It’s the way of the world now; delays are the new black. So while the plan was for Limelight to open in early summer, it’s no surprise it’s opening in early fall. It could sure be worse.

And this is certain: They built a beautiful restaurant on Poplar Pike, in the old house formerly occupied by Farm & Fries, now named for the limelight hydrangeas that surround the building.

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The restaurant will open to the public on Oct. 19 for dinner and be open Wednesday through Saturday starting at 5 p.m.

Kirk Cotham and Chad Foreman, founders of Wolf River Hospitality Group, bought the building in Aug. 2021 and started the renovation last winter. Progress was slower than expected but they weren’t far behind: The space was ready, and the plan was to open in early September. But the chef left and plans changed.

“We were working on training on different dishes and felt like we were in a pretty good place, but then there were some staff changes and that cost us some development time,” Cotham said. “We had a glide path we were on, and we had to change it.”

John Utley, who was the sous chef, took over as the chef and a new menu was developed.

“He was willing to step in and carry on with the vision we had for Limelight. He’d been intimately involved with everything we were trying to do and we’ve been happy with what he’s done.

“So we’ve been working on that and getting the kitchen staffed for the past couple of weeks,” Cotham said.

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They’ve held a few private events for friends and family, showing off a few dishes, and introduced a tidy menu this week for invited guests.

“The community response has been really, really strong,” Cotham said. “We got an email list of people who wanted to come in before we’re open, so we’ve invited them over the next few days.”

I was impressed with the cozy yet refined space, done up in shades of gray and green, lightened with white table tops and counters, with honeyed leather chairs and pops of warm lighting hanging from the ceiling in a starburst here, an amber globe there. There’s a sunroom down the east of the 75-seat building, and the main room is both bar and dining room, where in the middle a big tree draped with (faux, no worries) Spanish moss glows with up-lights where one ends and the other begins.

The tree, the work of florist John Mark Sharpe, just got its fall leaves. When winter comes, it’ll get a new look and will change with each season.

“The idea would be that when we go to winter tree, we’ll go to a winter menu and do that for every season,” Cotham said. “But the menu will in reality change more frequently than that, just depending on what’s fresh and available.

“We don’t have a big kitchen, so we’ll only have six to eight entrees, but by changing it up through the year, you’ll get plenty of variety if you dine with us frequently.”

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We dined at the restaurant Wednesday, the first night of a series of dinners that precedes next week’s opening.

First, we picked cocktails: Revelry Old Fashioned for my dinner date and Pluto’s Favorite for me. Sarah, our server (she placed a card with her name on it on the table, a thoughtful touch) was forthright about both. The old fashioned, made with Howler Head banana bourbon and dark rum with mole bitters and chili powder, was very boozy, she warned. But she also promised that the banana was subtle, not overwhelming, and she was right on both counts; two of these could be one too many.

I chose Pluto’s Favorite, which contains mezcal though I’m not generally a fan of smoky liquors. But everything else hits my sweet spot: Luxardo Maraschino liqueur, yellow Chartreuse, grapefruit, lime and butterfly pea tea in the form of tiny, star-shaped ice cubes. It was a beautiful drink and I’ll order it again, though with tequila instead of mezcal as the smokiness still drifted through the herbaceous and fruity flavors.

We nibbled on salty, lemony fried chickpeas with our cocktails and enjoyed the music, an eclectic mix that ranged from Elvis to Leon Bridges and Khruangbin.

Whatever else you order, get the pork belly skewers. It’s a shareable for the table, but I can tell you it’s only going to satisfy two people, and if you want it all for yourself, I’m not going to tell you no. Five small skewers of very tender, fatty pork belly are brushed in a shoyu glaze, served on a schmear of the sweet, savory and lightly spicy sauce, topped with paper-thin slices of chilis, bracing slivers of radish and a little tangle of baby watercress. Are you a giver or a taker? You’ll find out when the fifth skewer remains. No judgment.

We split a very nice riff on a traditional Lyonnaise salad, this one with a jammy egg instead of a soft-poached one, hearty brioche croutons and crisp lardons mixed with lightly bitter frisee, all on top of a non-traditional Green Goddess dressing instead of a vinaigrette. (I’ll spare you the game of looking for your dressing with that hint; it’s underneath the salad, but it’s sparse and the server will happily bring more if you ask.)

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There were five entrees and perhaps another one or two will be added before opening. We chose the halibut and the Wagyu beef flat iron and though we’re both fish eaters, we found we preferred the Wagyu, which was very tender and exceptionally deep in flavor. And beef fat roasted potatoes? Yes, please.

Our bellies were full and we were satisfied, but it didn’t take much persuasion to convince us to split a piece of chocolate cake when it was described as an old-fashioned layer cake. It was excellent and I was certain it was Sugaree’s — never a problem for me — with its lighter chocolate buttercream icing and deep dark cake, but no, we were told. It’s made in house and it’s a nice way to end your meal.

Limelight was designed by Foreman, who was out of town and unavailable to talk. The partners were in management at FedEx before they decided to strike out on their own. While looking for a franchise, they came up with the idea of Pyro’s and started it from scratch. They now have nine, plus three Wolf River Brisket locations, six Abner’s Famous Chicken Tenders and Levee Creamery.

But if he decides to chuck it all, Foreman could go in restaurant design.

Limelight is created to be a stand-alone, Cotham said, not the first of several. The plan is to serve dinner and listen to what people want.

“We think we’ll be dinner only, and we’re starting out Wednesday through Saturday,” he said. “But we’ll listen to what the community says and start adding days from there. We don’t plan to do lunch, don’t think it’s a lunch place, but we’ll see what people say.”

Limelight, 7724 Poplar Pike, officially opens Oct. 19 and will be open at 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; the last reservation is for 8:30 p.m. Call 901-791-2328 or visit limelightgermantown.com for more information.