A Memphis Tradition

As a lifelong Memphian, I count my years with memories of the city. My childhood Christmases meant riding the old timey cars from Libertyland in the Christmas parade downtown. My Summers meant concerts at Shelby Farms and riding to the original Jerry’s SnoCones in the bed of my daddy’s pickup truck (he’s still driving it). Memphis is such a part of me that I can’t imagine “me” being anywhere else. So there’s nothing better than a Memphis tradition from my own childhood that carries on today, delighting my own little girls with its history and charm. If you’ve never made the trip, the Peanut Shoppe on South Main carries the best variety of roasted nuts and candies in town…and a thousand memories besides.      

The Shoppe Around the Corner  

From the time it first opened in 1949, the Peanut Shoppe on Main Street in downtown Memphis was a fixture. As the shoppe’s owner, Rida AbuZaineh, explained to me on a recent visit, a trip downtown in the 50’s and 60’s for shopping or leisure was not complete without stopping in for a bag of roasted peanuts or perhaps a bag of its famous freshly popped popcorn. The Peanut Shoppe’s original downtown location set just across the street from the Hu Hotel (previously the Madison) and served customers there until December of 2021. The new location, a bit further South at 121 South Main, opened up in March of this year and picked up right where the old business left off, boasting an impressive 72 years of doing business in Memphis. 

AbuZaineh, who has owned the shoppe since 1993, knows all about what the Peanut Shoppe means to locals and his passion and energy seems endless. He’s proud of his shoppe and for good reason. He picked his business up right where he left off during the height of the pandemic. He’s secured a similar location on the very same landmark street and he preserved the shoppe’s storied memorabilia, even taking the wallpaper right off the walls in the old store and applying them right onto the new ones. But most importantly, the quality of his goods hasn’t seemed to suffer one iota in the last 7 decades. He’s still purchasing locally produced nuts as well as fancy varieties from all over the world and he’s still using the original roaster to roast them to perfection. As soon as we entered the shoppe one recent Saturday, AbuZaineh handed my husband a handful of hot peanuts straight from the vintage roaster. Our little family gobbled them up without hesitation and then starting oogling the brightly lit glass cases before us. There was so much to choose from and something delicious for everybody’s taste.

Treats Abound

Whether you’re more of a nut fanatic, a candy connoisseur, or a dried fruit lover, AbuZaineh has thought of the perfect treat for you. On our visit, my husband selected two pieces of fresh, flaky baklava, and I went with dark chocolate covered peanuts, while our little girls picked out the prettiest rock candy they’d ever seen. In fact, because our seven year old seemed entirely overwhelmed by the colors and selection, AbuZaineh allowed her to come behind the counter with him while he slowly read off the flavors so she could make the best choice. Her little face behind the glass stirred up plenty of nostalgia for me. One of my most cherished memories was going downtown every Christmas to visit Santa and stop in at the Peanut Shoppe to pick out treats. I even remember the red coat I wore a few years in a row and the little cotton gloves with silver bells on them. As I told AbuZaineh my memories that day, a couple in line behind us piped up to share in my experiences. They had visited the Peanut Shoppe as children on special occasions too. Their teenagers were with them now and they were thrilled to be visiting the new location. We all bonded over what it means to be Memphians and to share memories of special places. 

So to see my two girls happily enjoying the same Peanut Shoppe tradition means so much more than just fine almonds and colorful hard candies: it means something good living on into the future, something kind, something generous, and something wholesome in every sense of the word. That’s the heart of the Memphis, after all.   

Visit Rida AbuZaineh and his fabulous shoppe soon. He’s a real Memphis treasure and you won’t regret trying one of the everything.

Photos via The Peanut Shoppe on Facebook