Memphis Downtowner March 2011 : Page 26

NOW SERVING alcencia’s story and photo by Rebekah Yearout More than a decade after opening the restaurant shortly after her only son’s death, B.J. Chester-tamayo still treats customers to her unique version of soul food — and now to her first cookbook. But what probably grabs most people’s attention first is the large painting of an older woman smiling and cradling a baby. Like the restaurant, the portrait is done in bright, primary colors. “That’s my mother, Alcenia,” B.J. says, pointing. The infant in the picture is the daughter of B.J.’s only son, Will A. Tamayo III, who was killed at age 22 in a 1996 motorcycle accident. In honor of him and B.J.’s mother — whom Will adored — the baby was also named Alcenia. After Will’s death, B.J.’s world totally shut down for nine months. But that tragedy formed the foundation for B.J.’s next move. Her lifelong desire to manufacture and distribute her mother’s desserts and preserves was the inspiration behind Alcenia’s. When she opened in 1997, she intended to serve only those treats, but customers clamored for more. “People started coming in the day of Holy Convocation, saying, ‘You don’t have chitlins? You don’t have yams?’ So I got on the phone with Mom. ‘Give me your recipes!’ She said, ‘I told you, you were going to need food!’” Alcenia’s, however, is still well known for its sweets. The Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives gave the restaurant a boost when it featured Alcenia’s in 2008, and the same network’s show The Best Thing I Ever At e gave fanfare in 2009 to mother Alcenia’s sweet potato cobbler. “That has been the biggest thing, and it was so funny because they were not coming to Memphis to do soul food, they were coming to do barbecue,” says B.J. “They told me, ‘If we decide to air it, someone with The Food Network will call you.’ So when they called, I started hollering and screaming!” In addition to serving the busy clientele, B.J. has just finished her autobiographical cookbook. The book is a collection of not just recipes, but personal letters — including one from the younger Alcenia, now 13 years old, to her father, who died before she was born — and stories, memories, and comments customers have written in the notebook permanently placed next to the restaurant’s door. The positive effects of her customers’ remarks are obvious in the smile on her face and the light in her eyes. One eight-year-old boy called her food “magic.” Of course, the cookbook also features some of Alcenia’s greatest recipes — and no one else’s. What you find in the cookbook, you can find at Alcenia’s — even if you have to special order it ahead of time. B.J. is clear that she only uses her mother’s concoctions, which include a varied assortment, from egg custard pudding and Go-Go’s pecan pie to fig preserves and sock-it-to-me cake. Homemade biscuits, waffles, and a section on jar preparation are there, too. “I wanted this book to make people, cry, laugh, cook, and then get up and call somebody — anybody — and tell them, ‘I love you,’” B.J. says. “That’s why I wrote this book, just to help open people up. This cookbook is all about love.” Alcenia’s, 317 N. Main, 523-0200, alcenias.com. Alcenia’s owner, B.J. Chester-Tamayo, holds a photograph of her late son, Will A. Tamayo III, as she stands in front of the restaurant’s signature painting: a cheerful portrait of her mother, Alcenia, holding B.J.’s granddaughter, also named Alcenia, who was born after the baby’s father, Will, was killed in a motorcycle accident at the age of 22. The restaurant serves up mother Alcenia’s homemade recipes mixed with a lot of love from B.J. Upon entering Alcenia’s at this time of year, you might assume that the bright yellow, purple, and green decor celebrates the upcoming Mardi Gras festival. “It’s just my personality,” says Alcenia’s owner B.J. Chester-Tamayo. “I do not have a brown or beige personality. I love color. This is who I am.” Home is what the restaurant feels like, despite the accolades and articles adorning the walls. Hippie beads hang from the rafters, slightly separating some eating areas from others, and an old-style jukebox — fully functioning — sits in one corner, across the room from a backgammon table. Lots of cast-iron decorations line the walls, and a good-sized skylight illuminates one seating area near the jukebox. Decades of Downtown Dining: A 20th Anniversary Backward Glance at Old Favorites 26 MEMPHIS DOWNTOWNER MARCH 2011 memphisdowntowner.com

Now Serving: Alcencia

Upon entering Alcenia’s at this time of year, you might assume that the bright yellow, purple, and green decor celebrates the upcoming Mardi Gras festival. “It’s just my personality,” says Alcenia’s owner B.J. Chester-Tamayo. “I do not have a brown or beige personality. I love color. This is who I am.” Home is what the restaurant feels like, despite the accolades and articles adorning the walls. Hippie beads hang from the rafters, slightly separating some eating areas from others, and an old-style jukebox — fully functioning — sits in one corner, across the room from a backgammon table. Lots of cast-iron decorations line the walls, and a good-sized skylight illuminates one seating area near the jukebox. But what probably grabs most people’s attention first is the large painting of an older woman smiling and cradling a baby. Like the restaurant, the portrait is done in bright, primary colors. “That’s my mother, Alcenia,” B.J. says, pointing. The infant in the picture is the daughter of B.J.’s only son, Will A. Tamayo III, who was killed at age 22 in a 1996 motorcycle accident. In honor of him and B.J.’s mother — whom Will adored — the baby was also named Alcenia. After Will’s death, B.J.’s world totally shut down for nine months.But that tragedy formed the foundation for B.J.’s next move. Her lifelong desire to manufacture and distribute her mother’s desserts and preserves was the inspiration behind Alcenia’s. When she opened in 1997, she intended to serve only those treats, but customers clamored for more. “People started coming in the day of Holy Convocation, saying, ‘You don’t have chitlins? You don’t have yams?’ So I got on the phone with Mom. ‘Give me your recipes!’ She said, ‘I told you, you were going to need food!’” Alcenia’s, however, is still well known for its sweets. The Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives gave the restaurant a boost when it featured Alcenia’s in 2008, and the same network’s show The Best Thing I Ever Ate gave fanfare in 2009 to mother Alcenia’s sweet potato cobbler. “That has been the biggest thing, and it was so funny because they were not coming to Memphis to do soul food, they were coming to do barbecue,” says B.J. “They told me, ‘If we decide to air it, someone with The Food Network will call you.’ So when they called, I started hollering and screaming!” In addition to serving the busy clientele, B.J. has just finished her autobiographical cookbook. The book is a collection of not just recipes, but personal letters — including one from the younger Alcenia, now 13 years old, to her father, who died before she was born — and stories, memories, and comments customers have written in the notebook permanently placed next to the restaurant’s door. The positive effects of her customers’ remarks are obvious in the smile on her face and the light in her eyes. One eight-year-old boy called her food “magic.” Of course, the cookbook also features some of Alcenia’s greatest recipes — and no one else’s. What you find in the cookbook, you can find at Alcenia’s — even if you have to special order it ahead of time.B. J. is clear that she only uses her mother’s concoctions, which include a varied assortment, from egg custard pudding and Go-Go’s pecan pie to fig preserves and sock-it-to-me cake. Homemade biscuits, waffles, and a section on jar preparation are there, too. “I wanted this book to make people, cry, laugh, cook, and then get up and call somebody — anybody — and tell them, ‘I love you,’” B.J. says. “That’s why I wrote this book, just to help open people up. This cookbook is all about love.” Alcenia’s, 317 N. Main, 523-0200, alcenias.com.

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