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

I remember the owner, his son and his wife, the wife died.
David was a son of either Ed or Sam. There was another son of one of them. I believe that Sam and Ed were/are brothers. They would have to be over 90 if still alive. I think that David may have gone to the University of Oklahoma unless my memory from 45 years ago is wrong.
 
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You might be thinking of the Last Lap building about a block west. England Sound was in the LL building. Jim England was the proprietor of those businesses (not Jimmy England, the UT basketball player that graduated from Holston HS around 1970 (maybe 1968 or 1969... he had to play on the freshman team in year #1. He was 2 years behind Billy Justus (from Fulton))).
Around 78 there was a huge pep rally on the strip, people had filled the streets, there were no cars at all on the strip and they brought out the "Big" policemen to clear the streets and they just backed a patty wagon up
to the door of the last lap and put people in it. I will never forget that, a friend and I just sat on the porch of one of the houses and watched all of it. People had gotten up on the roofs of the buildings across the street
from Alice's restaurant and were laughing watching all of the people in the street getting arrested, and then all of the sudden you saw all of them start running because the police went up on the roof after all of those
people. I can't remember if Tennessee was playing Florida or Alabama.
 
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There was a slot car racing place in the basement of Western Plaza in the 1960s. Not far from the bowling ally, kind of below and over from the Rathskeller.

I don't remember much of the West Town arcade, but I certainly was a customer. My favorites in WT were the Orange Julius (or something similar, there were 2-the one that sold the pizza slices) and Spencer's Gifts. And the Record Bar. The Orsnge whatever menu might be a couple of pages back in this thread.


was the slot-car track in what was the Ice Chalet?
and what was the name of that bowling alley?
 
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The house in the pic is about 2 blocks east of the Last Lap (technically one block since there's only one street between them). England Sound was at the west end, the LL in the middle, and what was the Library at the east end. The Library could have been Ireland's. Before my time. The old lady's house was immediately east of the First TN Bank parking lot, which would have been the Hamilton National Bank in 1972. It became United Smerican Bank (Jake Butcher) after Hamilton. There was a large billboard between the two properties. Her house was hidden from the bank parking lot.

The house in the pic is nearly across from what's now the a Regions Bank... on the corner. Regions Bank sits where the Quarterback Restaurant was iirc. The QB became the Long Branch. The Long Branch moved across Cumberland when Regions built their branch 10-20 years ago.
The building across the side street from the Regions Bank, but on Cumberland was a Karnes Drugstore when I was at U.T. That is about the only thing that still looks the same. The Varsity Barber Shop and the Krystal are the same , I think. I have looked up and down the street on google map.

Edit: I just looked at google map again, and I assume the Krystal is gone. It is in one picture and there is a Verizon store there in another picture. Also, I didn't know that Humes Hall had been removed from the Presidential Complex.
 
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We probably ran into each other, those were my favorites too.

I actually never raced the cars in the slot car place in Western Plaza. Went in there at least one time with my dad and was fascinated by it. I was too young to participate. Maybe they would have had gambling on the racers which would have interested Dad. I did go to the Ice Chalet and the bowling ally dozens of times. Woolworth's was my favorite store growing up. I remember my mother grocery shopping, mainly at the Western Plaza A&P, but also a few times at the WP Kroger. She usually went to the White Store in Bearden Center. Used to get my haircut at the Western Plaza barber shop.
 
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I actually never raced the cars in the slot car place in Western Plaza. Went in there at least one time with my dad and was fascinated by it. I was too young to participate. Maybe they would have had gambling on the racers which would have interested Dad. I did go to the Ice Chalet and the bowling ally dozens of times. Woolworth's was my favorite store growing up. I remember my mother grocery shopping, mainly at the Western Plaza A&P, but also a few times at the WP Kroger. She usually went to the White Store in Bearden Center. Used to get my haircut at the Western Plaza barber shop.
I never went to the car thing, but at Western Plaza , yes to bowling, ice skating, A&P, Hair cut place was Fantastic Sams, Baskin Robins, opened up my first bank account at western plaza too
 
was the slot-car track in what was the Ice Chalet?
and what was the bame of that bowling alley?

Western Plaza Lanes maybe. I don't know if it was Brunswick or AMF. Last time that I went there was about 20 years ago.

The slot car place was just to the right when facing the front of the bowling ally. In the section of WP perpendicular to the bowling ally store front. It probably wasn't there too long.

