Patti's Restaurant, Grand Rivers KY This is an update to my original review of Patti's Restaurant Original Post. Patti's Restaurant is a great place to drop in for lunch, like Marsh & I did, yesterday. Anytime we are anywhere near Patti's Restaurant anywhere near a meal time, we just can't resist. The food's always special, even when there is no special occasion. And, even though we often drop in without reservations and miraculously get seated, we almost always sit at the same table. I have no idea how that happens. Yesterday was no exception. I took a couple of photos from my chair to show you just a tiny bit of what Patti's Restaurant looks like around Christmastime. The picture on the left is the ceiling above our table, and the one on the right is the wall beside us. These are just... 11/26/2011

Kirchoff's Bakery & Deli, Paducah KY I have a reminder set in my phone calendar for Saturday, March 17, 2012. What's the occasion? Corned beef & cabbage with boiled red potatoes at Kirchoff's! I happened to eat lunch at Kirchoff's on St. Patrick's Day this year, and the corned beef was about the best thing I have ever eaten in a restaurant. I asked a few weeks later, "When are you going to cook up some more of that corned beef & cabbage? That was great!" "Oh, we only have that once a year - on St. Patrick's day." March 17, 2012 will be the first time I have ever driven downtown to eat lunch on Saturday. Set your calendars, folks, but plan to get there early. The word is out! Kirchoff's Bakery & Deli is one of my favorite eating places in Paducah KY. Louie Kirchoff has taken an old famil... 07/11/2011

Huntin' On Empty. My daughter wandering across the country shooting stuff in a TV series. Who'd a thunk it. Several years ago, the boys from our church youth group had come to our house one Saturday morning to play paintball in the woods. It was raining. They played in the rain. None of the boys cared much if it rained, just as long as it didn't pour down all the time. Meanwhile, my daughter, Traci, called her mom to say, "I'm going to cancel my trip to the mall because it's raining." Pretty decent illustration of the difference between boys and girls. Pretty decent picture of Traci before she morphed into the big game hunter. Traci's husband, Mark Hatcher, grew up hunting, being a guide and about everything else related to hunting. His business, Big Buck Properties, sells hunting land.... 07/04/2011

Patti's Restaurant, Grand Rivers KY, the perfect place to take your wife for your anniversary, or to take a bus load for your birthday celebration! How does a restaurant in a town of 350 people feed 350,000 people? You'll just have to see for yourself. Patti's isn't exactly a "local" restaurant like my other favorite Paducah KY restaurant blogs, but if you're anywhere near Paducah it's definitely worth the 40-minute drive to experience the Patti's atmosphere and culinary delights. We didn't get the memo that our grandson's baseball game had been rescheduled last Friday night, and found ourselves half-way to Grand Rivers, so naturally, we took advantage of our good fortune and moved on up the road for a delightful dinner.   I stuck with Patti's signature 2" pork chop prepared with their ... 06/28/2011

BBQ On The River, Paducah KY, is when my favorite eating places moves outside. Every September, you'll find me wandering the streets in the midst of sixty (60) TONS of BBQ pork & chicken prepared by about fifty different pros. What more could a serious BBQ Ribs connoisseur ask? BBQ On The River is September 24th - 26th for 2015. Drop in and experience a bit of Hoag Heav'n! My trek down BBQ lane begins a week before the start of BBQ On The River when the local paper publishes the map of booths.Don't try to break my concentration while I'm busy circling last year's winners' locations for this festival. That's when I finalize my plan of action.I'm a BBQ ribs guy, and nobody makes BBQ ribs like western Kentucky BBQ pits. The secret is hickory wood. No other wood creates the smoked flavor th... 06/21/2011

    Doe’s Eat Place, 136 Broadway, Paducah KY, is located in an ordinary old building across 2nd Street from the historic Market House Museum, Market House Theater and Yeiser Art Center. The food is anything but ordinary, however. This location is one of fourteen Doe’s, but Paducah has the only family-owned restaurant other than the original Doe’s Eat Place in Greenville MS. Big Doe Signa’s grandson, Paul, is the manager.   I love Doe’s hot tamales and chili so much I even eat them on hot summer days. The tamales are homemade from the recipe grandmother Maime originated in 1941. Until I started eating lunch at Doe’s, I had never experienced a steak sandwich made with pieces of fillet and porterhouse steaks. Yummy! The black & bleu salad has the same chunks of steak, and it’s worth a tri... 06/17/2011

