CSNbbs

does anyone have any they would like to share?

One time the police shut the place down, and the quote in the paper by Mongo was "I don't know how these minors keep sneaking in"

I was 18 at the time, looked 16 at best and didn't even need an ID.

Never had the "Purple Bat", though.

I can still remember the time he was going to bury himself in his yard. Or the time the city told him he could not keep a car in his drive with flat tires. He rented a forklift and lifted the car off the ground. Then there was the constant rumors of him having a sliver and gold chess set.

Before he moved downtown he had the old orange building on Highland just south of where the Varsity Inn was located. He used to give us free beer but I had to pass on the free pizza. Maybe it's just me but there's something about a guy running around barefoot dressed in nothing but a loin cloth that made me not want to eat his pizza......even if it was on the house.

Even funnier was if we had the Tennstud out drinking with us. Mongo and Tennstud in the same bar was quite entertaining.

TG4 Wrote:Before he moved downtown he had the old orange building on Highland just south of where the Varsity Inn was located. He used to give us free beer but I had to pass on the free pizza. Maybe it's just me but there's something about a guy running around barefoot dressed in nothing but a loin cloth that made me not want to eat his pizza......even if it was on the house.

Even funnier was if we had the Tennstud out drinking with us. Mongo and Tennstud in the same bar was quite entertaining.

You should have tried it, Ole shoney made a mean pizza. If you take the toppings that fell off a zambodian while you were eating it. You could make a supreme pizza from any other place.

I remember walking in his club on front and being around 16, showing no ID or my 16 yr old drivers license and the guy at the door handing you a cup and saying "free coke". And the free draft flowed all night.

that place was crazy.

1st thru 7th grades I lived on Vance near Peabody and Belvedere and I would walk to Video Magic on Union to rent movies. Almost every time I walked past Prince Mongos house on Linden or Eastmoreland he would be outside watering his plants which were in toilet bowls on the front porch and he would offer me cheese.

Not much in the way of a story, but I lived in a duplex 2nd door down behind his place on Highland when I was 18. Ate there quite often and loved the pizza. When Mongo was there, he liked to make the salads. If you wanted the "seasonings" on it, he would toss them in the air above the salad and yell out "Let it fall from the heavens !!!".

I used to work at the Memphis Queen Line Riverboats and for lunch I would go up to his place and get the best Roast Beef sandwich in Memphis. In the evenings after some of the parties on the boats, we would go to the Palace for Pizza and adult beverages (back when I embibed). ;-) And quite often he would join us in the festivities.

Did you know that he used to donate the proceeds to St. Jude and he had a note on the menu that if any child at St. Jude ordered pizza from him, he would not charge them one penny?
He's really a uniquely sane individual. :shhh:

Then when I moved up to work at First Tennessee downtown on Third and Madison, he would come in dressed in his best Fred Flintstone outfit, complete with skull rings on all of his toes. What a guy.

mmmmmmmmm--lets see. his bar, prince Mongos planet, ALLEGEDLY, serving underage high school students alchohol and banking the money as one of them died in a alcohol related motorcycle accident.

Sorry, my memories may not be as fond as ya'lls.

Again, allegedly--not certain.

kpigout Wrote:Not much in the way of a story, but I lived in a duplex 2nd door down behind his place on Highland when I was 18. Ate there quite often and loved the pizza. When Mongo was there, he liked to make the salads. If you wanted the "seasonings" on it, he would toss them in the air above the salad and yell out "Let it fall from the heavens !!!".

So let me get this straight, you "tossed salad" with Mongo? lmfao

Mongo had a place on South Main and when they were building the trolley, it was not uncommon for Mongo to bring out a big tray of burgers for the guys building the trolley.

my fuzzy memory of mongo's involves dancing to "head like a hole" by nine inch nails, draft beer in hand.

good times.

I saw Mongo Monday night. He's a lot shorter than I remembered.

At Mongo's downtown (Front St?), I was 18 and got an unprovoked cold clock by a punk from CBHS who had a roll of quarters in his hand........to the amazement of everyone, I didnt even spill a drop of my beer. Nice memory. I used to talk with Mongo about local politics and should have realized I was developing a healthy drinking problem. I digress.......

I and a few friends from the neighborhood used to work at the joint on Highland for a couple bucks and free pizza when we were 13-14. We would sweep up the kitchen, clean up behind the bar.....

Never forget the day that he took all of his employees to his house in his RV (remember those bubble looking rv's that seemed like all of the news stations drove? He had one). All I remember was the tour of his house and him proudly showing everyone the artifacts hanging on the walls and placed around the house, some pretty wild stuff for a 14 yr old. He also told everyone how much fun he had bothering the neighbors with all of the trash and toilets in his front yard.

That place had great Pizza......

Mongo's was a great high school hang out. Like many of you mentioned, there was no annoying security checking IDs, just annoying security checking for weapons. I always hung out on the first or second floor. The third floor looked a little to unstable, what with the deteriorating wooden railings overlooking the dance floor.

Loved Mongo's paint job on his fence at his last house on Park by Holy Rosary. It was a shame when the plastic chairs were removed from his roof and the upside down deer head was taken down from his front door.

BigBadBlue Wrote:At Mongo's downtown (Front St?), I was 18 and got an unprovoked cold clock by a punk from CBHS who had a roll of quarters in his hand........to the amazement of everyone, I didnt even spill a drop of my beer. Nice memory. I used to talk with Mongo about local politics and should have realized I was developing a healthy drinking problem. I digress.......

So, did you whip him? You've got to be a real sissy to sucker punch somebody and them not even hit the ground.

Beer was cold and cheap. Pizza was good and the ham and cheese sandwiches made by Shoney (sp) were incredible. Good mix of folks in the location on Highland close to Park. Late nights, quarter games and lots of women, lots of drunk women.

I've been working a lot in South Florida this year. The Ft. Lauderdale equavalent of the Memphis Flyer had a big article on Mongo this winter. Mongo has a house in Ft. Lauderdale, and he only uses it half the year. The other half of the year he leaves the house unlocked and lets homeless people live there. His neighbors love him. The Ft. Lauderdale paper didn't know much about him other than he had run for mayor in Memphis.

Back in the early 1970s, Mongo's cousin was getting married in Virginia. She didn't invite him because she was afraid that he would do something crazy. Mongo gets mad because he isn't invited and while wearing his Mongo stuff, rides a horse into the church during the cermony. I guess that taught her.

I've got a bunch of Mongo stories, but no time to share them today.