Menu courtesy the Lauderdale Library
Dear Vance: In the 1970s, I took a date to a nice steakhouse on Winchester Road, not far from Graceland, where they actually served your steak at your table. On a recent visit to Memphis, I couldn’t locate this place. Can you help? — H.U., Nashville.
Dear H.U.: This simple query stumped me for a while, because the location wasn’t very specific, and without a name, where would I even start? Slumped in my La-Z-Boy, I brooded about this for hours, days, and weeks (well, no, maybe it only seemed like weeks), until I finally decided that you almost certainly dined at the Peddler Steakhouse. Located in the late 1970s at 1305 Winchester Road, this would have been only five minutes from Graceland.
Part of a regional chain based in Nashville, the Peddler — which seems like an odd name to me — opened several locations in the state capital, as well as Knoxville, Gatlinburg, Chattanooga, and Hermitage in Tennessee and Bristol and Williamsburg in Virginia. The Memphis steakhouse opened in 1976.
I managed to turn up a rather battered old menu (shown here), which explained to diners the tableside concept you recall: “As the first step in your dining experience, we would like you to prepare your own salad from the Peddler Salad Bar.” This could take a while, since diners could select from 40 items of garden-fresh vegetables, cold cuts, and cheeses. “Then the ‘Peddler’ will bring your steak to your table, for you to choose the cut and thickness you prefer.”
Even though they brag the steak is “Cooked Over Live Charcoal” (really — “live”?), I don’t believe that took place at your table, unless they somehow wheeled charcoal grills around the restaurant, which seems pretty risky. For a steakhouse, I’m surprised that the selection was limited to just ribeye and sirloin. Both were “choice selection and properly aged” and both started at $9.95, and then 80 cents for each additional ounce.
The Peddler also offered several chicken dishes, red snapper, shrimp, and lobster. The main course came with a baked potato, fries, or wild rice. Desserts were also basic, mainly ice cream, cobbler, and apple pie.
Within a year, management offered an unusual feature for customers. The Peddler Steakhouse Dinner Club allowed members to dine “ten (10) times within the next year.” The annual membership fee — for ten steak dinners, remember — was only $25. So perhaps someone can explain how they made any money: “All you need to do is to be accompanied by one guest, then you pay for only one of the two dinners.”
It seems like quite a bargain, and the Peddler warned that customers shouldn’t delay: “To ensure the finest service, the number of members must necessarily be limited. We suggest, therefore, that you place your order for membership as soon as possible.”
A nice stunt, I suppose, but the Peddler lasted only four years here. The chain closed most of its other stores as well, although the one in Gatlinburg is still in business. By the early 1980s, the building on Winchester became a Chinese restaurant called Lychee Gardens. The property has changed hands several times over the years. The last time I drove by, it was home to a childcare center called Aspiring Scholars Enrichment Center.
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