Emotions raw as Blue Plate Café closes its doors Sunday
For years, it was a popular breakfast and lunch spot, but on Sunday, it closed its doors.
The Blue Plate Café is closing following the death of its longtime owner. There were difficult emotions Sunday as it prepared to close its doors for the final time.
“Memphians, like the rest of us, are devastated,” general manager Shelley Richmond-Arthur said. The restaurant was purchased 20 years ago on Poplar Ave. in East Memphis by longtime owner Mike Richmond, who died in October after a battle with cancer.
Since then, Richmond-Arthur has assumed control, citing logistical concerns. Additionally, the restaurant’s lease expires in a few days. “The staff has been together for years and we truly are family, and it’s heartbreaking to watch them break up and separate,” Richmond-Arthur said.
The Blue Plate café is well-known for its breakfast and lunch offerings, as well as its biscuits and pancakes, which attracted Jeffrey Cotton for the first time. “Anything that is a community staple should remain open,” Cotton stated. It is the Richmond family’s legacy of service that they will carry forwards, as there are no immediate plans for a new location.
“Dad, who died in October, wanted to see this through to the end, and I believe we have,” Richmond-Arthur said.
