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.”

901 Hot Pot is expanding its Bartlett location and also moving into the East Memphis market. Crave Sweets Bake Shop is looking for a third location, maybe in Southaven or Franklin, Tennessee.

Zio Matto Gelato, the popular gelato that has been seen in grocery stores, restaurants and even FedExForum, now has a storefront on the ground floor of the Central Station Hotel. 

A new law would let some Tennessee barbershops and salons sell and serve drinks, but they’d also need to serve food and have seating. Some Memphis places are interested, while other say it’s a hair don’t.

In February, the legislature adopted the state’s first official food: hot slaw, a dish popular in the Cleveland area of East Tennessee. But its second official state food is Memphis-based. 

With a West Coast flavor and a secret sauce, Tommy’s Burger California Style will open its second local restaurant in Bartlett later this month.

Pizza and pasta in the park? No problem. Pizza Dis Pasta Dat will be at the Shell all year long. 

In the pizza place’s newest location, the team wanted something that would make it a destination. Something like duckpin bowling. 

Bounty on Broad closed, Wholey Goods has its grand opening, a new Dunkin Donuts will be on Kirby Road and more.

The Orpheum Theatre might get string lights, Hotel Pontotoc might have a new restaurant, a new construction trades space on Decatur Street and safety repairs and improvements to come at The Businessmen’s Club.

St. Paul and the Broken Bones will headline the inaugural SmokeSlam barbecue contest. The lineup also includes rap, rock and funk.

Even more shoppers across the southeast will be able to find Memphis barbecue in their grocery stores soon.