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The Sidebar

The Sidebar, hosted by Eric Barnes from The Daily Memphian, focuses on arts, culture and everything in between in Memphis, including interviews with people shaping the city and sometimes an exploration of topics stranger, funnier and more surprising than you might expect to hear.

Sep, 16 2026

S7E28: How the Hotel Pontotoc went from bordello to boutique hotel

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For more than 20 years, Joey Lewis loved the Hotel Pontotoc, the former Downtown Memphis bordello that is now a hotel – and much more. Lewis bought the Hotel Pontotoc in 2022, then embarked on a three and a half year process of renovating the building. Lewis talks about the first year of the hotel’s new life as a boutique hotel, a bar (The Dame), and a music venue.

Interview

Talk

Eric Barnes

CEO of The Daily Memphian Host of Behind the Headlines & The Sidebar. Writer of The City Where We Once Lived and 3 other novels.

The Sidebar

S7E27: Pulitzer Prize winner to speak about homelessness at MIFA event

S7E26: WYXR on the bands who'll perform at this year's Raised by Sound Fest

S7E25: New owner talks about the bright future for Memphis Flyer and Memphis Magazine

S7E24: Tim Disney on his new book, the global elite and Oliver & Company

S7E23: Pat Mitchell Worley on the legacy of Stax in Memphis

S7E22: How art, place and Memphis come together for the Hyde Foundation

S7E21: How the Sterick Building hopes to transform a neighborhood Downtown

S7E20: What makes a great music city?

S7E19: Paris comes to Memphis in "Cafe Society"

S7E18: Robby Grant from WYXR

S7E17: John Zeanah wants city planning to be smarter – so he wrote a book

S7E16: Songwriters, music and beer flood South Main

S7E15: A look at the 2026 Live at the Garden line up

S7E14: Books from Birth send books to 30,000 children a year – reaching the other 30,000 is the challenge

S7E13: New Memphis Institute on recruiting and retaining talented people in Memphis

S7E12: Karen Carrier and 'Legacy at the Table'

S7E11: For local Fashion Week, 'Memphis is the host'

S7E10: Tennessee Ballet Theater

S7E9: Girls Inc. of Memphis

S7E8: Ballet Memphis

S7E7: The YMCA's impact on thousands of children in Memphis and the Midsouth

S7E6: Museum to showcase legacy, history of Memphis College of Art

S7E5: Bill Townsend on Annesdale Mansion, ghosts and Always Memphis

S7E4: Memphis Youth Symphony Program approaches its 60th year

S7E3: New leadership at Indie Memphis talks about the festival's future

S7E2: Brantley Ellzey on intensity and relief he finds in his new art exhibit

S7E1: What to expect as Baron Von Opperbean gets closer to opening on Mud Island

S6E41: Why giving is essential to The Daily Memphian

S6E40: How Merit Academy pursues excellence in literacy

S6E39: Lauren Ready uses the skills of journalism in new ways

S6E38: Everystory, formerly Playback Memphis

S6E37: The plan to create an arts middle and high school in Memphis

S6E36: How Grind City Amp plans to expand live music in Memphis

S6E35: The federal task force's impact on Latino businesses in Memphis

S6E34: Cequita Monique on how she was 'born into jazz'

S6E33: The host of 'Nurses Unboxed' on the critical role of nurses

S6E32: The hard, block-by-block work to improve Klondike and Smokey City

S6E31: Barth House Episcopal Center

S6E30: Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis

S6E29: Buckman Performing & Fine Arts Center

S6E28: The new executive director of GPAC

S6E27: David Lusk Gallery

S6E26: The new president and CEO of Bridges

S6E25: Overton Park Conservancy

S6E24: ArtsMemphis reaches a meaningful milestone

S6E23: CodeCrew's Hackathon

S6E22: Young Avenue Sound

S6E21: The Metal Museum's expansion to Overton Park

S6E20: The Overton Park Shell

S6E19: Live at the Garden 2025

S6E18: SunAh Laybourn on Asian American culture and history in Memphis

S6E17: Meet Me at the Library

S6E16: Stax's Pat Mitchell Worley on the Power of Music Awards

S6E15: Clap Three Times

S6E14: Spanish Cultural Series Concerts

S6E13: Sultana Disaster Museum

S6E12: Lora Chilton on her novel titled "1666"

S6E11: Tad Pierson on how the highway is his home

S6E10: North American Bridge Championships

S6E9: Shelby Farms Park

S6E8: The Executive Director of Memphis Botanic Garden

S6E7: Learn more about the work to improve Memphis' public spaces

S6E6: The city's new head of the arts

S6E5: The Brooks' Curator of African American Art and Art of the African Diaspora

S6E4: The Daily Memphian Founder Andy Cates

S6E3: Paul Chandler with Germantown Performing Arts Center

S6E2: Memphis' Director of Creative and Cultural Economy

S6E1: Kevin Sharp with Dixon Gallery and Gardens

S5E43: What the Live Nation venue at Crosstown can bring to Memphis

S5E42: Memphis' start-up ecosystem

S5E41: Daily Memphian Director of Development Sarah Leach

S5E40: Jeff Hulett on his new album and MTV (of course)

S5E39: Memphis Botanic Garden's leader on greenspace, collaborations and Memphis

S5E38: The importance of the 'civic commons'

S5E37: How music can protect the aquifer

S5E36: Batman tattoos, street art and a new lounge from David Yancy

S5E35: WYXR on its 4th anniversary and the next Raised By Sound Fest

S5E34: Lora Chilton on writing, violence and her history with the Patawomeck Indian Tribe

Surprise! It's Sound Bites: How restaurants price your favorite meals