A quiet turnaround of the locally owned Belly Acres restaurant chain is happening behind the scenes — led by independent local owners, two members of the group say.

With a new location opening next month at Southaven’s Silo Square, and the possibility of reopening an East Memphis location that closed earlier this year, Adam and Brian Leith and Jason Ray are stepping up to lead the revival.

“We’ve spent most of our lives right here in Memphis, so we didn’t want to sit back and watch a local staple go under,” Adam said.

Adam Leith’s and Ray’s statements came in emails last week after a story on Belly Acres abandoning plans for a location at Union Depot in Bartlett. That news was the latest in activity that raised questions about the franchise’s future.

This is an excerpt of this story. To read more, please click here and subscribe.