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

[Tennesseefan2019]

What year did it open?

1984

 

[WallyBalls]

It was a Vol shop. Had a great selection

I'm 99% sure you're thinking of Sports Seasons and not Hound Dogs.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Earth Fare will be closing all stores. I'm not surprised since their stuff is ridiculously expensive. I will miss the hot bar.

 

[davethevol]

Thank the Socialist Mayor Lady for spending $10 million digging up Cumberland Avenue and ruining The Strip.

There was also a big time investor that pushed for that. I know cause I used to work for him. He’s the CEO of a company that moved from California to East TN. He’s filthy rich and wanted the strip to be more like a section of Miami on the ocean front. I watched as he was buying up multiple properties on the strip and sitting on the board at BB&T to get his agenda going.

 

[VolAllen]

I'm 99% sure you're thinking of Sports Seasons and not Hound Dogs.

Nope, there was one upstairs, which I believe was Seasons, and Hound Dogs on the ground level.

 

[WallyBalls]

Nope, there was one upstairs, which I believe was Seasons, and Hound Dogs on the ground level.

You may be right. Sports Seasons was upstairs right by the Food Court.

I'm talking myself into remembering a Hound Dogs in there but I can't place where it was.

 

[VolAllen]

You may be right. Sports Seasons was upstairs right by the Food Court.

I'm talking myself into remembering a Hound Dogs in there but I can't place where it was.

I want to say it was between those white columns. And the very first thing as you walked in was an obsessive amount of Tennessee license plate frames lol

 

[PhoenixAZVol]

.

 

[Roustabout]

1. How on earth did a socialist mayor get elected? I thought Knoxville was still fairly conservative. Have a bunch of northeasterners or Californians moved there? Maybe it’s the millennials and gen z’s reaching voting age.

2. What did they do to the strip? I’ve been gone 20 years. Did they completely gut it?

3. Is Ramsey’s cafeteria still around? Not a five star restaurant but I got addicted to their corn bread fritters back in the day.

Assuming you mean in the Masonic temple. Ramsey’s moved out to merchants drive a long time ago, but I think they’ve been out of business for a while.

the strip received a new street design that added these weird medians and turn lanes. It’s created a traffic nightmare. They moved the powerlines and did some nice beautification

Knoxville city has gotten pretty liberal. The county is still conservative

 

[VolAllen]

1. How on earth did a socialist mayor get elected? I thought Knoxville was still fairly conservative. Have a bunch of northeasterners or Californians moved there? Maybe it’s the millennials and gen z’s reaching voting age.

2. What did they do to the strip? I’ve been gone 20 years. Did they completely gut it?

3. Is Ramsey’s cafeteria still around? Not a five star restaurant but I got addicted to their corn bread fritters back in the day.

Knoxville is extremely liberal, but it honestly probably dates all the way back to the civil war. These days it’s nothing but rainbow flags and hipster breweries. The football team sucking for a decade didn’t help things, either, as Fall weekends are no longer the cash cows they once were. The city needs an injection of testosterone.

 

[oUTlaw]

Thank the Socialist Mayor Lady for spending $10 million digging up Cumberland Avenue and ruining The Strip.

Tying this all together, I heard somewhere that a lot of the $10 million was originally earmarked for infrastructure repair and improvement around East Town Mall. If those repairs had happened, it might've saved the mall.

 

[WallyBalls]

I want to say it was between those white columns. And the very first thing as you walked in was an obsessive amount of Tennessee license plate frames lolView attachment 258619

Yeah, once you said that I was thinking it was near an escalator. Wasn't Champs over that way at one point?

Damn, I kinda miss that mall.

 

[Boca Vol]

Earth Fare will be closing all stores. I'm not surprised since their stuff is ridiculously expensive. I will miss the hot bar.

Their pizzas are pretty good.

 

[VolAllen]

Yeah, once you said that I was thinking it was near an escalator. Wasn't Champs over that way at one point?

