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During past Downtown Dining Weeks, the cost of a meal has remained roughly the same: $20.08 during 2008, $20.09 for 2009, $20.10 for 2010, and so on and so on until 2020. 

That year, participating restaurants in the Downtown Memphis Commission-sponsored event were given free rein to do their own thing, but by the time the pandemic was over, Downtown Dining Week’s pricing formula was back. 

This year, the week, which runs Monday, Nov. 4, through Sunday, Nov. 10, is going to be a little different, even without a global pandemic. Instead of doing a fixed-price menu, each of the 50 or so participating restaurants will feature a spotlight dish, meal or drink. 

“Some of the restaurants wanted to mix it up, and we wanted to give them an opportunity to do that,” said Chandell Ryan, Downtown Memphis Commission president and CEO, of the change. 

It’s the first year that South Main’s Good Fortune Co. is participating, and the restructuring is a key reason why. Good Fortune co-owner Arturo Leighton said the pricing in the past made it difficult for them to do something that made sense for their brand.