The Four Way (Four Way Grill)

The story

Irene and Clint Cleaves started the Four Way in 1946. Clint had been the chauffeur of Memphis political boss E.H. Crump, and the couple took out a $1,500 loan on their house to buy a small business that began as a few tables in a pool hall. Irene later added a front counter and a private back dining room with white tablecloths.

In the early 1960s it was one of a few Memphis restaurants where Black and white diners regularly sat together. Its patrons included Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Jesse Jackson and, among early diners, Elvis Presley. Staff from nearby Stax Records were regular customers in the 1960s and 1970s, often ordering carry-out.

The state closed the restaurant in 1996 over unpaid taxes, and Irene Cleaves died in March 1998. Willie Earl Bates and a partner bought the property at auction in 2001 and reopened it in October 2002, basing much of the menu on her recipes.

What's There Now

The Four Way Restaurant operates at the same address and is run by Patrice Bates Thompson.

Everything that was here

• 1946–present · still open

  The Four Way (Four Way Grill)Restaurant

  Soulsville's Four Way was one of a few Memphis restaurants where Black and white diners sat together in the early 1960s, and Stax staff ate there.

  See the map in 1947 →

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Nearby history