Damn, I kinda miss that mall.

That mall, in my opinion, was far superior to West Town. Two levels just adds an element.

My theory is that only malls with higher end retail will survive. If you go to the mall in Orlando, Raleigh, or Nashville, they’re very similar layouts to East Towne. The difference is they have Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Omega, Rolex, Chanel, etc.. Brands that people typically like to buy in person rather than ordering online and risking getting fake merchandise.

Knoxville is big enough to have two malls, so I don’t buy that West Town shut them out. I think it had more to do with management and the internet. It’s a beautiful mall, and a shame that it closed.

 

[GVF]

I don't remember, I was only 7 or 8, I just know the atmosphere and food were amazing, nothing like Ruby Tuesdays of today.

I remember a Ruby Tuesday on Chapman near the Shoney's. Don't know if it was the original or not.

I also remember a joint on Chapman, can't remember the name. Maybe a shared parking lot and could have been a dive or a combo market and deli. Orange cinder block IIRC. Sold the best chili and tamales.

 

[MAD]

I remember a Ruby Tuesday on Chapman near the Shoney's. Don't know if it was the original or not.

I also remember a joint on Chapman, can't remember the name. Maybe a shared parking lot and could have been a dive or a combo market and deli. Orange cinder block IIRC. Sold the best chili and tamales.

I don’t know but I bet @Thunder Good-Oil would.

 

[GVF]

The best eating joint I've been in Knoxville was my grandmothers kitchen. Man, she could dial it up. And my grandfather's country ham breakfasts. It was roughly s 5 hour drive form south of ATL to visit them. We'd leave after my dad got off work at 5. wouldn't eat on the way. mom would pack some sammie's to hold us over. WE KNEW there would be a fully prepared hot dinner waiting on us at 11pm on Friday night when we rolled in. And it would be some kind of good. then on Saturday morning early you'd hear my grandad in the kitchen getting the country ham going. WITH the canned biscuits and red eye gravy. He was a country ham expert. Only bought one brand whole. Think it was Clifty Farms. Had the butcher slice it to 1/8 inch precisely. Would trim most of the fat and get it started to render, then add the ham. He would add a touch of coffee and water to the red eye. Delish !!! And on occasion, we'd load up in the '72 Jeep commando and head to Citico for some trout fishing, and my grandma, mom and sister would arrive at lunch with the picnic. We'd break for lunch, then get back at it and meet them back in Knoxville for dinner that night, and grill up the trout. My grandma tended to put too much mayo on sandwiches, so car sickness would set in if riding those river roads with my grandpa. He would almost run people into the river sometimes. But, there was no place in Knoxville that served food like The 400 Karla Drive Kitchen. And the host (my granddad) would handout back breaking hugs. He was a tall, imposing old Navy vet. Closed in 2005 or 2007 due to old age. Odd I can remember my grandad died in June 2000. But, I have trouble with month and year for my grandma. can't remember if she lived 5 or 7 years on. And I was no young pup by any means when she died.

And as far as fried chicken, in my 54 years I have never had fried chicken from anywhere that could touch mom's Only had once or twice in the last 10 years probably. Electric skillet and crisco shortening, and whatever else she did to it. She can't really do it anymore.

 

[GVF]

I don’t know but I bet @Thunder Good-Oil would.

RT, or the place for the tamales? I only remember my grandparents stopping there a few times over the years when we came in. But, they were fairly regular.

 

[GVF]

I don’t know but I bet @Thunder Good-Oil would.

I'm thinking this chili and tamale joint was near the old Kay's Ice Cream on Chapman.

 

[Go aeiou]

That mall, in my opinion, was far superior to West Town. Two levels just adds an element.

My theory is that only malls with higher end retail will survive. If you go to the mall in Orlando, Raleigh, or Nashville, they’re very similar layouts to East Towne. The difference is they have Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Omega, Rolex, Chanel, etc.. Brands that people typically like to buy in person rather than ordering online and risking getting fake merchandise.

