Restaurants coming in 2021
The Weekly Dish
We thought we'd share a bit of good news for you to look forward to in the new year. Despite all the adversities and losses of 2021, we have no doubt that the Memphis restaurant community will not only survive, but will also grow and thrive. Memphians — along with our restaurants — are known for their “grit and grind,” aren't we?
New restaurants are in the works across the Bluff City.
Here are eight not-to-miss restaurants you should be on the watch for in 2021.
Dory
716 W. Brookhaven Circle; dorymemphis.com
Dory is the much-anticipated restaurant by David and Amanda Krog. It's an endeavor the couple has been dreaming of for several years.
Dory will be located at 716 W. Brookhaven Circle. Set to open at the beginning of January, this will be the first restaurant for the couple. The couple has transformed a former home on Brookhaven Circle into a fine dining restaurant that is equally modern and inviting. They have paid attention to every detail, even down to custom plates for specific dishes.
The restaurant will be "100% a tasting menu," David said. He said he always wanted to have a tasting menu concept as part of his restaurant, and seating limitations due to COVID-19 restrictions allowed him to do that.
“COVID gave me a blessing,” David said. “A tasting menu concept would have been too ambitious for an 80-seat restaurant, but it works for a 26-seat restaurant.”
A nine-course meal with optional wine and non-alcoholic beverage pairings will be offered nightly. On Monday, a shorter three-course tasting menu will be available for those wanting a less lengthy dining experience.
Following the style of cooking for which David is known, the menu is described as “contemporary Southern using French technique.”
“The menu will be intentionally sourced,” David said. “Over the past years, we have met some great first- and second-generation farmers, and we have built relationships with them. My goal is to serve the best produce and meat we can find.”
The restaurant will be a family affair, with David in the kitchen and Amanda running the dining room.
Salt | Soy
2583 Broad Ave.
Salt | Soy will open in early 2021 in the building that was most recently home to Lucky Cat Ramen.
When he learned of Lucky Cat Ramen's closing in August, Nick Scott, who also owns Alchemy, saw a potential opportunity for his 2-year-old pop-up concept Salt | Soy.
"We had tried to fit the concept into several locations, but they all fell through," Scott said. "The timing of this location becoming available couldn't be better."
Scott has teamed up with Brad
Mccarley. It's the second time the two chefs have collaborated. Scott worked with Mccarley on City Block Salumeria before Mccarley moved it to Puck Food Hall.
Scott describes the fare at Salt | Soy as "New American — Asian Inspired."
While he is most known for his restaurant Alchemy these days, Scott has an extensive background in sushi and Asian fare. He worked for Jimmy Ishii at his Downtown restaurant Bluefin for close to 10 years. He also did a two-year stint at Karen Carrier's now-closed Do Sushi.
"Our sushi menu will be super strong and focused on serving great products rather than being too extensive," Scott said.
Mccarley will lead the kitchen, with Lindsey Chaisson as his chef de cuisine. The menu will be focused on Japanese Izakaya small plates. According to Scott, dishes will be both Southern and Japanese inspired.
Alex Mosley and Mckenzie Nelson will lead the bar program. “They will be using Japanese ingredients to make unique takes on classic cocktails,” Scott said.
Hog & Hominy
707 W. Brookhaven Circle; hogandhominy.com
Hog & Hominy will return in late summer 2021.
Construction began this fall on the site for the former restaurant. Since the award-winning restaurant was destroyed by a fire on Jan. 9, Memphians have been lamenting over the loss of this beloved pizza spot.
According to Nick Talarico, Enjoy AM Restaurant Group director of operations, the new restaurant will be slightly larger than the original space. “The feel will be the same — you can come causal or dressed up,” he said.
Natalie Lieberman of Collect + Curate and Carlton Edwards architecture firm is working with the Hog & Hominy team to create what Talarico describes as “a more comfortable restaurant.” For example, the metal seating will be replaced by more comfortable chairs. Talarico also said they are paying attention to the acoustics of the restaurant; Hog & Hominy was known for being loud.
All the popular staples will return — dishes like the John T. burger, the poutine and pizzas such as the Red Eye and the Thunderbird! 40 Twice! Like before, the menu will rotate seasonally.
