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

#3,328
#3,328
Wireless1 said:
So there would be 2 pedestrian bridges across the river with a mile of each other?
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The TBA pedestrian bridge might be in a bit of funding flux, but that one makes a lot of sense given potential development.

The Gay Street bridge kind of drops you off in no-man's land. From the start of the bridge on the downtown side (which, to be clear, is pretty bereft of things other than the courthouse), you're a twenty-five minute walk from Hi-Wire on Sevier (basically where some of the cooler South Knox stuff starts) and a little closer to the food hall. From the apartments to Market Square, you're looking at a twenty minute walk.

I'm all for making Knoxville more walkable, but you're basically just creating an exercise course as opposed to extending/expanding the downtown footprint.
 
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#3,329
#3,329
Wireless1 said:
So there would be 2 pedestrian bridges across the river with a mile of each other?
Click to expand...

The Gay Street Bridge is too far from campus to be of much use to UT. There is new student housing all around the north end of the proposed pedestrian bridge. Adding parking on the south side would help a lot. Hopefully it will attract private development of some sort to expand the property tax base.

Since the Gay Street Bridge can no longer safely carry cars and trucks the alternative is to tear it down. When a brand new pedestrian bridge costs $30 million or more, it makes sense to invest $2 million to maintain it as a pedestrian/ bike route.
 
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#3,330
#3,330
Thunder Good-Oil said:
The Gay Street Bridge is too far from campus to be of much use to UT. There is new student housing all around the north end of the proposed pedestrian bridge. Adding parking on the south side would help a lot. Hopefully it will attract private development of some sort to expand the property tax base.

Since the Gay Street Bridge can no longer safely carry cars and trucks the alternative is to tear it down. When a brand new pedestrian bridge costs $30 million or more, it makes sense to invest $2 million to maintain it as a pedestrian/ bike route.
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my original response was probably not appropriate for this forum.
 
#3,331
#3,331
Wireless1 said:
Seems like for less than $30M you could put some "people movers" in place that would make the Gay Street bridge more functional. I'm going to guess that over the first 5 years the new pedestrian bridge is built there will be less than 1M people trips across that bridge...... you could pay for an uber trip for every one of those people.... that bridge will only make some developer and a bridge building company money.
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The center of campus is migrating to the northern end of that new pedestrian/bike bridge. It will connect directly to the western ramp at the TBA. There is new student housing all around that area. Then the entertainment/restaurant district is going to be built right there as well. It seems like a key component of a comprehensive development plan.
 
#3,332
#3,332
Thunder Good-Oil said:
That structure was built as the replacement Half Shell after their original location at Mohican/Homberg burned.
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After TGO mentioned the Half Shell Restaurant last year, I thought I'd try to find out more.

It looks like the full name of the restaurant was Half Shell House of Oyster and Beef. Half Shell was owned by Calvin Shipe, who passed away at the young age of 59 in 2008. Their head chef was Sissy Law, who left Half Shell and founded Miz Sissy's Place on Homberg Drive.

Half Shell opened in July 1975 at the original location on the corner of Homberg Dr. and Mohican St. and were located there until the fire in December, 1985. They moved briefly into the former Rathskeller's location in Western Plaza, then moved to a different space in Western Plaza when the shopping center remodeled. They opened ther the Lenoir City Marina location (where Calhoun's is located now) in 1986 and remained there until they closed in 1989.

Half Shell owned the Baker-Peters House in the early 1980s. Calvin Shipe was a part-owner of Jeremiahs there for four years before it closed and he was hired by Half Shell.
 
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#3,333
#3,333
Ted said:
After TGO mentioned the Half Shell Restaurant last year, I thought I'd try to find out more.

It looks like the full name of the restaurant was Half Shell House of Oysters and Beef. Half Shell was owned by Calvin Shipe, who passed away at the young age of 59 in 2008. Their head chef was Sissy Law, who left Half Shell and founded Miz Sissy's Place on Homberg Drive.

Half Shell opened in July 1975 at the original location on the corner of Homberg Dr. and Mohican St. and were located there until the fire in December, 1985. They moved briefly into the former Rathskeller's location in Western Plaza, then moved to a different space in Western Plaza when the shopping center remodeled. They opened ther the Lenoir City Marina location (where Calhoun's is located now) in 1986 and remained there until they closed in 1989.

Half Shell owned the Baker-Peters House in the early 1980s. Calvin Shipe was a part-owner of Jeremiahs there for four years before it closed and he was hired by Half Shell.
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It was “Oyster and Beef”. Not plural.

Jess Ward and Calvin Shipe owned the original Half Shell on Homberg at Mohican. They ran it with their wives, Mary Annelle Tate (Ward) and Anetha Shipe. Calvin and Jess ran Shakey’s Pizza on Kingston Pike before starting the Half Shell on Homberg. I think that the Goodson family (of JFG) were investors in that original Homberg Half Shell.

