More than 50 Downtown restaurants are set to take part in this year’s Downtown Dining Week.

Memphis is checking some popular food-trend boxes while others, such as a Brazilian restaurant, still elude the area.

The latest version of Cameo’s Fancy Dinner pop-up, which showcases new talent on Memphis’ culinary scene, will be lead by Acre’s Colleen Kohl. 

Over the years, late Daily Memphian food and dining editor Jennifer Biggs supported efforts by The Kindness Revolution to “pay it forward.” But now the nonprofit is returning the favor. 

In our new food-related news roundup, a Chicken Salad Chick and three new coffee shops are opening within the Memphis area. 

In addition to offering a classic American menu chock-full of comfort foods, The Public Bistro also plans to focus on notable cocktails — with a twist. 

Franchisee Loay Abdallah, who signed a five-location, five-year deal with Bonchon, tried Korean fried chicken in Chicago and couldn’t forget the taste.

The Memphis Mushroom Festival returns for its third year with music, cooking demos from local chefs, workshops and, of course, plenty of fun ... gi. 

Crosstown Concourse is homebase for SriMu’s online, subscription-based vegan cheese operation, but the storefront also offers grab-and-go options — and will soon include a small cafe.

“This festival plays a very pivotal role in fostering cross-cultural awareness and education,” said Manjit Kaur, India Association of Memphis board member. 

These sandwiches are not for the light or neat eater, nor are they for the faint of heart.

This week’s restaurant news brings us a spate of openings and closings as well as the sale of a longtime family business. 

In 2022 alone, 29 billion pounds of food materials moved through the Memphis metropolitan area.

An auction for two Holiday Deli & Ham locations, plus all the business’ extras, is ongoing through Thursday, Oct. 26, at noon. 

The 1,300-square-foot Memphis restaurant, 706 S. Mendenhall, will include a covered patio when it opens in late February or March. 

The 7,200-square-foot building will house Fanatic Sports Bar, the Wing Fanatic and a 1,000-square-foot entertainment zone known as the “living room.”

As Belly Acres focuses on its East Memphis and forthcoming Southaven location, it’s looking to breakfast and “ultimate Belly shakes.”

The 5,200-square-foot, 140-seat restaurant is at 255 S. Front St., which was formerly Ellis & Sons Machine Shop.

Momma’s, located on Kentucky Street, bills itself as “the first and last bar in Memphis” — it’s open from 6:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. on weekdays and later on Saturday nights into Sunday. 

In tribute to Memphis dining habits, Chris Herrington offers not “hot takes” on our latest food stories, but instead “hot (wing) takes,” dividing the heat level of his opinions into “Honey Gold,” “Regular Hot” and “Suicide.”

After a long discussion and some adjustments, Hernando officials have approved the first food truck locations in the city.

“It’s not some high-pressure cooking competition where people are investing a ton of money and expecting a lot of return,” said the reigning grand champ. “We put forth whatever time or money or effort we can, and ... everybody has a blast.”

The property owner has previously said the spot, located on about 3.5 acres near the southwest corner of the Goodman Road and Horn Lake Road intersection, will be one of the largest Chick-fil-As in the Mid-South.

Maggie Emerson hopes to open the family-friendly Maroon Brew Co. in spring of 2024, with ales, seltzers, sours and more. 

The menu is enormous, complete with Indian cuisine ranging across the board from North to South, but with a heavy emphasis on the latter.