photograph by bruce vanwyngarden
Amy Richards serving a “Stoli Blueberi Raspberry Lemon Drop.”
“My father used to say to me that everybody has a gift. My gift is talking,” says Amy Richards. “I love to meet people and make them feel good, whether it’s here or in a classroom full of sixth-graders.”
Richards has been bartending at the Half Shell — an East Memphis institution — for 23 years. It’s a job that has shaped her life in more ways than one.
“This place is iconic,” she says. “Most people who’ve been in Memphis a while know the Half Shell, and it’s become family to me. I raised my son while working here. I put myself through college working here. I went through breast cancer while working at the Half Shell. People who are here are family. We’ve seen each other through our best and worst times.”
Richards got her start in the restaurant business in 1992, when she was fresh out of Bartlett High School. “I was a server at Houston’s for three years, until I bugged my boss to put me behind the bar,” she says. “Then I spent time working at J. Alexander’s, and then Bahama Breeze. The ‘showtenders’ there taught me how to flip bottles and work with fire. It was the coolest thing ever, but I got tired of working at a corporate place.”
“People can come here and be in the worst mood and leave later in the best mood. That means I’ve done my job. It’s not about getting somebody drunk. It’s about coming together, having some laughs, and forgetting about all the stuff going on outside of here.” — Amy Richards
Richards’ next adventure led her to Beale Street, where she plied her bartending skills at Rum Boogie, Wet Willie’s, and Dick’s Last Resort. “It was great for a while,” she recalls, “but it’s so seasonal. In the summertime, you’re rich, and in the winter, you’re broke.”
Then came a break: “Danny Sumrall was the Half Shell owner,” she says, “and I knew his daughter from Houston’s. He hired me — and 23 years later, I’m still here!”
photograph by bruce vanwyngarden
Richards also teaches science to sixth-graders at West Collierville Middle School. It’s her tenth year of teaching in elementary and middle school. “When my son started school, I just decided I wanted to teach, so I went back to get a degree and eventually graduated from the University of Memphis,” she says. “And I just recently finished my master’s.”
Teaching meant Richards had to cut back on her bartending hours. She’s now just working Friday nights and Sunday brunch, but she still loves her Half Shell gig, and her enthusiasm shows in her genuine laughter and ready grin.
“What do you like to drink?” she says, getting down to business.
“I’m pretty easy, but nothing too strong, considering it’s only 10:30 in the morning,” I reply. (It’s a pre-brunch cocktail and I don’t do much day-drinking these days.)
“How about a ‘Stoli Blueberi Raspberry Lemon Drop’? It’s fruity and sweet.”
“That sounds almost healthy. Why not?”
Richards gets to work, mixing blueberry vodka with triple sec, simple syrup, lemon juice, and ice. She shakes the concoction vigorously. “We need to get some ice shards,” she says.
She strains the drink and pours it into a chilled martini glass and sets it on the bar. It’s pretty, and the first sip is delightful. There’s an initial lemony tang, followed by a sweet blueberry finish. It’s frosty and refreshing with no liquor-ish edge.
“This is really nice, Amy,” I tell her.
She turns to her manager who’s passing by and says, “He likes my drink, Neil.”
“Of course, he does,” says Neil. “He’s not a communist.”
Indeed, I am not. But I do like this place. It’s got old-school charm and some attitude. And it’s anything but corporate, which suits Richards to a T.
“I love this job and I love my teaching job,” she says. “Part of the reason I got into teaching was because I’ve always wanted to make a difference in some way, to inspire people. One of my students got me a shirt that says, ‘I Made a Difference.’ It solidifies why I do what I do. People can come here and be in the worst mood and leave later in the best mood. That means I’ve done my job. It’s not about getting somebody drunk. It’s about coming together, having some laughs, and forgetting about all the stuff going on outside of here.”
That’s the kind of attitude that does make a difference, so my advice for you is to go see Amy Richards at the Half Shell and let her teach you something.
The Half Shell is located at 688 S. Mendenhall Road, at the corner of Poplar and Mendenhall.