The Bowling Ally also had a pool room, so there's a good chance that it was a Brunswick bowling ally.
 
I actually never raced the cars in the slot car place in Western Plaza. Went in there at least one time with my dad and was fascinated by it. I was too young to participate. Maybe they would have had gambling on the racers which would have interested Dad. I did go to the Ice Chalet and the bowling ally dozens of times. Woolworth's was my favorite store growing up. I remember my mother grocery shopping, mainly at the Western Plaza A&P, but also a few times at the WP Kroger. She usually went to the White Store in Bearden Center. Used to get my haircut at the Western Plaza barber shop.
had to visit that barber shop many times in summer. Dad's law: Summer break meant immediately get hair cut summer job.
After I got real job, trips back to knoxville usually meant breakfast at Long's
 
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I never went to the car thing, but at Western Plaza , yes to bowling, ice skating, A&P, Hair cut place was Fantastic Sams, Baskin Robins, opened up my first bank account at western plaza too

I don't remember the barber shop as Fantastic Sams, but that could have come much later. It was an actual barber shop when I was a little kid. Down an outdoor, un-enclosed hallway between buildings... had a rotating red and white barber pole. There was a black man that had a shoe shine chair inside of the barber shop. I don't remember ever getting a shoe shine from him though.

I remember the Baskin Robbins. I think that there was a book store near Baskin Robbins. Drawing a blank right now where the Hamilton/UAB/First TN bank was located BEFORE they built the concrete building right at the SE corner on Kingston Pike. Park National Bank was at the SW corner of Kingston Pike and Northshore. Valley Bank was across from Kay's, Parker Brother's Hardware, and the Knoxville Drive-In Theater on Forest Park Blvd. Home Federal Savings and Loan was right in front of Bearden Elementary.
 
Around 78 there was a huge pep rally on the strip, people had filled the streets, there were no cars at all on the strip and they brought out the "Big" policemen to clear the streets and they just backed a patty wagon up
to the door of the last lap and put people in it. I will never forget that, a friend and I just sat on the porch of one of the houses and watched all of it. People had gotten up of the roofs of the buildings across the street
from Alice's restaurant and were laughing watching all of the people in the street getting arrested, and then all of the sudden you saw all of them start running because the police went up on the roof after all of those
people. I can't remember if Tennessee was playing Florida or Alabama.

October 1978 was the Bama game "riot". It was the Friday night before the game. The street was shut down by rowdies. A Kern's Bread semi-truck driver tried to push through the crowd and they emptied his trailer of the bread and climbed up on top of the truck. I cut my foot and was getting stitches at Fort Sanders Hospital ER while the cops shut it all down. It was an empty street when we went back down with cops threatening to arrest us.

There was another Cumberland Avenue "riot" in 1973 or 1974. Streakers shut down the strip that night.
 
There was also a Yosemite Sam's across the street from Alice's Restaurant

Sam and Andy's was across the street from the Pickle-U-Pub building. I think that the club on Alcoa Highway (on the left heading to the airport) had Sam's in the name. Had a dance floor with lights in it. Uncle Sam's, Yosemite Sam's? I forget... probably Unvke Ssm's. It was the Senator's Club before that and has been a health club/fitness center since. I think that the Senator's Club might have been a private club work around before liquor by the drink was allowed in Knoxville at bars and restaurants in the 1960s.
 
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October 1978 was the Bama game "riot". It was the Friday night before the game. The street was shut down by rowdies. A Kern's Bread semi-truck driver tried to push through the crowd and they emptied his trailer of the bread and climbed up on top of the truck. I cut my foot and was getting stitches at Fort Sanders Hospital ER while the cops shut it all down. It was an empty street when we went back down with cops threatening to arrest us.

There was another Cumberland Avenue "riot" in 1973 or 1974. Streakers shut down the strip that night.
I was there one of the nights of the streakers
 
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I don't remember the barber shop as Fantastic Sams, but that could have come much later. It was an actual barber shop when I was a little kid. Down an outdoor, un-enclosed hallway between buildings... had a rotating red and white barber pole. There was a black man that had a shoe shine chair inside of the barber shop. I don't remember ever getting a shoe shine from him though.

