Goodbye Charlie’s

How do you say goodbye to a store that you have been shopping at for over 45 years?  And not just any store, but an independent, full-service meat market that has been serving the Memphis area for almost 60 years.  There you could get hand cut meat from a knowledgeable butcher and I often bought ground sirloin, pork chops, and roasts.  But the item I most frequently bought was their famous bacon-wrapped filet mignons.

So how did my love for this store begin?  I first bought and grilled out Charlie’s delicious 8 oz. filets sometime in the summer of 1979 before my wife, and I were married.  I don’t recall how I became aware of the meat market’s existence, but I suspect, I happened to mention that I needed to buy some steaks for a cookout at a friend’s house and someone I knew suggested Charlie’s.  And I became hooked with that very first steak.

Over the years, I have changed slightly how I would marinate the steaks prior to grilling, but I can share the rendition I have been using for at least the past 10 years.

First, I would unwrap the steaks from their clear plastic wrap and with a fork, poke tiny holes in each steak.  I would then pour some Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce on them so it could seep down into the holes.  Next, I would sprinkle them with McCormick’s Montreal salt and then press the salt blend into the meat with the fork.  I then repeated the same steps on the other side of the steaks and then allowed them to set for about 30 minutes.

I then would cook them out on a grill, originally a charcoal grill, but later a propane gas grill.

Over the years shopping at Charlie’s, I witnessed the price of this steak increase from just a couple of dollars to about $10 apiece but they were always worth the price.  While one might think that cooking out a steak must call for a special event, since they were so affordable, they became a regular part of our diet.  And whenever we had out of town guests, this was often the requested menu item.

And even when my siblings and I traveled to Montreat for one of our SibSabs (Sibling Sabbaticals), I would buy them in advance and take them with us in the car to cook out one night while we there.

It was prior to our SibSab in October of 2025 that I first became aware of an issue with Charlie’s.  I went there to buy some steaks before our trip and both times I went; they had no filets.  None.  In fact, their meat counter was fairly sparse.  When questioned, I was told that they were having trouble getting the meat needed.  If this had been in the middle of the Pandemic, I would have perfectly understood.  But not five years later.

I was also told I should call before coming to see if they had any which I did on more than one occasion and each time was told maybe they would have some in a few days.

I was not able to get any for our SibSab last year and so instead cooked another of my favorites, pistachio encrusted salmon.

Even a year before this, I wondered if something was amiss as each time I went, I noticed several of their refrigerated reach in cabinets were covered with brown paper out of service.  On one occasion, I even asked one of the owners about it.  His reply was that he was having trouble finding replacement parts for the aging units.

In December of 2025, I became aware that Charlie’s had a sign in the window that read, “Temporarily Closed.”  This made a news story in one of the Memphis daily newspapers.  At the conclusion of the article, the columnist hoped that it was indeed just temporary.

My wife suggested I try looking at some of the other meat markets in town.  Unfortunately, the two I checked were much more high-end.  At one the price of filet meat was over $80 a pound and the other $68 a pound.  And neither came bacon wrapped.

On one occasion shopping at one of the large chain grocery stores; I saw in their meat section that they had two bacon wrapped sirloins for just $15.  Of course I had to try them.  I cooked one the same way I mentioned above.  It was okay but a far cry from Charlie’s.  I have since bought them several times and maybe over time I will get used to them.  But it will never be an acceptable substitute.

I happened to be driving by Charlie’s in February when I noticed a number of cars parked in front of the store.  The store is set well back from the main thoroughfare on which it is located, too far to read an OPEN or CLOSED sign.  When I pulled in and drove back to the store front, not only could I see the sign that said, “SORRY WE’RE CLOSED”, but there were two additional signs that said “SPACE AVAILABLE” dashing any hopes of it reopening.

After I saw that latest sign, I went online to see if there were any additional news stories about it closing.  There was not, but I did discover something else that I did not know.  Charlie, the founder, had died in 2015 and his two sons took over the business.  I went so frequently, that they both recognized me when I walked in the door giving me a warm welcome and thanking me for coming in.  And after so many years shopping there, I knew the proper way to request filets: “I’ll take four 8s” which they immediately retrieved from the display and wrapped in white butcher paper.

On another occasion of me bemoaning the closing of Charlie’s, my wife suggested one more meat market that she knew of.  I checked their website and sure enough they had 8-ounce, bacon wrapped filets for less than $10 a piece!  While it was an hour round trip to get there, we tried them and sure enough they were good.

When our son and grandson were in town just before Easter, I went again and purchased filets.

They certainly looked like the ones from Charlie’s and when I had grilled them out, they looked exactly like Charlie’s.

All family members raved over how good they were, and our seven-year-old grandson devoured every bite of his.

So, as I started this post with the question how do you say goodbye to a store you have shopped at for over 45 years.  Sadly, the answer is you have to.  I know I am not the only Memphian who will say this but “Charlie’s, you will be missed!”

But at least now their closing will be made easier to deal with having found an excellent substitute!