From the long-awaited return of a much-missed restaurant to a new sandwich shop, there are plenty of dining developments to look forward to in 2025. 

A couple of popular restaurants are moving into larger spaces, and another one is expanding with its second location across town.

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And since 2024 brought several big losses to the Memphis restaurant scene, it’s inspiring to see talented locals forging ahead and bringing their creativity to the table. Here are some of the eateries I am most excited about, arranged by when they are expected to open in the coming year: 

Felicia Suzanne’s

Felicia Suzanne’s is finally set to re-open at its new South Main Arts District space in late January.

In September 2021, the restaurant announced it would leave 80 Monroe Ave., its home of more than 20 years, and relocate to 383-385 S. Main St. 

Owner and executive chef Felicia Willett said the menu at the new restaurant will feature all of the old favorites, plus new dishes as she expands beyond Southern low-country fare to “American” cuisine. She said the new dining room will feel more intimate than the one at the original Felicia Suzanne’s and will include a private dining room as well as a kitchen table. 

The new location will include both a restaurant and an adjoining to-go/retail shop. Called Flo’s, the shop will feature products from Willett’s line of condiments, pickles and jams — called Flo’s Homemade Goodness — products and food from other local vendors as well as prepared foods and grab-and-go lunch items.

My hope is that Willett includes her famed barbecue oysters appetizer on the menu. (Hint, hint!)

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Uncle Lou’s Fried Chicken

Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken owner Lou Martin leads a tour of construction at his new location at 1725 Winchester Road on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Uncle Lou’s is on the move. The fried chicken spot, which is known for its “Sweet Spicy Love” sauce, will move to a new location in Whitehaven in mid-to late January.

Lou Martin started selling his spicy fried chicken in 1992 at what is now Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, and he’s been a vendor ever since. In 2001, he opened a shop at his current location at 3633 Millbranch Road.

But, in early 2025, his restaurant will move to a new home with an updated menu, dedicated parking lot, extended hours, an outdoor patio and a drive-thru.

Located in a former Wendy’s at 1725 Winchester Road, the new restaurant is less than a half-mile away from the original Uncle Lou’s, literally just around the corner.

Martin purchased the building in March.

“This is something I have been wanting to do for a while,” said Martin, explaining that he had made several offers on the building in the past. “I’ll be paying a mortgage, not rent.”

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Hard Times Deli

Hard Times Deli is the latest venture from the trio behind local smash burger pop-up, the Secret Smash Society: Harrison Downing, Cole Jeanes and Schuyler O’Brien.

Hard Times Deli, as Downing put it, will be a culmination of “everything we think is cool.”

The deli will be a one-stop-shop for retail products from condiments to merchandise, either made or curated by the trio. And, as with any proper deli, there will be sandwiches.

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Downing is taking on the role of executive sandwich artist at the new deli. Most recently, as the chef at Greys Fine Cheeses, he created their stand-out menu of sandwiches. The turkey sandwich he created for Greys is one of the best (and most over-the-top) turkey sandwiches I have ever eaten. His attention to detail in constructing a humble sandwich is inspiring.

Schuyler, who works for City Silo, and Jeanes, who is the chef and proprietor of Kinfolk, are also contributing their culinary talents to the menu.

The trio will be smoking all of the deli’s proteins in-house and sourcing meats from regional regenerative farms such as Home Place Pastures in Como, Mississippi. 

“Supporting local farmers means you get the highest quality, sustainable meats right in between that bread,” said Downing, adding that smoking in-house will allow Hard Times Deli to bring customers the freshest and most flavorful sandwiches possible.

The new deli is set to open in early 2025 at the Edge District’s 655 Marshall Ave.

JoJo’s Espresso

The Whiddon family stand in front of their new location. (Courtesy Taylor Whiddon)

Things are starting to percolate in Germantown’s Thornwood development.

Two years after opening its first storefront location, JoJo’s Espresso is relocating and expanding.

The coffee shop, which initially launched as a mobile food truck in 2020, will relocate to the former Newk’s building in Thornwood, a space five times larger than its original Thornwood location. 

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The coffee shop’s capacity will increase from 18 to 100, owner Taylor Whiddon said, which will reduce congestion. 

“We want people to stay,” Whiddon said. “We want people to sit; we want people to enjoy and we want people to have a good experience.” 

The shop’s expansion also means an expanded menu. JoJo’s Espresso will serve breakfast and lunch, each with six or seven items. 

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JoJo’s Espresso is also continuing its partnership with local bakery Palmer House, which will help fill the pastry and bread case in the front of the store with grab-and-go items. The bakery, which specializes in gluten-free products, will bake the bread for sandwiches in-house and continue making the syrups and sauces for the coffee shops’ drinks. 

The new space is expected to open in late winter.

Cocozza American Italian

Patrick and Deni Reilly, the owners of The Majestic Grille, first launched Cocozza as a pop-up during the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2022, the concept officially opened as a stand-alone restaurant in Harbor Town Square. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian file)

Cocozza American Italian is expanding east and opening a second location in March.

