After 13 years in business and more than 1,000 flavors, Hugh Balthrop finally feels confident in the trajectory of his company, Sweet Magnolia Gelato, and he’s ready to create even more.

While teams at the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and SmokeSlam are setting up for their respective competitions, here’s a broad look at the Memphis barbecue scene.

Red Lobster mulls bankruptcy while closing 48 locations, including the one on Winchester Road. 

Land that has been in Marshall Bartlett’s family for more than 150 years used to grow cotton, corn and soybeans. But about a decade ago, the farmer decided to raise grass-fed beef and pasture-raised pigs using regenerative farming. 

The new Second Street Tacos and Tequila is a little bit of the old and a little bit of the new. 

Ramblin’ Joe’s is opening more locations, New Orleans-based coffee roasters to serve Hustle & Dough and Chicken Salad Chick to be built in Millington. 

Mack Weaver, the new president and CEO of Memphis in May, was asked about “the competition” in BBQ contests this year. “There’s another contest going on?” he deadpanned. Yes, Memphis, there certainly is.

Diane Kauker began working at Folk’s Folly in 1984 while a student at the University of Memphis. Since then, she met her husband there and now both her adult son and his wife also work there, too. 

The Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest is back for the 46th year. We’ve got your guide to the food, tent etiquette, entertainment and more for this year’s event in Liberty Park. 

 Nashoba, meaning wolf in Choctaw, is a live entertainment venue, sports bar and restaurant opening in Carriage Crossing in June.

While Memphis’ Old Dominick Distillery makes some staff changes, it looks to the future.

Tennessee’s first-ever Playa Bowls opens in Memphis, Itta Bena and B.B. King’s Blues Club are renovated, and Central Station Memphis adds a Conductor’s Club.

While the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and SmokeSlam dominate Memphis’ May food-event lineup, there are other things to eat this month, too, from food-truck fare to high tea.

Suffice it to say that Aldar Cafe owner Hassan Alwadi takes his coffee seriously: He used to watch his grandmother pick coffee cherries from the family garden, dry them, crush them and roast them. 

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., and Memphis-based B.R. Distilling Co. has struck a multi-year deal to spotlight its whiskey portfolio during Major League Pickleball events nationwide. 

The Memphis-based artisan coffee roaster, is closing its Downtown coffee shop and roastery. 

Smoke is back on the water in Downtown Memphis with the inaugural SmokeSlam barbecue contest. We’ve got the details on what food comes with your ticket and what else you can do at the event.

Saturday marked the 29th year for the Midtown event that merges Memphis and New Orleans cultures, with a bounty of beer, vendors and crustaceans.

Plus, Casarap is closing, and the Starbucks in Millington is remodeling.

The Germantown location opened last year, and Chloe Sexton has continued to be honest on TikTok about the challenges she’s faced with her business. 

The owners of The Dame, which will be located in a den-like space inside the renovated Hotel Pontotoc, say they plan to fill a niche for people looking for a nice glass of wine outside a high-end restaurant. 

The chefs affectionately known around Memphis as the “Patty Daddys” are opening a new restaurant where they can support their families and “not have to work for the man.” 

“Overall, eggs fluctuate like the stock market did in 2019 – up 500, down 400,” said Jeff Zepatos, owner of Downtown’s Arcade Restaurant. “I’m not sure if we are winning at points or breaking even.”

Lucky Dog opened Monday, April 8, at Silo Square, and the reception has been so popular that during the first days some patrons didn’t get seated. 

“He feeds the fish, he harvests the fish, he processes them, he sells it and he delivers it,” restaurateur Ben Brock said of Earl Lake. “It’s not even mom-and-pop; it’s just pop.”