On June 30, 2006, the President took the Japanese Prime Minister on a personal tour of Graceland. Southern Living Assistant Travel Editor Kim Cross went behind the scenes to learn how Memphis hosts two heads of state. (And how they liked the barbecue.)
Half an hour after the Presidential motorcade leaves the Rendezvous, I get co-owner Tina Jennings on the phone. She sounds frazzled and exhilarated and tired and giddy, like an Olympic medalist who's still reeling from the event. She usually leaves interviews to her brothers and business partners, Nick and John Vergos, but when I tell her I'm from Southern Living, she tells me to come on by.
I sit down with Tina, who offers me some sweet tea (they don't serve unsweet). Nick has already left, so she waves over general manager Pat Donohue.
I ask them how it went.
"It was incredible," Pat says. "It was a lot of work."
They learned of the President's visit only last week, when the White House called. That was the beginning of a week's worth of meetings with White House and Secret Service staff. Risks were assessed, logistics were mapped, security plans were detailed, and seats were assigned. Barbecue was ordered--enough to feed 200 people.
But that's nothing for the Rendezvous, the most famous Memphis barbecue joint where Elvis never ate. *
"It was an easy lunch for us," Pat says. "We could have fed 1,000."
