Gone but not forgotten: Knoxville area restaurants and retailers we miss.

#2,752
#2,752
Ted said:
I think what you mean is that the kind of movies we like to see are not available in the theatres very often anymore. If so, I agree.

A recent exception is Oppenheimer. It looks good, and I do plan on seeing it at the Regal Riviera. But no, I'm not a fan of the kinds of movies that have been in the theatres the last five years or so. I saw most of the movies I've seen in theatres back in the 00's.

The big problem is an obvious one. Movies prices have climbed to the point that it's cheaper and easier for the average person to stream entertainment at home.

The last time, last month, that I went to the Riviera, they had self-service kiosks to pay for tickets, and one, maybe two employees in the lobby and at the refreshment counter. There was also not many patrons, despite several of the latest releases playing there. The movie I went to see had just ended its run there the day before. I looked at the eight choices they did have playing and walked out.

I remember going to see Olympus Has Fallen and American Sniper there in the 2010's, and the place was packed with patrons and had a full staff. I preferred buying tickets at the Gay Street windows from real employees, not a touch-screen kiosk.

A lot of the fun of going to the movies was going with lots of other enthusiastic movie-goers who were excited to be seeing the movie! How about Star Wars in 1977? That was easily the most fun I've ever had at a movie theater.

I am counting three theatres that have closed since the Knoxville Center Regal in late 2019. The latest two, just in the last two months. There will be more.
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Oppenheimer in IMAX was very good. Even with a projection 110" screen and killer sound at home, you can't replicate that experience.

That being said, most recent movies I've chosen to stream or Redbox in the past few years
 
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#2,753
#2,753
Ted said:
I think what you mean is that the kind of movies we like to see are not available in the theatres very often anymore. If so, I agree.

A recent exception is Oppenheimer. It looks good, and I do plan on seeing it at the Regal Riviera. But no, I'm not a fan of the kinds of movies that have been in the theatres the last five years or so. I saw most of the movies I've seen in theatres back in the 00's.

The big problem is an obvious one. Movies prices have climbed to the point that it's cheaper and easier for the average person to stream entertainment at home.

The last time, last month, that I went to the Riviera, they had self-service kiosks to pay for tickets, and one, maybe two employees in the lobby and at the refreshment counter. There was also not many patrons, despite several of the latest releases playing there. The movie I went to see had just ended its run there the day before. I looked at the eight choices they did have playing and walked out.

I remember going to see Olympus Has Fallen and American Sniper there in the 2010's, and the place was packed with patrons and had a full staff. I preferred buying tickets at the Gay Street windows from real employees, not a touch-screen kiosk.

A lot of the fun of going to the movies was going with lots of other enthusiastic movie-goers who were excited to be seeing the movie! How about Star Wars in 1977? That was easily the most fun I've ever had at a movie theater.

I am counting three theatres that have closed since the Knoxville Center Regal in late 2019. The latest two, just in the last two months. There will be more.
Click to expand...
The movie-going experience has definitely changed but it's increasingly difficult to parse the good or bad of it anymore. What do we even want it to be now?

Gotta say, I was raised on the blockbuster. I saw Jaws in the theater, and all those summer and Christmas blockbusters that followed: ET, Raiders, Ghostbusters, on and on. And it was great.

What made it great was that it was a shared experience. You were elbow to elbow with friends and strangers in that 400-seat auditorium at Downtown West watching Jurassic Park on the edge of your seat. The audience screamed and laughed in unison. Great times.

But this is a different time. The shared experience isn't elbow to elbow anymore. It's screen to screen. Is that better or worse? If you have a definitive answer one way or the other you're probably out of touch.

From a film-viewing standpoint, we have huge HD screens in even modest homes, which from 8 feet away fill up your field of vision as much as that Downtown West screen did from halfway back in the auditorium. And the quality of sound we get from sound bars or earphones is probably no worse experientially than what we got back then.

And once stadium seating was introduced, no one wanted the old auditorium-style seating anymore. We wanted comfort and recliners and not having to see over or around the tall person in front of you. But that comfort came with a more insular experience, much like we have at home. Once you've sat in your seat, you're barely aware of any other people in the theater until it's time to leave.