Until the restaurant reopens, Hog & Hominy make-at-home pizza kits are available for takeout at Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen and Catherine & Mary's.
Big Bad Breakfast
6450 Poplar Ave.; bigbadbreakfast.com
John Currence is bringing his Big Bad Breakfast restaurant to Memphis.
The award-winning Oxford, Mississippi, restaurant is set to open June 1 at 6450 Poplar Ave. in the former Pizza Rev space.
Big Bad Breakfast is known for its house-made breakfast meats, fresh biscuits and preserves, locally roasted coffee and cocktails such as from-scratch Bloody Marys. It's open for both breakfast and lunch.
Work on the 3,200-square-foot space is underway.
Sugar Grits
150 Peabody Place, Suite 111
Sugar Grits is the latest restaurant by Tony and Stephanie Westmoreland. It's set to open in early 2021 in the space that was formerly Sleep Out Louie's.
The menu will feature low country dishes and — as the name suggests — a large variety of grits options.
The restaurant will also include a take-and-bake case for Downtown workers wanting to pick up meals on their way home.
The couple, along with Cullen Kent, are the owners of the restaurant group Tandem Restaurant Partners, a group known for saving beloved Memphis institutions like Zinnie's and Robilio's Side Car. Ben-yay's, which opened in August, was the group's first original concept. Sugar Grits will be its second.
The Paramount and The Back Lot
265 S. Front St.
The sign saying “Strait & Associates” is now off the building at the corner of Front Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard. The historic building — which once housed movie reels for Paramount Studios — was the set for Elijah Strait's law firm on the NBC show "Bluff City Law."
Soon, the historic Downtown Memphis building will have a new tenant.
The Paramount, named for the building's movie history, will include a fullservice restaurant, a sandwich shop, a speakeasy and a rooftop bar.
Restaurateur Tyson Bridge and chef Derk Meitzler are the duo behind the new restaurant. Meitzler has decades of experience as a chef in Memphis and is currently the chef at The Vault, which is also owned by Bridge.
The front part of the building will be home to a 175-seat restaurant that will feature an exposed open kitchen and a large bar. Meitzler said they hope to open the restaurant in February.
The back part of the building will be dedicated to a sandwich shop called The Back Lot. The sandwich shop should open in early January.
City Silo Table + Pantry Germantown
7605 W. Farmington Blvd., #2; thecitysilo.com
The East Memphis restaurant known for “clean eating” will open its second location in the former Grimaldi's Pizzeria space in Saddle Creek North in early 2021.
The new City Silo Table + Pantry restaurant at 7605 W. Farmington Blvd., #2, will be slightly larger than the original location in Sanderlin Center. At 3,500 square feet, the new restaurant features an outdoor covered patio and roll-up garage doors.
“The space already has a cool bar that will be perfect for serving our juices, smoothies and coffees,” Tashie said.
Tashie also plans to serve cocktails made with their fresh juices to the menu. The full bar will also include local draft beers and wine.
Like the original City Silo, the new restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. An in-store market, like at the location on Sanderlin, will also be included.
"We feel that this development and location are a great fit for our growing brand,” Tashie said. “The extra space will also help us grow our catering.”
Raw Girls
150 Peabody Place, Suite 118
Raw Girls is opening a new location in Downtown Memphis in early 2021.
The new restaurant at 150 Peabody Place, Suite 118, is sandwiched between fitness studio Shred 415 and ServiceMaster's headquarters facing Second Street.
Raw Girls, owned by couple Amy and Hannah Pickle, is known for its vegan and organic grab-and-go drinks and foods, including cold-pressed juices, soups, salads, entrees and desserts.
Amy Pickle said they are excited to be able to offer more at this new location than at their two mobile food trucks. Expect all the food truck favorites, plus retail items, a Lavazza Italian espresso/ coffee bar, a hot broth bar, fresh smoothies and wine.
The new location will have both indoor and outdoor dining, plus a pandemic-style window where people can place and pick up orders without having to enter the store itself.
Raw Girls' food trucks in the Eclectic Eye and Midtown Yoga parking lot on Cooper Street and in the Hollywood Feed parking lot on Poplar Avenue in East Memphis will remain open. The temporary pop-up at Saddle Creek will be closing this month.