It was the year that did not go to plan; the one that went awry. And I have a record of it as my only 2020 resolution was to make a brief note of the days’ activities in my datebook just before bed.

I started the year at a crowded New Year’s Day party at an old friend’s home; we promised — and meant — to be in touch. In that first week, I had lunch with my mother, drinks at Ronnie Grisanti’s with good friends one night, cocktails and a burger the next night at Folk’s Folly, dinner at Stoney River, at Los Comales, lunch at the Brass Door, dinner and lunch at Moondance.

(A note on Jan. 6 tells me it was executive editor Ronnie Ramos’ first day at The Daily Memphian — wish him a happy anniversary on Wednesday.)

The early days filled up like that: The regular Sunday night sushi with Michael Donahue, a show at the Orpheum, a weekend trip to see the kids in Shreveport, a stop at Drago’s in Jackson on the way home for char-grilled oysters, dinner at City Silo.

And on Jan. 21, I had lunch at David Grisanti’s. My watch buzzed with a news alert from The New York Times that said a man in Washington had the Wuhan coronavirus. (That’s what The NYT called it then, and at that time, six people in China had died of it.)

I glanced at it, told my companion what it said, and we resumed our conversation. We didn’t know that over a last-minute lunch of crab cakes and a prime rib sandwich, we’d just found out the world had changed.

Those meals at Moondance turned into a review where I promised a tougher approach in 2020; last week, someone mentioned that, asked if I thought the day would come when we’d have real, rated reviews again.

I do. My seventh-most popular story in 2020 was a dining review, and it was of my favorite kind of place: One many people don’t know about. Daisy’s Soul Food hit the spot for many of you, coming in ahead of numerous stories about COVID-19, though no match for the story about us visiting restaurants to see which were in compliance with early Health Department regulations.

Some of you complained and called us Karens, but the numbers — it was my second-most-read story of the year — tell me you wanted to know where it was safe to go.

(The top food story was about Torchy’s Tacos coming to town this summer, the third about Phil Bryant’s hard decision to sell Bryant’s Breakfast, and ones about restaurants and bars closing and reopening due to COVID are peppered throughout the top 10.)

Some restaurants closed for good, in whole or part due to COVID. Puck Food Hall, which had barely gotten its groove when coronavirus came along, both hustled and pivoted but closed anyway; its official last day was New Year’s Eve but even the shoutin’ was over weeks earlier.

Lucky Cat Ramen closed on Broad, and soon we’ll see Nick Scott’s Salt | Soy open in the space.

We said a sad goodbye to The Grove Grill, the restaurant in Laurelwood that Jeff Dunham opened in 1997, but welcomed Magnolia & May, son Chip Dunham’s new place, to East Memphis’ new restaurant hot spot at Poplar and Mendenhall.

That’s where the much-anticipated Torchy’s Tacos will go, too. It will join Southall Café, which opened in September. Coming soon to Williamsburg Village are Hen House wine bar, Grey’s Fine Cheese & Entertaining and Crumbl Cookies. (Magnolia & May is across the street, tucked in behind The Half Shell, Gus’s Fried Chicken and just down from Gibson’s Donuts and Garibaldi’s Pizza.)

In 2020 we all learned that Tennessee doesn’t have bars but does have limited-service restaurants, and you didn’t want to own one in July, when they were shut down by the Health Department, which prevailed in a federal lawsuit brought against it by some of the owners seeking to reopen.

It wasn’t a good year to be in the restaurant business, period. Some Downtown restaurants haven’t reopened because the only folks there are residents. Offices remain largely unpopulated, hotels are struggling and there are no big events.

McEwen’s is still under renovation and will reopen expanded in early- to mid-2021. The Majestic Grille hasn’t reopened yet, but made a swing to Cocozza American Italian. Even the venerable Rendezvous has opened and closed its dining room independent of Health Department regulations, citing concern about high COVID numbers and slow business.

But Maciel’s opened in Cooper-Young. Slim & Husky’s is open in The Edge, Little Bettie opened in Wiseacre Downtown, which also opened in 2020. La Unica finally opened on Summer Avenue, Alex Grisanti opened Elfo Grisanti’s in Southaven, James Beard award-winner John Currence announced he’s bringing a Big Bad Breakfast to East Memphis, and SOBEast went in the former Interim space on Sanderlin.

A sad loss: Muddy’s won’t reopen in Midtown, but our fingers are crossed that the Sanderlin store will be back soon (the Broad Avenue kitchen is open limited hours and for pickup now).

Restaurateurs faced plenty of challenges and saw some of the worst in people, but also some of the best: They found that Memphians love them.

Restaurants certainly aren’t the only businesses that were gut-punched by COVID, but they’re such a part of us, so woven in our lives, that many rallied for them, buying takeout often and dining out when we felt safe.

They’re special to us. There’s the place across town we happily drive for our favorite pizza, the place we like to take our kids, the place we go for a romantic dinner, a drink with friends.

We make memories in places we gather, and 2020 tried to steal our sense of community. But we didn’t let it, even if it meant sweltering outside to visit or logging on Zoom to virtually dine with friends.

Now here we are, some already vaccinated and everyone within weeks of getting our shot. We’ll make it; let’s just try to keep 2021 on track.