And here we are. Do we go drop 60 bucks on a single movie outing for the family or do we pop our own corn and sit on our own couches and get essentially the same experience without leaving home?

I don't know. I do sometimes miss the old experience of the cinema. But I wonder... if we started with our current home movie-watching experience as the standard, and then introduced the old movie theater experience as a new option, would we embrace that? Not so sure.

So where do I stand? I don't. I remember the thrill of The Poseidon Adventure in the movie theater, but All Quiet on the Western Front was really stunning by myself in my living room too. I'm not sure it has to be one or the other. Just different experiences that were each cool in their respective eras.
 
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#2,754
#2,754
pismonque said:
The movie-going experience has definitely changed but it's increasingly difficult to parse the good or bad of it anymore. What do we even want it to be now?

Gotta say, I was raised on the blockbuster. I saw Jaws in the theater, and all those summer and Christmas blockbusters that followed: ET, Raiders, Ghostbusters, on and on. And it was great.

What made it great was that it was a shared experience. You were elbow to elbow with friends and strangers in that 400-seat auditorium at Downtown West watching Jurassic Park on the edge of your seat. The audience screamed and laughed in unison. Great times.

But this is a different time. The shared experience isn't elbow to elbow anymore. It's screen to screen. Is that better or worse? If you have a definitive answer one way or the other you're probably out of touch.

From a film-viewing standpoint, we have huge HD screens in even modest homes, which from 8 feet away fill up your field of vision as much as that Downtown West screen did from halfway back in the auditorium. And the quality of sound we get from sound bars or earphones is probably no worse experientially than what we got back then.

And once stadium seating was introduced, no one wanted the old auditorium-style seating anymore. We wanted comfort and recliners and not having to see over or around the tall person in front of you. But that comfort came with a more insular experience, much like we have at home. Once you've sat in your seat, you're barely aware of any other people in the theater until it's time to leave.

And here we are. Do we go drop 60 bucks on a single movie outing for the family or do we pop our own corn and sit on our own couches and get essentially the same experience without leaving home?

I don't know. I do sometimes miss the old experience of the cinema. But I wonder... if we started with our current home movie-watching experience as the standard, and then introduced the old movie theater experience as a new option, would we embrace that? Not so sure.

So where do I stand? I don't. I remember the thrill of The Poseidon Adventure in the movie theater, but All Quiet on the Western Front was really stunning by myself in my living room too. I'm not sure it has to be one or the other. Just different experiences that were each cool in their respective eras.
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Excellent commentary. 👏👏👏
 
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#2,755
#2,755
pismonque said:
The movie-going experience has definitely changed but it's increasingly difficult to parse the good or bad of it anymore. What do we even want it to be now?

Gotta say, I was raised on the blockbuster. I saw Jaws in the theater, and all those summer and Christmas blockbusters that followed: ET, Raiders, Ghostbusters, on and on. And it was great.

What made it great was that it was a shared experience. You were elbow to elbow with friends and strangers in that 400-seat auditorium at Downtown West watching Jurassic Park on the edge of your seat. The audience screamed and laughed in unison. Great times.

But this is a different time. The shared experience isn't elbow to elbow anymore. It's screen to screen. Is that better or worse? If you have a definitive answer one way or the other you're probably out of touch.

From a film-viewing standpoint, we have huge HD screens in even modest homes, which from 8 feet away fill up your field of vision as much as that Downtown West screen did from halfway back in the auditorium. And the quality of sound we get from sound bars or earphones is probably no worse experientially than what we got back then.

And once stadium seating was introduced, no one wanted the old auditorium-style seating anymore. We wanted comfort and recliners and not having to see over or around the tall person in front of you. But that comfort came with a more insular experience, much like we have at home. Once you've sat in your seat, you're barely aware of any other people in the theater until it's time to leave.

And here we are. Do we go drop 60 bucks on a single movie outing for the family or do we pop our own corn and sit on our own couches and get essentially the same experience without leaving home?

I don't know. I do sometimes miss the old experience of the cinema. But I wonder... if we started with our current home movie-watching experience as the standard, and then introduced the old movie theater experience as a new option, would we embrace that? Not so sure.

