LOWELL — New restaurants have been popping up all over the downtown the past few years, and more are on the way.

Jim Cook, executive director of the Lowell Development Financial Corporation and the Lowell Plan, said downtown Lowell has always had a great places to eat. Now, there’s a proliferation of choices and it’s recognized by restaurateurs as a place they can be successful, he said.

“To use a bad food pun, they all kind of feed off of each other,” Cook said. “You start to get recognized as, ‘Let’s go to downtown Lowell. You can always find something to eat.'”

1981 Ramen Bar opened on Merrimack Street two years ago in the old Mambo Grill space, initially only serving dinner Tuesday through Saturday. Since then, it has added Mondays to its schedule and is now serving up its soups, steamed baos, Gochujang Bolognese and more at lunch on weekdays.

Further up Merrimack Street, Sizzling Kitchen first presented its marriage of Asian and Italian cuisines almost two years ago. On the same menu, you can order pad thai and mussels fra diavolo, Vietnamese pho and panko crushed chicken parmesan.

Holly Crab, a popular Cajun seafood joint on Merrimack Street, decided to open in Lowell last year upon realizing how popular its Allston location was with area residents.

Similarly, Loui Loui, another Louisiana-style seafood restaurant, set up shop in Kearney Square in July after determining many Lowellians were traveling to its Stoneham location.

“You’re not seeing any place stay dark,” Cook said. “Once one place closes, another comes right in.”

After Bishop’s Legacy Restaurant closed in December, Lowell Burger Company was quick to take over the spot at 143 Merrimack St.

The restaurant, which specializes in inventive burgers with regionally sourced ingredients, opened about a month ago, said co-owner Nick Speros. He partnered with Tobias Marx, special events coordinator in the city’s Cultural Affairs office, on the concept.

“We want this to be the epicenter of what’s going on down here,” Speros said. “We want this to be a place where people say, ‘I don’t want a burger every night, but I want to come to Lowell Burger every night.'”

The restaurant uses only grass-fed meats provided by small family farms throughout New England and upstate New York, and tries to keep as much of its ingredients as local and fresh as possible, he said. Don’t expect any Heinz or Hellmann’s here — Speros makes all of his own ketchup, mayo and other sauces. The LBC signature sauce is a complex blend of unexpected flavors: onion, garlic, raisins, dried cranberries, sherry vinegar, anchovies, olives and fresh parsley.

He said the restaurant is seeking a liquor license and “amazing drinks” are to come.

For Speros, a chef earlier in his career before spending the last seven years working in urban schools for the nonprofit anti-hunger organization Project Bread, a strong connection to the community — especially its youth — is important. The father of three teenagers hopes to work with Lowell schools to create an after-school cooking program as well as adult cooking classes.

Over at 197 Market St., Warp and Weft, specializing in casual fine dining with an international flair, plans to open Oct. 4, according to Alyssa Faulkner. She co-owns the restaurant with her husband, Eric Faulkner, and brother-in-law, Craig Faulkner, who will serve as general manager.

“I love that over the past few years, there’s been a lot of vitality with great new restaurants,” Alyssa Faulkner said. “We love going to Fuse Bistro and the 1981 Ramen Bar and UnchARTed. We have a hard time eating in because there’s always some place where you can go and have something great to eat and spend time with friends. Even if you didn’t plan it, there will be people there you know. We wanted to be part of that.”

The name of the restaurant is a nod to the city’s textile history, and the menu, its multicultural fabric, she said.

Warp and Weft had a “sneak peak” opening during the Lowell Folk Festival, with Executive Chef Donny McHale, of Chelmsford, serving up dishes incorporating foods of many cultural groups: muffuletta, or Sicilian-style layered meat sandwiches made popular in New Orleans; Greek watermelon salad with mint and feta; basmati rice with coconut milk and slow-roasted barbecue pulled chicken.

Faulkner said the menu will always rotate and feature locally sourced, seasonal ingredients.

She said the recent closure of the Back Page Jazz & Comedy Club left a hole in the community that Warp and Weft seeks to fill for people to come and enjoy local original music.

Faulkner said she and her partners have been in touch with the owners of UnchARTed and Lowell Burger Company and hope to work collaboratively with them and other businesses to make downtown Lowell a destination for food and music.

Speros is game.

He said he and Marx wholeheartedly believe Lowell can make it happen. Speros said the whole city is transforming and he can’t wait to see how it looks in five years.

LDFC, which offers startup loans through its Downtown Venture Fund, has previously worked with businesses like Blue Taleh, TreMonte Pizzeria and Cobblestones, all successful downtown restaurants, Cook said.

There are more LDFC-supported restaurants in the pipeline, he said, but he couldn’t reveal details.

The success of downtown restaurants is also starting to extend outside of the city.

Cook pointed to two downtown favorites that announced last month they will open additional locations in the suburbs.

Fuse Bistro, opened in Lowell in 2011, will open a second, cozier location at the former Belle’s Bistro site on Route 110 in Westford. TreMonte, serving up thin crust pizza in Lowell since 2013, will open another location on Middlesex Road in Tyngsboro at the site of the former Angela’s Coal Fired Pizza.

Follow Alana Melanson at facebook.com/alana.lowellsun or on Twitter @alanamelanson.