In the middle of an Historic Neighborhood and Arts District this completely renovated home has 2 Beds, 1 Full and 1 Half Bath, Eat-in Kitchen, Living Rm, Library/Sitting Rm, Small Office Area, Double-Pane Pella Windows, Fenced Backyard, Basement, 1 Car Garage, Tuck Point Brick, Central H/A, Slate Roof, Zoned Commercial/Residential-if you wish to Live/Work on the same property. Walk to restaurants, galleries/shops, cinema, live theater, concert hall, convention center, banks, public library, post office, and the scenic river with its future Marina/Riverfront Project only 3 blocks away, and a popular coffee shop is just around the corner. Public transportation is also available and a Commersial Airport is nearby. To directly access this property, use this shortcut: http://www.fizber.com/k... 08/17/2009

Beautiful custom built 2,500 Sq. Foot, one story, vinyl sided home features extra large rooms and walk in closets in rolling hill subdivision on quiet cul-de-sac.  Built on a large lot, with professional landscaping and poured concrete borders. Large concrete patio in back for entertaining and extra large concrete drive edged with decorative pea gravel border. Inside, from the front door, you walk into a large living room with solid oak hardwood flooring and an antique mantel wood burning fireplace with gas logs inserted. There is recessed lighting throughout the house, crown molding and decorative trim. From the living room, you walk into the dining room and kitchen that boasts lots of oak cabinets, porcelain floors, and crown molding. Appliances are black with a built in wall oven, bu... 07/21/2009

The Western Kentucky Real Estate Investment Association is coming back to Paducah. The April meeting of the WKREIA will be held in Paducah on Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at the new Thomas Smith Real Estate sales office located at 2410 Holt Road, Paducah, KY 42001. Kim Musgrave with Thomas Smith Real Estate will be hosting and providing drinks and snacks for attendees. Each month the group discusses a topic relevant to real estate investing. This month the Western Kentucky REIA will be discussing techniques for dealing effectively with contractors and vendors. “Hearing other investors’ personal experiences is one of the best ways to avoid making costly mistakes in your investments. With such a diverse group of investors it’s easy to get reliable answers to your real estate inve... 04/09/2009

The master commissioner's sale was held today at the McCracken County Courthouse. There were probably 50 people in attendance. Of the many properties I listed in a previous blog here are a few highlighted properties that were sold. 1415 Madison St, lot, appraised at $2,500. Sold for $1,700 1424 Little Avenue, lot, appraised at $5,000. Sold for $3,450 934-936 North 10th Street, appraised for $110,000. Sold for $73,500 2069 Irvin Cobb Drive, former bar or nightclub, appraised at $240,000. Sold for $200,000. This property was previously listed by a couple of in-town agents at a price between $650,000 to $775,000 1724 Monroe, house, appraised for $60,000. Sold for $40,001 1204 Park Avenue, house, appraised for $45,000. Sold for $34,000 250 Jennifer Lane, house, appraised for $240,000. Sold ... 01/26/2009

Today, myself and 64 other local realtors, attended GRI 5 class in Benton, KY. The class was entitled Systems for Success. For anyone not familar with GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute), it is a series of classes realtors attend for a variety of reasons. Among the many reasons to attend the classes, we learn to better work with buyers, sellers and other agents. We also learn how to conduct business more efficiently. I particularly like attending these classes because I get to meet new peers and talk with friends. One of the ways we meet new peers is by working in groups on brief group collaborations. We also exchange business cards so we can provide client referrals to some of the agents we meet (networking). Of all the good conversation I had there was one thing in particular that was sa... 01/23/2009

Many visitors to my web site enjoy checking the foreclosures page on a routine basis. The master commissioner has auctions on the last Monday of each month inside the court house at the bottom of the stairway. A notice is placed in the Paducah Sun on the second Friday of each month listing the properties to be auctioned. The same list is also on display in the hallway near where the auction is held. Generally, any bank lender foreclosures that are held are purchased back by the lender. These autions are usually not purchased by auction visitors. There are properties to be auctioned from time to time that are unrelated to failed mortgages. This January 26, 2009 there are several properties being auctioned. Most are lender foreclosures but there are several this month that are being aucti... 01/18/2009

This month, the Western Kentucky REIA has several exciting things to discuss at our meeting tonight. We will be back at our normal place and time on Thursday, December 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Barkley Lecture Room on the 3rd Floor of the Curris Center here in Murray. We will be unveiling our new website at wkreia.com, as well as discussing plans for our all-day Saturday Seminar series starting in February. Additionally, this month's discussion topic is "Ethics in Real Estate Investing." We are looking forward to having a panel of our members discuss the various ethical issues in real estate investing. If you would be available to serve as a member of this panel, please respond to this post and let me know. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting and have a very Merry Christmas! Greg ... 12/17/2008

