Under John Barnard, Seessel’s won the Tennessee Bakery of the Year every year and once nabbed the National Bakery of the Year. Before Barnard joined Seessel’s, he impressed the Navy’s top brass with pastries and cakes. 

The story of Seessel’s, which spans five generations and 140 years, started with “The Great Butcher of Memphis.” Even now, 25 years after the stores were sold, people can still remember the taste of the grocer’s cakes and pies. 

To build out the new Bog & Barley, 447 pieces of the restaurant were built in Ireland, taken apart, boxed up, shipped here and then reassembled. Here’s a sneak peek before it opens next week. 

Vegan restaurant Plant Based Heat packed the Renasant Convention Center for its first Vegan Brunch Sunday, March 26.

Belle Meade Social will open where Jim’s Place and Strano! used to be, and the owners want to “be that local, neighborhood spot where people want to go — not just for when we first open, but for the next 50, 60 years.” 

Julie Piatt is moving her dairy-free cheese production and distribution business to Crosstown — and it will include a cafe serving wine, kombucha and plant-based charcuterie. 

901 Hot Pot & Korean BBQ is communal, it’s fun and diners are feasting on a selection of more than 100 items they cook themselves, right at the table.

“We’re excited. We feel like the market is underserved for independent butchers, and it’s great that we’ll have butchers who know to cook,” said one of the store’s owners. 

The pet friendly shop will also have a full espresso bar. 

The Daily Memphian takes a look at just how much higher grocery prices are at the local market leaders over the past three years, why they’re so high and where shoppers might find the best deals.

Not long after Ashleigh Weaver moved from Nashville to Memphis, she turned her passion for coffee into a start-up business. “One thing I really like about Memphis is they are very big on locally made,” she said. “Nashville isn’t like that as much.”

Whether you want your fish fried, baked or even in a taco, you can find it at these area Catholic churches on Friday nights. 

Years after the wine in grocery stores battle was fought, a new battle is brewing — over spirit-based seltzers. 

Kevin “Shea” Grauer, 55, worked at Karen Carrier’s Beauty Shop in Cooper-Young for 18 years; Carrier called Grauer her “beacon of light.” Friend Duncan Aiken shares what happened the night Grauer died.

“Our kids having a mentor makes their stay with us even better. They have someone who is looking out for them, advocating for them, loving them, caring for them, and it really means a lot for their mental health.”

Once you know what the squiggles on top of the chocolates mean, you’ll know exactly what’s inside.

Father Ben Bradshaw and his team at St. Michael Catholic Church are ready to bake about 700 king cakes. And it may be fitting: It was actually Bradshaw’s previous life as a baker that led him to the priesthood. 

Biggby Coffee will open on Germantown Parkway with a longtime Memphian as the local franchisee. 

When the moon is full, it’s time to empty the discount freezer at Sugaree’s Bakery in New Albany.

Our February readers lunch is Feb. 17 and, a word to the wise, space is limited. 

A former member of the Memphis Sandwich Clique is taking the reins as general manager, too. 

Alcenia’s owner B.J. Chester-Tamayo will kick off Black History Month on “Good Morning America” by cooking with co-host Michael Strahan on Wednesday, Feb. 1.

Virginia-based Jack Brown’s Beer & Burger Joint will open a location that serves specialty burgers and about 100 beers in Midtown this summer.

For Celtic Crossing’s annual Burns supper, Chef Reny Alfonso starts by cooking chopped onion in a large pot. As it softens, he adds chicken broth to lamb, then puts it in the pot to lightly brown. Next comes the livers and then the herbs and spices.