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

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Surprised that vagrants haven't burned it down yet.

 

[MAD]

Oh damn, I found it, it's still there. It's on the west side of Lyon's Bend Rd, just north of Turtle Point Ln. Below is a pic from Google street level. Wow, looking at it through the winter trees, it's a lot closer to the road than I remember, but I was only ever there late at night and not in winter. From there you could walk up the creek and there was a little pond. I said a little lake before but really it was just a pond.

But we used to climb up into a little attic room in the top of that thing and just hang out, drink a few, burn a few, whatever. And If you got a couple people on that wheel you could get it turning. Trouble was, once you got it going it was hard to make it stop and if you couldn't climb fast enough you'd get dumped into the muck at the bottom and who knew what else. It was all just funny back then though.

So surprised it's still standing.

View attachment 260447


Edit: @Thunder Good-Oil , do you know the story behind that old mill?

I zoomed in....

 

[pismonque]

I zoomed in....
View attachment 260470

LOL!

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

I just heard that the Penn Station in Bearden is closed. I hope that North Peters and Broadway don't leave. The one on Cumberland Avenue closed several years ago.

 

[MAD]

I just heard that the Penn Station in Bearden is closed. I hope that North Peters and Broadway don't leave. The one on Cumberland Avenue closed several years ago.

According to the companies website, they still have 2 locations, North Peters Rd and Fountain City, also a location in Sevierville.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

According to the companies website, they still have 2 locations, North Peters Rd and Fountain City, also a location in Sevierville.

Seems like it was just an issue with their lease in Bearden. North Peters is still cooking.

 

[MAD]

Pier 1 on Kingston Pike to close.

 

[MAD]

Sears at West Town is demolished.
Bet a lot of you spent time in this department store.
Rumor is Tesla May open a location here.

Before Sears was completed in 1971


Sears shoe department 1973


Restaurant inside Sears 1973


Appliance center 1983




Bye Bye

 

[MAD]

Saw this East Knoxville Nostalgia T-Shirt, thought it was pretty cool.
Pictured, back and front.
Recognize some of the places?

 

[MAD]

Downtown Hardware in Oak Ridge closing end of February.
Was in business for over 60 years.
Oak Ridge hardware store closing after more than 60 years in business

 

[Roustabout]

Add RJ’s Courtyard in Alcoa to the list.

 

[TrumpedUpVol]

Add RJ’s Courtyard in Alcoa to the list.

I know there are a lot of contenders, but this place had my vote for weirdest “bar” on the Airport Motor Mile. Can’t say it was my favorite, but I’ll hate not having it as an option to kill time on my next return trip home from Knoxville.

 

[Roustabout]

I know there are a lot of contenders, but this place had my vote for weirdest “bar” on the Airport Motor Mile. Can’t say it was my favorite, but I’ll hate not having it as an option to kill time on my next return trip home from Knoxville.

Weird? It’s a restaurant with a pretty standard menu. While it has a bar area, I wouldn’t consider it a bar.

 

[clarencepeabody]

Bar fight!

 

[TrumpedUpVol]

Weird? It’s a restaurant with a pretty standard menu. While it has a bar area, I wouldn’t consider it a bar.

You make a very fair point; there’s no questioning that RJ’s functioned as a solid, if not great, restaurant for many people. That’s a fact that I ignorantly overlooked, as my only time spent in their establishment was at the bar prior to a flight. I do maintain that the bar itself was rather bizarre, but that clearly is one opinion and says nothing about the rest of the establishment.

 

[Vjcvette]

How old are you? Do you remember Jacaranda? Suite for Three Kings and a Queen?

I knew the Corts brothers, Tim & Ed.

I remember Bundooleys and before that it was Alice's Restaurant and I also remember Jacaranda and their song Suite for Three Kings and also Dan and Gracie's Tavern across the street, and all of those places in the late 70's and you can't forget Flanagan's and Chantilly's Piano Lounge and all the Great places back then.

 

[Vjcvette]

View attachment 118483

Sam and Andy's, Dan and Gracie's Tavern, Alice's Restaurant all of the memories from the late 70's.