I remember the Baskin Robbins. I think that there was a book store near Baskin Robbins. Drawing a blank right now where the Hamilton/UAB/First TN bank was located BEFORE they built the concrete building right at the SE corner on Kingston Pike. Park National Bank was at the SW corner of Kingston Pike and Northshore. Valley Bank was across from Kay's, Parker Brother's Hardware, and the Knoxville Drive-In Theater on Forest Park Blvd. Home Federal Savings and Loan was right in front of Bearden Elementary.
I remember all that plus the old barbershop too.
 
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There was an Orange Julius in Knoxville. I remember another one somewhere, maybe on Gay Street???
Just remembered that the Orange Julius drink came to Knoxville at Nan Denton's if I'm not mistaken, and I believe there was a location on Gay Street, and also in West Town Mall (unless it was an actual Orange Julius store). It apparently started in Los Angeles, and Nan Denton may have called the drink by another name. Not positive of this, but I think that I drank those at Nan Denton's.
 
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Sam and Andy's was across the street from the Pickle-U-Pub building. I think that the club on Alcoa Highway (on the left heading to the airport) had Sam's in the name. Had a dance floor with lights in it. Uncle Sam's, Yosemite Sam's? I forget... probably Unvke Ssm's. It was the Senator's Club before that and has been a health club/fitness center since. I think that the Senator's Club might have been a private club work around before liquor by the drink was allowed in Knoxville at bars and restaurants in the 1960s.
Correct on the Senators Club.
 
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There was another barbershop kind of close to White Stores

I think that one was at the eastern section of Bearden Center perpendicular to KP. I never had my haircuts there.

White Way was my 2nd favorite store after Woolworth's. Bought 90% of my necessities at those 2 places as a kid. Comic books. Mad Magazine. Matchbox cars. Topp's baseball cards. Them big ass Sweet Tarts that came 2 to a pack. Gold fish and fish bowl supplies. 45 RPM records.
 
I think that one was at the eastern section of Bearden Center perpendicular to KP. I never had my haircuts there.

White Way was my 2nd favorite store after Woolworth's. Bought 90% of my necessities at those 2 places as a kid. Comic books. Mad Magazine. Matchbox cars. Topp's baseball cards. Them big ass Sweet Tarts that came 2 to a pack. Gold fish and fish bowl supplies. 45 RPM records.
They had everything a kid could want. Oh by the way that bookstore at Western Plaza was where I would always get the new Tennessee Media Guides
 
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Correct on the Senators Club.

Yes, I'm 100% certain that it was called the Senator's Club a long time ago. I have an autographed Knoxville News-Sentinel, full page story that has a pic or 2 of it. Might even have some old matchbooks from there. Hazel Davidson (Google her you young fellers... and no, I was never a customer) autographed the news paper story for me. I don't know how many names it had through the disco years. My sister had her purse stolen in that place sometime after it was no longer the Senator's Club. This picture of Hazel might have been taken at the Senator's Club. The newspaper story was about Hazel. Front page of the "society" section of the KNS. My mom was so shocked by it, she saved it. Might have been published in 1978. 7 Hazel pics and no advertisements, the entire page was the story iirc. I need to dig around and find that thing.

image.jpg
 
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October 1978 was the Bama game "riot". It was the Friday night before the game. The street was shut down by rowdies. A Kern's Bread semi-truck driver tried to push through the crowd and they emptied his trailer of the bread and climbed up on top of the truck. I cut my foot and was getting stitches at Fort Sanders Hospital ER while the cops shut it all down. It was an empty street when we went back down with cops threatening to arrest us.

There was another Cumberland Avenue "riot" in 1973 or 1974. Streakers shut down the strip that night.
I was there, but there was a house on the corner at the end of the block behind one of the main buildings on the strip and my friend and I sat there on the porch and watched it all in 1978.
 
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Sam and Andy's was across the street from the Pickle-U-Pub building. I think that the club on Alcoa Highway (on the left heading to the airport) had Sam's in the name. Had a dance floor with lights in it. Uncle Sam's, Yosemite Sam's? I forget... probably Unvke Ssm's. It was the Senator's Club before that and has been a health club/fitness center since. I think that the Senator's Club might have been a private club work around before liquor by the drink was allowed in Knoxville at bars and restaurants in the 1960s.
Uncle Sams was on Alcoa Hwy, I only went there once or twice, but I remember Yosemite Sam's on the strip because they had that cartoon figure of him on the front and they were up from Dan and Gracie's Tavern.
 
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