Velvet Ditch and Manila Skillet launch Filipino pop-up lunches in Oxford

Oxford diners now have a limited-time lunch option that is not easy to find anywhere in Lafayette County: authentic Filipino food served inside Velvet Ditch Coffee at 1316 N. Lamar Blvd., about a mile north of the Square.

The pop-up series runs Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. through May 23, with Chef Irish Leigh leading the Manila Skillet menu. The setup gives lunchgoers a quick sit-down stop in a regular coffeehouse instead of a one-off truck or festival booth, and it puts Filipino dishes into a familiar Oxford setting for customers who may be trying them for the first time.

The partnership brings together two businesses with roots that predate the pop-up. Velvet Ditch Coffee was founded in 2021, after owner Lesley Vance-Walkington began roasting coffee in 2019 and launched Velvet Ditch Coffee Roasters in 2021. The storefront at 1316 N. Lamar Blvd. gives the business a permanent home for the collaboration, with coffee and lunch side by side on a busy stretch of North Lamar.

Manila Skillet also comes with a clear identity. The business started in 2016 as a food truck and pop-up restaurant in the Nashville, Tennessee area, and it has said its mission is to bring authentic Filipino cuisine to Oxford. Its events page says the residency at Velvet Ditch runs through April and May 2026, matching the lunch series now underway.

For Oxford, the draw is not just novelty. It is access to a cuisine that has had little visible presence in town, paired with a local business that already knows how to serve steady daytime traffic. That makes the collaboration more than a one-time food event. It gives Velvet Ditch a new lunch crowd, gives Manila Skillet a fixed Oxford location, and gives local diners a straightforward way to sample Filipino food without leaving town.

The short run through May 23 also makes the series feel time-sensitive. In a town where lunch decisions often come down to convenience, location and something a little different from the usual rotation, the Velvet Ditch-Manila Skillet pairing offers all three.