If you've ever walked down Main Street between Monroe and Madison in the middle of the day chances are you've heard a "tap, tap, tap" coming from one of the shop windows. That would be the monocled Mr. Peanut trying to get your attention by tapping his cane on the window. The Peanut Shoppe at 24 S. Main was established around 1949 and was a Planters Peanut store. It is now owned by an individual and is one of only a few former Planters shops still operating. The owner roasts all kinds of fresh nuts everyday. I took a picture of the roaster which he said will be 80 years old next year! This has also got to be the smallest shop downtown. It's so narrow that you can't form a line at the counter and you have to squeeze past someone to look at all the nuts in the cases. A bit of the past is alive and well in this place and Mr. Peanut makes me smile every time I see (and hear) him. Interestingly, there is an Italian connection - isn't there always? Planters was started in Pennsylvania in 1906 by an Italian immigrant named Amedeo Obici. In 1916 Mr. Peanut was born when a boy named Antonio Gentile won a Planters contest to create a brand icon by entering his sketch of this character.
To learn more about the Peanut Shoppe (or to browse their selection) go to: http://www.memphispeanutshoppe.com/
The (almost) 80 year old roaster. 
5 comments:
I love Peanuts to have them as an Aperitif. Do you know Persian Pistaches ?
K & M
Do you mean pistachios? Are Persian ones differenet somehow? Do I need to go there to find out?
Charlotte always asks for Planters Nuts by saying she wants the ones "iwth the peanut man on the can, well, not really a peanut man, instead a peanut dressed up to try and look like a man, but still a peanut." She is so smart if I just told her one time they were called Planters she would remember that for the rest of time, but am I mean not to tell her just so I can hear her descriptions of things?? hehe
PS I love Jordan Almonds
PPS You crack me up (don't tell Mr. Peanut, it might shatter him ... all puns intended!
No you don't necessarly need to go there to enjoy pistachios. I could bring you some if you accept it.
K & M
Super cute! I never knew there was a store like that downtown... shows how much I know about downtown Memphis!
OC
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