Felicia Willett-Schuchardt, owner of Felicia Suzanne’s, left an enticing post on her Facebook page on September 18: “20 years ago today we started construction on Felicia Suzanne’s Restaurant. WOW, what a journey this has been. NOW we are looking forward to an exciting new adventure. We are MOVING. More details to come.”
But Willett-Schuchardt isn’t revealing the location — yet. “I’m really excited,” she says. “That’s all I can do right now. I’m over the moon. We’re just over the moon.”
Will it be in Memphis? “Yes. Of course.”
Willett-Schuchardt opened her now-iconic restaurant at 80 Monroe Avenue downtown on the Main Street Mall on March 22, 2002. She was raised in the kitchen of her grandmother, Loves Downing, in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and went to culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, South Carolina. Willett-Schuchardt worked for eight years for famed chef Emeril Lagasse in New Orleans.
She grew up knowing about the legendary fine dining restaurants of Memphis because her parents used to travel from Arkansas to Memphis to eat at Justine’s and Four Flames. “I really appreciate the history and longevity of those restaurants,” Willett-Schuchardt said in a Memphis magazine Classic Dining article. “There’s something about the history and longevity in the restaurant business. You’ve definitely got to have a passion for what you do and a level of excellence if you’re going to do it daily.”
We’ll update this story with more details as they emerge.