Patrick and Deni Reilly, owners of The Majestic Grille, first launched Cocozza as a pop-up during the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2022, the concept officially opened as a stand-alone restaurant in Harbor Town Square.

The Reillys said the new restaurant will fill the same niche for busy East Memphis families as Cocozza does for families in Harbor Town, by providing classic American-Italian fare in a casual, full-service restaurant with a fun, funky dining room.

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“It’s designed to be a neighborhood spot,” Patrick Reilly said. “Some place walkable, with lots of families nearby who can really call it their own. But also with easy access for grabbing dinner or family platters to-go for folks picking the kids up from nearby schools or heading home from work to places beyond the interstate. The Yates (Road) space really works.”

The new location is at 919 S. Yates Road, in the spaces that were once Buckley’s Lunchbox and Hog Wild East.

No Comment and Fawn

Mary Oglesby, left, and Paul Gilliam, who created and opened the Cameo cocktail bar and Mary's B.O.T.E. (Bar of Tropical Escapism), will open No Comment and Fawn in 2025. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian file)

The owners of Cameo and Mary’s B.O.T.E. are bringing their “Fancy Drinks/Party Time” flair to two more concepts in Midtown Memphis.

Paul Gilliam and Mary Oglesby are taking over the spaces that were most recently home to Knifebird and The Public Bistro. 

Like Knifebird, No Comment will be a wine bar.

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“We don’t plan on changing the concept too much,” Oglesby said. “But we will put our spin on it.”

She explained that changes will be mostly cosmetic — such as turning the lights down and turning the music up.

No Comment’s menu will include a curated list of wines available by both the glass or as a tasting flight. Expect a creative craft cocktail menu, as well.

The building that has been The Public Bistro for the past year (and Sweet Grass before that) will become a restaurant called Fawn. Fawn will serve tapas-style small plates with a rotating menu based on seasonality.

“Like how Cameo is very bartender-driven, Fawn will be a chef-driven concept,” Gilliam said. “It will be a place for our kitchen staff to show their creativity — giving them a place to shine.”

Gilliam and Oglesby said their two new concepts should open sometime in the spring of next year. 

Bar Limina

Josh Conley sits inside Bar Limina, a new cocktail bar he is opening up in the Edge District in 2025. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Josh Conley, cofounder of The Etowah Collective alongside chef Cole Jeanes, will open Bar Limina in Memphis’ Edge District in early spring.

When Conley and Jeanes launched their Etowah dinner series, their mission was to advance Memphis’ food and beverage industry. The quarterly dinners bring in chefs from across the country to cook in unique and interesting locations in Memphis. 

The very Etowah twist is that Bar Limina will feature cocktail talent from all over the world.

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“We are approaching a cocktail bar more like a music venue,” Conley said. “Bartenders will make guest appearances, coming in for a weeklong residency, for example, showcasing their talent and telling their stories. Bar Limina will keep us at the forefront of culinary creativity and mixology trends.”

Conley wanted to give the new bar a name that reflects its unique concept.

“The word ‘liminal’ comes from the Latin word limen, which means ‘doorway,’” he said. “The name means ‘a space between two spaces.’”

Bar Limina will be located at 631 Madison Ave., in the building that was most recently Inkwell.

This Week on Memphis’ restaurant scene

What was the best thing you ate in 2024? The Daily Memphian team was more than happy to share their best bites of the year. From zucchini blossoms to pork belly skewers to smash burgers, here are a dozen dishes we loved last year.

Sophia Surrett shared the story behind Humble Drip Coffee. Abdul Mustapha thought his dream of owning a coffee shop was a decade away, but with help from his parents, the dream came true much sooner. Humble Drip Coffee opened earlier this summer inside Mustapha’s father’s Downtown restaurant, Sam’s Main Street Eatery at 7 N. Main St. 

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Humble Drip Coffee owner Abdul Rahman Mustapha (right) and father Mustapha Mustapha, pictured on Wednesday, November 20, 2024. The younger Mustapha, recently opened his coffee shop inside his father’s Main Street Eatery. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

In Food Files, Surrett reported that Petals of a Peony and RockHouse Live will both introduce drive-thru concepts and Wing House will soon open in the former Nothing Bundt Cakes in East Memphis.

Tiffany Werne, the Southeast Mid-Atlantic regional manager for the Italian winery Pasqua, joined me on Sound Bites (The Daily Memphian’s weekly food and dining podcast) to talk about sparkling wines. Werne explained the differences between the various sparkling wines and how best to serve this bubbly libation.

Joshua Carlucci’s $10 Deal this week was the quinoa bowl at The Complicated Pilgrim. He says Complicated Pilgrim’s breakfast bowl proves quinoa isn’t boring.

Lastly, don’t leave anything to fate this week: Make my Lucky Black-Eyed Pea and Collard Greens Soup for your New Year’s Day meal. It combines all the ingredients said to bring good luck and prosperity in the New Year.

Thanks for joining me for this week’s Table Talk. Be sure to look for this column weekly for all the latest food news in Memphis.

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