So where do I stand? I don't. I remember the thrill of The Poseidon Adventure in the movie theater, but All Quiet on the Western Front was really stunning by myself in my living room too. I'm not sure it has to be one or the other. Just different experiences that were each cool in their respective eras.
Click to expand...
I remember when i saw the Rocky Horror picture show in Knoxville in 78 when people were throwing rice and shouting out "He doesn't have a neck" and seeing Jaws in the theater and many more and I think that era is sadly gone and that is really too bad and sad at the same time ):
 
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#2,756
#2,756
Vjcvette said:
I remember when i saw the Rocky Horror picture show in Knoxville in 78 when people were throwing rice and shouting out "He doesn't have a neck" and seeing Jaws in the theater and many more and I think that era is sadly gone and that is really too bad and sad at the same time ):
Click to expand...

Jaws was playing at some theater on Magnolia Ave (Park Theater?) when I saw it Knoxville (initial release). RHPS was at the complex on Kingston Pike in W. Knoxville - attended many times
 
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#2,759
#2,759
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#2,760
#2,760
www.wbir.com

Inskip Flats adds 66 units of affordable housing in Knoxville

Inskip Flats is nearly complete with 66 families expected to move into the complex soon.
www.wbir.com www.wbir.com

This is what is wrong with Knoxville.

Indya Kincannon. And, the current City Council that goes along with this crap.

The current Knoxville leadership is destroying the city we knew.

Lead paragraph from the article follows. Be sure and read the whole thing.

"Mayor of Knoxville, Indya Kincannon, says affordable housing is a top priority for her administration. This is why affordable housing development is happening throughout the city."

Why does Knoxville have to go to hell to accommodate thousands of new people who want to live here?? Someone answer me this.
 
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#2,764
#2,764
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#2,767
#2,767
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#2,769
#2,769
DrRosenRosen said:
Archers BBQ and his others restaurants seem to be gone now. I heard rumors aday or two ago but figured that couldn't be right. This also includes his new high end steak house.

www.knoxnews.com

Archer's BBQ employees in Knoxville were told all locations are closed. 'It was very unexpected'

A sixth Archer's BBQ location and steakhouse Fire and Smoke opened in 2023.
www.knoxnews.com
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Goodness! That’s really sad to see, especially with the new restaurant closing. I imagine this is just the beginning of many more closing. Inflation is killing everything.
 
#2,770
#2,770
#2,773
#2,773
Sorry to have just now heard about both Backyard and Archer's. - This forum does not keep notifying members of new posts unless you respond to the emails every time.

Archer's is another one of the many, many local chain BBQ restaurants all over who do well for a year or longer, and then close up. I'm amazed that Sweet P's is still going, especially after the car incident at the Tazewell Pike location. They closed the original location down on the lake, and the the Jackson Ave. location had to put up with the Henley closure for several years.

I don't know that the BBQ-specific model is sustainable. Calhoun's is a local restaurant that has featured BBQ, but then, they are not like Archer's or Fullservice BBQ or any of the small-time BBQ places, at all.

I follow Daniel Vaughn, who writes about BBQ restaurants and food trucks for the Texas Monthly, and he is reporting constantly about restaurant closures down there. Archer's cooked at a central commissary and delivered out to the stores, so I'm not surprised that Archer's didn't go sooner than it did.

One of the things I loved about Fullservice BBQ here in Knoxville and Maryville is that they had smokers and cookers on site. As most of you know, they permanently closed all locations during the pandemic.

I was out on Merchants/Cedar earlier today, and I lamented the passing of Fullservice BBQ at the old Sonic drive-in.. it's now a "Habanero Express" - one of the many cheapo Mexi restaurants/food trucks in Knoxville - and the Puleo's Grille, which is now another Mexi called "Anafres".

Also, the O'Charley's on Merchants closed back in the summer and is vacant, if anybody cares about that location.
 
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#2,775
#2,775
Anyone remember Taco Rancho? There was a location in West Knox, near West Town Mall. Another in Chapman Hwy. Small little Taco Bell type joint. It may have been a drive thru only...I was a young lad during the 80s when they were around
 
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