Before they left, barges stuck on either side of the Hernando DeSoto Bridge received a delivery of Rendezvous ribs to see them on their way.

The faces of barbecue include Don and Carolyn McLemore, owners of Big Bob Gibson’s restaurant and the matriarch and patriarch of the most winning team at Memphis in May.

There was a little bit of smoke on the river early on Wednesday, but plenty more to come. The 2021 Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest was about to begin.

Bhan Thai, Molly Smith’s restaurant on Peabody Avenue that opened in 2002, has closed its doors for the last time. Smith officially shut down on the day she usually hosted the fundraiser Cinco de Thai-O.

Where there’s smoke, there’s 🔥🔥🔥 when it’s in Tom Lee Park. Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest returns after a forced 2020 hiatus, proving you can’t keep a good festival down. 

Ernie Mellor opens Hog Wild East for takeout only in the former Garibaldi’s location on Yates Road on Wednesday.

During an appearance on the ‘Today’ show this morning, Four Way owner Patrice Bates Thompson learned the restaurant was getting a grant courtesy of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express. 

Doughnuts were free for a while at Gibson’s Wednesday morning, the first local food giveaway campaign sponsored by The Kindness Revolution.

Black Sheep Bottling sells its hot sauce at four local farmers markets in season: Downtown, Cooper-Young, Bartlett and Hernando. You can also find it on the shelf at the Curb Market, Tamboli’s, Oxbeau and Charlie’s Meat Market. 

A small upside to the tragedy and travails of the past year is that for a few more weeks, you can eat food as simple as a cheeseburger in the lap of luxury.

Bryant’s Breakfast is back, the biscuits are hot, the bacon is crisp and the lines are long. It’s like it never closed.

The Kraft Heinz Co. is partnering with The LEE Initiative and Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice on the grant program.

Cash Saver and High Point Grocery owner Rick James is opening a small independent grocery in South Main.

With enhanced unemployment benefits and better-paying distribution jobs, restaurateurs don’t know when they’ll be fully staffed. Worse, they’re still uncertain when they’ll be back to 100% capacity.

A recap of the week that was, plus a little talk about what’s safe to eat and where you draw the line, particularly when it comes to leftover Easter eggs.

Joes’ Fried Chicken, Joes on Highland — whatever you wanted to call it — is closed for now but will open again as soon as the owners find a new place.

Before the pandemic, the Memphis Farmers Market brought out as many as 2,000 visitors on a Saturday in peak season. This year, 61 vendors have signed up to sell goods in the pavilion.

Dining at Ecco, a secret about Slim Chickens, Memphis in May Barbecue is back, and The Majestic Grille is opening this week.

For its fifth birthday, MemPops offers a $2 birthday special in its three brick-and-mortar locations this weekend.

Bari will leave its home of 19 years in May and move to a former yoga studio on Cooper, where it will have room to expand outdoor seating and parking.

After more than a year, The Majestic Grille is reopening on South Main, all spiffed up and ready to go with most of its original menu and familiar faces.

It’s been a year since Memphis restaurants were told to close their dining rooms. As a second year of the ‘hustle and pivot’ begins, the vaccines and Health Directive 19 offer relief. Still, as one restaurateur says, ‘I go to bed every night stressed.’ 

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