You know, I've never attended as many auctions in my whole life as what I've attended this year alone. I've attended a few RARE Auctions, a court house auction, an online real estate auction (not eBay) and a few others. I don't know about the past but this year you can really get some good deals at a absolute real estate auction. I went to another auction this past Saturday. Up for absolute auction was a 2,900 square foot home. The home was valued at around $300,000. It was a 2 story home, 4 bedroom with 3.5 baths. Most of the home was outdated but it was maintained well. The outside of the brick home was in very good condition. I believe they said it was built in the 70's by a reputable construction business - of which the son of the construction business had lived next door for a whil... 12/02/2008

Some have said the slump in the economy might be at the trough of the slowdown and we should expect a recovery to start at anytime. I was hoping for the same but after I received an email from a friend that listed many major retail stores that are scheduled to close their doors I'm not so sure we've even close. I verified a few of these store closings in case the email was fraudulent. I don't know about you but when I saw this list I immediately foresaw a series of further declines on Wall Street each day these stores close their doors for good. Here is the list of stores closing some locations or closing completely: Ann Taylor- 117 stores nationwide are to be shuttered Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug,and Catherine's to close 150 stores nationwide Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more... 11/23/2008

I haven't seen this before in my area. It has come to the attention of several other people in my area as well. There are these little yellow signs, similar to the one here, in my neighborhood. They are advertising an online auction for a home that was foreclosed on. This particular home is a 3BR, 1BA, 1,100 sqft home that was sold a couple of years ago for $54,000. The home appears to be in good condition. The company holding the auction advertises it as an online only auction. Their name is Williams and Williams Real Estate Auctions (www.WilliamsAuction.com). You must go to their web site and register to receive more information, view the starting price, place any bids or find details as to how you can tour the home. Private buyers can register as well as realtors. Brokers must regist... 11/18/2008

Saturday (yesterday) I attended a couple of auctions. The first one was for a couple of tracts near Mike Smith's new location next to I-24 here in Paducah. The tracts totaled a little over 7 acres in two tracts. Included was a modular home that is being rented for $650 / month (I think). The land in that area is development property. This area is currently home to several hotels, Mike Smith Toyota, Heartland Homes and several other businesses. I understand that Mike Smith paid about $115,000 per acre of his new car lot. These two tracts sold for a mere $50,000 per acre at the auction I attended. The auctioneer didn't appear real happy about the selling price. The second auction I attended was for a home at 1531 Jefferson St in Paducah. This victorian home was a 4BR, 2 BA home with nearl... 11/16/2008

On November 24 at 1:30pm the McCracken County Master Commission will hold another monthly auction. The following properties are to be included in this month's round. The auction is held inside the courthouse at the foot of the steps. 3141 Broadway (Paducah's old Coke plant), to recover costs of $1,260,802.77 201 & 217 Glenn St, to recover costs of $1,002,084.21 7260 McNeil-Alsip Road, to recover costs of $167,336.52 2902 Clark St, to recover costs of $71,427.83 8825 Old Mayfield Road in Boaz, to recover costs $66,720.17 2701 Madison St, to recover costs of $46,747.10 290 Alben Barkley Dr, to recover costs of $106,069.54 1912 Adams St, to recover costs of $46,332.13 832 South 5th St, to recover costs of $54,368.15 1822 Broad St, to recover costs of $92,523.28 3418 Buckner Lane, to recove... 11/08/2008

With today being election day the kids didn't have to go to school - at least for school anyway. Our voting precinct is at the school. I set the alarm clock to go off at 6:30am so I got to sleep in a few minutes. After getting ready my son and I headed off to cast my vote. My son is 10 and this is the 3rd time he's been with me. While on the drive over there I told him to keep it quiet while we were in the booth as I didn't need everyone knowing how I was voting. To my surprise he didn't say a word while we were in there except to tell me I had to close the flap while I was making a write in. After we left I asked him how he knew to do that. He said he had heard the others asking the same question and he had heard the precinct workers answer. Besides the normal races I voted for, I'm in... 11/04/2008

The Delta Queen riverboat left Paducah for the last time on Monday, October 27. The riverboat will no longer be allowed to sail the rivers of the midwest due to a refusal by Congress to issue an exemption as has been done since 1966. In 1966 Congress passed a Safety of Life at Sea Law that forbids the Delta Queen from operating because it is primarily constructed of wood. The current exemption expires on November 1, 2008. I understand, from people who were at the riverfront watching it leave, that Paducah didn't want to let go. Apparently there was enough of a breeze blowing that it wasn't able to easily leave our riverport. 10/28/2008