 

[Vjcvette]

Some have been mentioned - some haven't

Antonio's - spent a ton of time here; delicious pizza buffet and his hot daughter waitresses. Pretty good place for cocktails too.

Darryl's - Billy Scarlet Jazz Quartet for happy hour - order drinks "Manhattan or Martini" style and they were big pours for the same price. The more you know...

Casa Guiardo (sp?) - Across from Darryl's and home of the Why Not margarita - 7 shots of tequilla. One of these and the free chips and salsa made for a cheap meal and buzz.

Blue Circle

Ali Baba's - steak in sack. Grabbing a beer out of the cooler.

Shakey's

The billiards place in that strip mall off Kingston Pike (can't recall the name but it's there's theater back there and it's kinda near the Hooters on KP)

Vic and Bills

Pickle U Pub

Hobo's

Bundooleys (sp?)

Tap Room

OCI

more to come

You can't forget Flanagan's and The Orange Tee

 

[Vjcvette]

The Half Shell (Homberg at Mohican)
Regas
Putt-Putt on Papermill Road
Ramada Inn across from West Town
The Last Lap
The UT Student Center
Stokely Athletics Center
Ali Baba's Time-Out Deli
Athletic House
Deane Hill Country Club
Falafel Hut
Taco Rancho
The Orange Tee driving range
Hanna's Restaurant
The Campus Inn bar
Pero's
The Snake Snatch Lodge
Darryl's 1879 on Bearden Hill
Shakey's Pizza

Jeremiah's which is called The Bakers Peter House now, I worked there.

 

[Vjcvette]

Anyone ever go to the Hungry Fisherman Restaurant? It was on a little island and had a big light house?

Yep, sure did

 

[Vjcvette]

The Half Shell (Homberg at Mohican)
Regas
Putt-Putt on Papermill Road
Ramada Inn across from West Town
The Last Lap
The UT Student Center
Stokely Athletics Center
Ali Baba's Time-Out Deli
Athletic House
Deane Hill Country Club
Falafel Hut
Taco Rancho
The Orange Tee driving range
Hanna's Restaurant
The Campus Inn bar
Pero's
The Snake Snatch Lodge
Darryl's 1879 on Bearden Hill
Shakey's Pizza

My first job was at Time-Out Deli

 

[Vjcvette]

The Half Shell (Homberg at Mohican)
Regas
Putt-Putt on Papermill Road
Ramada Inn across from West Town
The Last Lap
The UT Student Center
Stokely Athletics Center
Ali Baba's Time-Out Deli
Athletic House
Deane Hill Country Club
Falafel Hut
Taco Rancho
The Orange Tee driving range
Hanna's Restaurant
The Campus Inn bar
Pero's
The Snake Snatch Lodge
Darryl's 1879 on Bearden Hill
Shakey's Pizza

I remember the Orange Tee very well and also the Rodeway Inn Lounge on Cedar Bluff back when it was a 2 lane road.

 

[Vjcvette]

Was reading the Ruby Tuesday thread and it brought back a lot of memories so thought it would be fun to start a thread listing places that have closed that we miss and might have some cool nostalgic stories you want to share.

So glad you started this thread because it does bring back all of the memories of all those Great places in the 70's.

 

[MAD]

Popular Blount County restaurant RJ’s makes ‘difficult decision’ to close permanently

 

[Vjcvette]

The Half Shell (Homberg at Mohican)
Regas
Putt-Putt on Papermill Road
Ramada Inn across from West Town
The Last Lap
The UT Student Center
Stokely Athletics Center
Ali Baba's Time-Out Deli
Athletic House
Deane Hill Country Club
Falafel Hut
Taco Rancho
The Orange Tee driving range
Hanna's Restaurant
The Campus Inn bar
Pero's
The Snake Snatch Lodge
Darryl's 1879 on Bearden Hill
Shakey's Pizza

And remember the Volvadore Restaurant upstairs in the Hyatt Regency and the Howard Johnsons Restaurant down from West Town Mall