When Jimmy Gentry opened P.O. Press in Collierville in 2018, it was a dream, though a dream deferred: He was ready to go in a Midtown spot in 2008, but well, that was 2008 and things changed. He pivoted before pivoting was cool and opened Paradox Catering & Consulting instead.

Ten years later, Gentry got his restaurant, and P.O. Press was well received by virtually everyone — people would drive from Downtown to eat in Collierville. But he had to close the restaurant after only a year because of black mold in the building.

His new restaurant, The Lobbyist, officially opens at 5 p.m., Monday, Jan. 23, in the Chisca where LYFE Kitchen used to be. It’s a spot Gentry wanted even before he opened P.O. Press — but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been trying to find a place to hang his shingle these past few years.

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“I was bugging Chance and Chase (Carlisle) before LYFE even closed, then really after Swanky’s went in and closed, but I was looking at other places, too,” he said.

After P.O. Press, Gentry took over the kitchen at Interim after Dave Krog, who now owns Dory, left. But COVID came, and after only a few weeks of trying takeout, it was clear that Interim couldn’t work that way.

Gentry still had Paradox, which he owns with his life and business partner Alia Hogan. But COVID was cruel to caterers — there were no parties, no weddings, no big events at all — so he kept looking for a place to open a new restaurant.

“We looked at Hopdoddy in Overton Square, but there was no way we could make money there because the rent was crazy,” he said.

He and some investors put in a bid on Earnestine & Hazel’s but didn’t get it.

He wanted the former Spindini spot, where Felicia Willett is scheduled to reopen Felicia Suzanne’s, but that went to her.

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He looked at Willett’s old spot in Brinkley Plaza, but that didn’t work out.

He tried to get into Crosstown Concourse, where Wolf River Brisket is now. Again, no.

Luckily, his catering business started booming when COVID restrictions relaxed, but he couldn’t get the Chisca space off his mind.

He resumed talks with the Carlisles, who redeveloped the Chisca, last summer and finally signed a lease in the fall. Then it was go time.

“When we opened P.O. Press, there were some things we wanted to do that we figured we’d get to down the line, because we didn’t have investors,” Gentry said. “It was just me and Chris (Thorn, his former partner).

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“But moving in here, next door to where I am, we had to get it right. I’m next to some of the biggest guys in town.”

His neighbor is Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman’s Catherine & Mary’s, a popular restaurant with a loyal clientele.

“But I see it as a positive, like in Charleston where you have restaurants right next to each other. If you can’t get in at Catherine & Mary’s, you come to The Lobbyist. If you can’t get in at The Lobbyist, you go to Catherine & Mary’s.”

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Whoever the neighbor, Gentry decided that when he opened, he’d be stage ready. A lighted, three-sided marquee lets folks know where they are. The marble at the bar gives an upscale feel, but it’s dark and cozy and just waiting for what Gentry calls his “stupid cheap” happy hours that will begin soon.

A major expense is a wood bar that abuts the open kitchen, one meant for chef’s dinners and the one thing that’s still iffy. The first bid on the wood — $18,000 — exceeded the cost of the marquee, so last week it was still covered awaiting a different top. The plan is to seat eight, but that might change, and it might even be used for regular seating as needed.

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I ate dinner there last week with a friend; right there at the top of the menu was the corn mash, a dish that was so popular in Collierville that it was a takeout staple by Paradox during COVID and made frequent appearances at events once parties resumed.

It’s at The Lobbyist, that warm hug in a bowl, just as comforting with its soft bed of coarse grits peppered with corn kernels, bacon lardons, pepitas, topped with grilled squash and adorned with an intense black oil made with burned onions for one purpose, and that’s to dot the corn mash with a pop of the unexpected.

So good.

So very good, in fact, that we held it to the end of our meal and had it with our entrée. We started with sweetbreads — my dining companion was leery but that’s pretty typical when it comes to organ meats — and the much-ballyhooed lamb tamale.

I’ve eaten a fair amount of tamales lately, and this one was fine, though prepared in the style of a Hispanic tamal, heavy on the masa (which was flavorful, nothing bland about it) and steamed in a banana leaf.

Yet it was the crazy-good green pea salsa fresca that punched up the tamale like Muhammad Ali rumbling in the jungle. I don’t really eat green peas, but serve me that as a side, as a garnish or in a bowl, and I’ll finish every bite. Tart slivers of Granny Smith apple were a nice contrast.

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But the sweetbreads won round one. They’re lightly smoked, which concerned me a little because I’m not squeamish about organ meat, and I didn’t want them to be altered too much. They weren’t. They were slightly firmer from the smoking, but still plenty tender, lightly dusted in rice flour, fried crisp and served on a creamy and sprightly bed of sauce spiked with tarragon, of all things, with Indian-influenced preserved lime, nigella, fennel and cumin seeds dusted over the top. Yet it worked beautifully.

There was a moment at the table, a come-to-trust-me revelation, and my friend ate every last bit of the generous bowl once I’d done my tasting.

We skipped the pasta course and though I somewhat regret it, there will be other visits. From the Produce section (the menu is arranged like P.O. Press’), we chose wisely with charred okra and cauliflower romesco, and both were as delicious as expected.

The cauliflower was an unexpected treat, as I seldom order it as it’s perilously close to going the way of its cousin Brussels sprouts, which is played. (Come on, guys — 15-plus years of this? Please stop.) But it was in a romesco sauce, something I adore.

But then more unexpected: The distinct Indian/Middle-eastern flavor fusion in the cauliflower, which I thought would be Spanish because of the romesco.

Gentry explained: “I love all those dark spices — cumin, coriander and so on. I also think that most vegetarian food is better in other cultures. There are all these big robust flavors in Asian and Indian food, and I use them.”

Wisely so. His food sets all your taste buds alight, even the more subdued dishes.

We split the snapper with chana masala for our entrée, though eating the way the food is served at The Lobbyist isn’t traditional and an entrée isn’t necessary. The fish was tender and flaky, the garbanzo beans rich with garlic, cumin, cinnamon, coriander and Gentry’s “dark” spices in a tomato base.

We ate the corn mash with the fish, and despite being stuffed, we managed to split a riff on an opera cake for dessert. And we were done.

The restaurant is lovely, with a small room to the north, the main dining room in the middle (with the coming chef’s table behind that) and a cozy and comfy bar to the south. It’s on the small side, with 76 seats, but the spacious patio will double the size and will open with a bar when the weather allows.

“Right now, the patio is a big space with a $10,000 planter in the middle of it that, as my daughter says, holds a twig,” Gentry said.

The twig is a gingko, and in time we’ll see it in its glory.

Service was excellent — our server knew the answer to every question we asked and was very helpful in pairing wine, which came from a thoughtful but small list that will be expanded by tonight’s opening.

The Lobbyist has P.O. Press all over it, and that is an excellent thing. But it’s P.O. Press in a fancy dress: There’s the old building, the marble at the bar, the dark walls and low lighting. It’s cozy, retro and maybe a little sexy.

The Lobbyist, 272 S. Main St., opens Monday, Jan. 23, at 5 p.m. Hours are Mondays through Thursdays, 5-10 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays, 5-11 p.m. In a month or so, the bar will open at 4 p.m. Call 901-249-2170.