel bad sometimes 'cause I give bad reviews. And I'm not trying to like demean a rest. I'm just trying to be honest. No, no, no.
People appreciate that. No, no, Grayson, people appreciate that. And because there are some people around here that that's all they do are positive reviews. And I think they do it just to get like a free meal or something. And, you know, sometimes it's not all that good, right?
But they want the free meal.
So, no, people appreciate your honesty.
So you got to keep that up. I'm curious. You went to Boggin Barley. What did you think about pog and barley? Oh, Bog and Barley is a mission.
I'm a big fan of that restaurant. It's so beautiful. I heard they shipped that wood from Ireland. It's just a beautiful spot, and they're. Reuben is amazing, so I definitely recommend trying that out.
It used to be a liquor store, which is just mind-blowing when you walked in there and just see how beautiful it is. I'm a huge fan of their fish and chips, which is not a sandwich, so I don't want to get off into the weeds here. But you could put that tartar sauce on a flip-flop and I would eat it. I'm sure that the place is really good. Everything I've had there is Spot on every time.
Any particular restaurant, I mean, you've been literally everywhere, Second Line. You've been to Grey's Fine Cheeses, uh Los Tortugas, which is a popular um place for our crew here. Any particular favorite you have? Uh yeah, so Okay. You guys was definitely my Favorite of the summer, but I was also very surprised by Val's Italian Revel.
That place was great. It's a family-owned. They all reached out to me after I did the review and Thing to me. I was very surprised by that place. It's cheap, good food.
Many people told me they haven't heard of that place. And tell me the name of the tell us the name of the restaurant again. Val's Italian rebel, they had a great muffletta. Oh, all right. We're making notes.
I recommend trying it out. All right, we're definitely doing look. Here's the deal. We know you're at school, and what's your major? I hope are you a food major?
Uh no. I'm majoring in economics and journalism. I'm trying to figure out whether I want go the journalism route or if I want to go to law school if the I'm kind of in between right now.
Well, you know what you can't go wrong. Every every host on Fox News channel is has a law degree.
So there's good money to be made in both of those professions.
So I don't think you'll be you'll go wrong either way. You're right. And I'm a big fan of political commentary. I love what you do. Uh You're not afraid to seek your mind.
I really admire that.
So that's kind of what I try to do too.
Well, Grayson, no well, I appreciate that. I did notice that um that you you have some celebrity guests tag along every now and again. And the the former mayor of Memphis, I hope he bought your lunch. I hate that. Yes, he did.
He's a very nice, nice guy. He's so easy to talk to. He is so curious about what I've been doing. He's very nice. Good stuff.
And you guys, you were at the arcade and had the PB and PB and banana. I did, I did. Yeah. That was the serious thing I'd try to get up. Grayson, we're going to have to leave it there because we are coming up on a break.
But again, if folks want to follow you, do you do the TikTok as well or just Instagram? I do do TikTok, so it's the same name on TikTok and Instagram. I can't do TikTok, man. I've tried. It's just not my jam.
Yeah, I I like Instagram more too. Yeah, it's but good stuff. Grayson, we're going to get you in studio when you're when you're back, and we may you know what, we may have to tag along. We'll we'll buy and uh we'll have to go along with you. I would love to have you.
Review that'd be great. Grayson Groves, everybody. Grayson Groves TV. Go and check out this great blog. It's been a great day, everybody.
Armstrong and Getty coming up next. The Todd Stern Show at 11. Better pack an umbrella. It's going to be a little rainy today. Here in Sterns Country.
Have a great one, everybody. We'll see you tomorrow.
