A Killer Café

The site of the former Pat O’Brien’s nightclub in Memphis will become Jerry Lee Lewis’ Café and Honky Tonk May 1.

The Beale Street restaurant will feature live rock ’n’ roll but not so much its namesake – though Lewis’ manager J.W. Whitten told the Memphis Commercial Appeal the Killer may show up “time to time.”

The café, undergoing a $150,000 facelift, will sport Lewis memorabilia including his motorcycle, piano, posters and stage costumes. The food will be “all Southern, from Louisiana to low country to Mississippi to Memphis,” general manager Bud Chittom told the paper.

But don’t expect a Johnny Rockets or Jack Rabbit Slims in terms of décor. “It will not be a sock hop or a malt shop. It’s a honky-tonk and café,” Chittom said. “Those haven’t changed in 60 years.”