From Lennys to Gus's, these 6 Memphis restaurants have opened locations across the US

Memphians know we have the best food scene in the country. (Yes, we may be a bit biased!)

And thanks to several Memphis restaurant companies, the great flavors of the Bluff City are being spread across the country.

Here is a look at six Memphis restaurants that have expanded outside the Memphis area.

Lennys Grill & Subs

The first Lennys Grill & Subs opened its doors in Bartlett in 1998. The chain is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2023 and now has 65 restaurants in 12 states.

Lennys is known nationwide for its fresh deli subs and authentic Philly Cheesesteaks that launched the brand 25 years ago.

Within one year of opening its first store at 7424 Stage Road, founders Len and Shelia Moore had five locations.

The first location opened outside the Memphis area was in Niceville, Florida, in 2000. Locations in Destin, Florida; Fayetteville, Arkansas; and Hattiesburg, Mississippi, quickly followed.

Charley Shin, chief executive officer of Lennys Grill & Subs, acquired the brand in 2019. Shin is the founder of Charleys Philly Steaks, a Philly Cheesesteak brand with more than 600 franchised locations in retail shopping centers, airports, and on Army and Air Force bases in 47 states and 16 countries.

The majority of Lennys locations are franchises, but the four Memphis-area restaurants are corporate-owned. Several deals are in the works for new locations in San Antonio, Dallas, Atlanta and Nashville.

Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken

Gus’s world famous hot and spicy fried chicken is a Memphis tradition. Memphians and tourists alike line up daily to enjoy this one-of-a-kind fried chicken. The fried chicken gets its spice from a secret recipe batter that the chicken is marinated in. It’s crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The perfect accompaniment is a slice of Wonder white bread, but sides like slaw, beans and fries are also available.

Wendy McCrory opened the first Gus’s franchise in 2001. She eventually bought the franchising rights from the brand’s founders (the Bonner family in Mason, Tennessee) in 2012, and then in 2014 bought the brand outright.

The first Gus’s that opened outside the Memphis area was the Little Rock, Arkansas, location in 2013.

Today, there are 39 Gus's locations in 12 states. They are all franchise locations, with McCrory owning 13 of them.

“They are all done as a franchise deal,” she said. “I won’t ask anyone to do something I won’t do.”

Two new locations — one in San Marcos, Texas, and one in Nashville — are set to open in the coming months.

MEMPHIS DINING: The 30 best restaurants in Memphis in 2023: Soul food, seafood and so much more

Corky’s BBQ

In 1984, Memphian Don Pelts opened the original Corky’s BBQ on Poplar Avenue in East Memphis. It was one of the city's first full-service, authentic barbecue restaurants with servers and a drive-thru.

Corky's was also a pioneer in shipping food. Due to so many requests from out-of-towners visiting the restaurant and wanting to share their experience with others, Corky's started cooking ribs and pulled pork to ship overnight to friends, business associates, and native Memphians who moved away and missed its famous barbecue.

In 1987, being able to ship a local cuisine across the country was not very common. Fast forward more than 35 years, and Corky’s ships more than 100,000 orders nationwide every year.

Corky’s products are also in more than 5,000 grocery stores from Maine to Florida to Oklahoma.

In 1990, Corky's franchises started to open in other cities around the South. While some have closed, you can still find Corky's restaurants outside the Memphis area. The restaurant in the Brentwood suburb of Nashville opened in 1991, while the first Little Rock, Arkansas, location opened in 1996, with a second opening in North Little Rock in 2003. A Pigeon Forge location opened in 1997.

Longtime employee and former Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Stovall bought the Corky's brand from the Pelts family in 2021.

The Wing Guru

Former Memphis Tigers basketball player Billy Richmond founded The Wing Guru. It’s a Memphis chain known for hot wings and burgers.

More than 20 flavors of wings are offered. Many are true originals, including the Triple J. Richmond developed this Honey Gold-based flavor in partnership with Memphis Grizzlies player Jaren Jackson Jr. — hence the name Triple J.

The first The Wing Guru opened its doors in 2017 on Mt. Moriah. Today there are five locations in the Memphis area, with the newest set to open this month in Arlington.

The first franchise location to open outside Memphis was in 2021 in the Brookhaven suburb of Atlanta.

Richmond recently signed a deal with Houston Astros player Yordan Alvarez to open several new locations in the Houston area. A multi-location franchise deal has also been signed to open restaurants in Phoenix. The new Texas and Arizona locations will open in late 2024 and early 2025, respectively.

Central BBQ

Central BBQ has been a Memphis favorite since its doors opened in 2002. The award-winning barbecue shop was founded by Memphians Craig Blondis and Roger Sapp. The two met on the barbecue circuit in the mid-1980s and after competing in Memphis in May’s World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, decided to open a restaurant.

In 2017, Kemmons Wilson Companies partnered with the brand to expand in Memphis and outside the city.

Today there are seven Central BBQ locations, with two outside the greater Memphis area.

Nashville was the first city outside Memphis to have a Central BBQ location. Located in the Hillsboro neighborhood, the Nashville restaurant opened in 2021. Central BBQ also has a concession stand at Nashville's Geodis Park.

A location in Fayetteville, Arkansas, opened in summer 2023.

BEST NEW RESTAURANTS: The 20 best new Memphis restaurants that have opened since 2020, from fine dining to BBQ

Chef Tam’s Underground Café

Tamra Patterson opened the first Chef Tam’s Underground Café in 2017. Her Southern soul food-inspired restaurant was originally located in a 1,000-square-foot house in the historic Cooper-Young neighborhood.

Her creative spins on Southern fare gained her attention nationwide — on shows like Food Network’s "Guy’s Grocery Games" — as well as at home where Memphians stopped by often for dishes like Muddy Mac-N-Cheese and Peach Cobbler Nachos.

In January 2020, Patterson moved her restaurant into its current location at 668 Union Ave.  The move was a big jump, as she went from 1,000 square feet to 6,000 square feet. The extra space allowed her to grow her retail products, which include a line of seasonings and a line of cookware.

A year later, she opened an outpost in her home state of Texas. Located in Arlington, the second Chef Tam’s Underground Café is a takeout only shop.

A third location is set to open in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2024.

“The lady who owns the building saw me on ‘Chopped.’ She called and told me she would give me the building for almost free for a full year,” Patterson said. The Rhode Island location will be similar to the original Chef Tam’s in Cooper-Young, with seating for 40 inside and 60 outdoors on a patio.

Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer. 

If you want to keep up with the tastiest news in the Bluff City — like the story above, sign up for our Eat Drink Memphis weekly newsletter for a hearty serving of stories on everything from restaurants to recipes. You can sign up here.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What Memphis restaurants have expanded, have spots in other cities?