I forgot about Jeremiah’s. Also that they were in the Rathskeller space right after the original restaurant at Homberg and Mohican burned and stayed in that space while the free standing Half Shell building was being constructed in the NE corner of Western Plaza.

I think that Jess was involved with Jeremiah’s with Calvin, but I’m not 100% certain. Jess passed away before Calvin. Jeremiah’s might have already been operating for a few years before the Half Shell group took over.

I don’t know if the Half Shell or Jeremiah’s were ever owners of the Baker-Peters real estate. Phillips Petroleum bought it and planned to tear it down but the community pushed back hard on them putting in a C-store there. They considered picking the house up and having it front on South Peters. They eventually came to a compromise and saved one of the two 150+/- year old elm trees in front of Baker-Peters House and putting in their gas station on the western side of the property. The other elm tree died soon after they built the gas station.

Larry Trasgesser bought the house and had/has his dental practice in the room on the east side of the house.

Wasn’t it Hawkeye’s Too for a while after Jeremiah’s and before the Baker-Peter’s Jazz Club? Hawkeye’s “One” was at 17th and White in Fort Sanders.
 
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#3,337
#3,337
Thunder Good-Oil said:
Hawkeye’s “One” was at 17th and White in Fort Sanders.
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Speaking of, and this is skewing to a much younger demographic, but what about the last two locations at that spot? Nicely's was fantastic, the owner had a few bars/clubs in the pre-Renaissance Old City days, but just never gained traction and shot itself in the foot with weird management issues. The final establishment, Ooga Mooga Tiki Tavern, was just about five years ahead of its time and in the wrong spot. The lack of bars had consolidated campus nightlife by that point to two blocks of the actual strip, and a Victorian house peddling mismade Don the Beachcomber drinks and Spam sandwiches wasn't luring anyone up several blocks.
 
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#3,338
#3,338
Hugh Ray Wilson was a character. Hoo-Ray’s in the Old City. He passed away almost 2 years ago.

Obituary for Captain Hugh Ray Wilson

Obituaries in Knoxville, TN | Knoxville News Sentinel

Captain Hugh Ray Wilson born December 16, 1945 passed away March 3, 2023 from complications of Covid-19. He was preceded in death by parents, Henry...
www.knoxnews.com

In 1990 he opened his dream, Hoo-Ray’s Sports Bar and Grille in the Old City, where in his words he made a small fortune by taking a large fortune and opening a sports bar. Much to his dismay, the bar closed in 1998. Soon after Hoo-Ray’s closing he attended Sea Captain’s School in Panama City, Florida and acquired his 100 Ton Captain’s License. Years ago Hugh wrote his own epitaph for his gravestone. It reads “Whether I was Right or Whether I was Wrong, Whether I lived in your World, or didn’t Belong, I was ME”.
 
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#3,339
#3,339
Thunder Good-Oil said:
A bunch of Half Shell employees (“shuckers”) lived in several of the tiny houses (2 BR, 1 bath, about 800 SF) just west of Hollywood Drive and north of Sutherland Avenue. That 2 or 3 street neighborhood was dubbed “Oyster Acres”.
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Man, TGO! Keep these stories coming. This is what GBNF is all about.
 
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#3,342
#3,342
Thunder Good-Oil said:
It was “Oyster and Beef”. Not plural.

Jess Ward and Calvin Shipe owned the original Half Shell on Homberg at Mohican. They ran it with their wives, Mary Annelle Tate (Ward) and Anetha Shipe. Calvin and Jess ran Shakey’s Pizza on Kingston Pike before starting the Half Shell on Homberg. I think that the Goodson family (of JFG) were investors in that original Homberg Half Shell.

I forgot about Jeremiah’s. Also that they were in the Rathskeller space right after the original restaurant at Homberg and Mohican burned and stayed in that space while the free standing Half Shell building was being constructed in the NE corner of Western Plaza.

I think that Jess was involved with Jeremiah’s with Calvin, but I’m not 100% certain. Jess passed away before Calvin. Jeremiah’s might have already been operating for a few years before the Half Shell group took over.

I don’t know if the Half Shell or Jeremiah’s were ever owners of the Baker-Peters real estate. Phillips Petroleum bought it and planned to tear it down but the community pushed back hard on them putting in a C-store there. They considered picking the house up and having it front on South Peters. They eventually came to a compromise and saved one of the two 150+/- year old elm trees in front of Baker-Peters House and putting in their gas station on the western side of the property. The other elm tree died soon after they built the gas station.

Larry Trasgesser bought the house and had/has his dental practice in the room on the east side of the house.

Wasn’t it Hawkeye’s Too for a while after Jeremiah’s and before the Baker-Peter’s Jazz Club? Hawkeye’s “One” was at 17th and White in Fort Sanders.
Click to expand...
Mary Nell Tate Ward would be correct.
 
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