Knoxville is big enough to have two malls, so I don’t buy that West Town shut them out. I think it had more to do with management and the internet. It’s a beautiful mall, and a shame that it closed.

Malls have been closing nationwide for at least 20 years with almost no new ones being built.

Is Knoxville big enough for two malls? Nashville has Green Hills. Rivergate seems to be a dying mall. Macy's is leaving. Opry Mills is an outlet store/entertainment facility.

The large boxes with store entrances on the inside is not working right now. What we had 60-70 years ago is more like what shopping areas look like these days. Many are in buildings that old. Maybe malls will return one day.

Yes, the internet has hurt malls. All stores. The high end stores you mentioned sell their goods at independent stores that don't necessarily need to be in malls, but having those type stores in a mall help bring people in. It's easier for folks from out of town to just go to a mall.

 

[VolAllen]

Malls have been closing nationwide for at least 20 years with almost no new ones being built.

Is Knoxville big enough for two malls? Nashville has Green Hills. Rivergate seems to be a dying mall. Macy's is leaving. Opry Mills is an outlet store/entertainment facility.

The large boxes with store entrances on the inside is not working right now. What we had 60-70 years ago is more like what shopping areas look like these days. Many are in buildings that old. Maybe malls will return one day.

Yes, the internet has hurt malls. All stores. The high end stores you mentioned sell their goods at independent stores that don't necessarily need to be in malls, but having those type stores in a mall help bring people in. It's easier for folks from out of town to just go to a mall.

A mall really tells you a lot about the city that it’s in. It truly is a microcosm of the entire area. Let’s use Charleston, SC for example. They do not have a mall. They’re got a historic area with shopping that includes Pottery Barn, Gucci, LV, Rolex, Omega, West Elm, as well as your typical Forever 21, Earthbound, Vans, etc.. mall stores. Kind of says, there’s money here, but there’s also college kids here.

North Charleston, however, does have a mall. The stores are a bit more urban. DTLR, Underground (literally Journey’s shoes urban store), others I’ve never heard of..you get the idea. I’m not going to make myself sound any kind of way here, but look into the crime rate of North Charleston and form your own conclusions. It’s a rough place.

West Town has a nice variety of stores, but I think Knoxville could support much better shopping. There’s plenty of money in that area and literally anything would do well. I’m surprised there’s not an IKEA. Seems like that would be a huge hit up there.

 

[Zues1]

I'm probably misremembering but I thought the original Ruby's was in a two story Victorian house at the corner of Cumberland and 22nd Ave.

 

[WallyBalls]

I remember a Ruby Tuesday on Chapman near the Shoney's. Don't know if it was the original or not.

I also remember a joint on Chapman, can't remember the name. Maybe a shared parking lot and could have been a dive or a combo market and deli. Orange cinder block IIRC. Sold the best chili and tamales.

Are you thinking of Smoky Mtn Market?

 

[Roustabout]

I remember a Ruby Tuesday on Chapman near the Shoney's. Don't know if it was the original or not.

I also remember a joint on Chapman, can't remember the name. Maybe a shared parking lot and could have been a dive or a combo market and deli. Orange cinder block IIRC. Sold the best chili and tamales.

Since we’ve already said about 10 times that the original was on Cumberland Ave, no.

The one on Chapman was long after they had packaged the brand for franchising.

The Shoneys on Chapman was one of the original style drive-ins back in the day.

I think the other was one of the Vol Markets.

 

[SpecialKVolfan20]

Does anyone remember Kenny Rogers Roasters? You would walk in the door and the chicken would be spinning on a rotisserie in a wood fired oven. It was out of this world delicious!!
It was sold and all the U.S stores closed, but apparently is going gang busters in Asia. Weird. They has restaurants in Knox and Alcoa. So delicious.