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

[EricStratton]

Dino’s Pizza on Cumberland

 

[Ted]

I drove by there on Merchants Drive last week and looked closely. I did see an "OPEN" sign that was on. Mandarin House used to be really good the first ten years or so it was open. I've been there in the past ten years several times and wasn't impressed.

I don't think I ever posted that this Mandarin House IS closed. I dropped off some things in September at the Karm store there. The Karm employee said it had been closed for over a year, which would have been early 2021. Pandemic probably did it in.

 

[PandamoniumReigns]

East Town Mall
West Town Mall in the 90s
Bailey's in West Knox

 

[QuarterSawnVol]

They turned the original OCI into a bigger Sunspot around seven years ago. The second OCI, which had previously been Chili’s and became GPT after several months, has been closed for at least five years and is now the foundation of an apartment building.

That's just sad to hear. I haven't been to a game since 2015...

 

[MAD]

 

[Majors]

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It's the trend for the old guard on the Cumberland. Copper Cellar is shutting down for the same reason.

 

[MAD]

It's the trend for the old guard on the Cumberland. Copper Cellar is shutting down for the same reason.

Hopefully they will have shops and restaurants on the ground floors of these buildings. If they do it right it could be great, but I’m not counting on it.

 

[Majors]

Hopefully they will have shops and restaurants on the ground floors of these buildings. If they do it right it could be great, but I’m not counting on it.

Copper Cellar will have an underground garage I was told. Not sure if that will impact other potential businesses like shops/restaurants or if it'll be just a living complex.

 

[Wireless1]

Hopefully they will have shops and restaurants on the ground floors of these buildings. If they do it right it could be great, but I’m not counting on it.

Since retail space rents for more than double residential space, you can bet at least the ground floor will be retail, probably a very close mix to what's on Cumberland today (restaurants/bars/retail)

 

[PandamoniumReigns]

Showbiz. Had some great times as a kid there.
Boomsday
Moose's
Pre-cell phone and pre internet days

 

[Ted]

Misaki restaurant is now closed and boarded up. It's at 8207 Kingston Pike. I remember going there for sushi and hibachi in the early 2000's. There was little said about their closing in the Knoxville media. They had closed in January 2022, but the boarding-up has happened recently.

It would be great to hear the history of this building. Anyone know? How far back does it go?

Update, Jan. 2025: The Misaki building has been demolished, probably took place in late December 2024.

 

[feathersax]

View attachment 510313

Sad. Stefano's was one of our go-to places on game days. "The Strip" is about history, right?

 

[Ted]

Stefano's was a place of countless UT memories. What fabulous pizza, and fun times!

Then there was Charlie Pepper's upstairs. It didn't have the lifespan of Stefano's, but was a popular place in the 00's.

What other restaurants were in those buildings over the years? (Looked back in the thread, and others have posted that Ruby Tuesday's was in the upstairs.)

Take pictures or do screen grabs of these places before they are gone! Don't wait!

 

[Ted]

"The Strip" is about history, right?

The Strip IS history. A glorious past. It no longer exists except in memory.

There will come a time when these cheaply built apartment buildings that are being thrown up left and right, not only on Cumberland Ave., but all over south Knoxville and in other parts of town, will deteriorate and be torn down. They are not going to last long and they have NO historic value. I can't imagine UT students here in 2022 looking back fondly years from now at living in these apartments with any degree of fondness.

Who knows what will replace these buildings when they are gone in 2040 or whenever. Most of us here are old enough to remember the old Strip scene, but that also means most of us won't be around for whatever comes next on Cumberland.

 

[feathersax]

The Strip IS history. A glorious past. It no longer exists except in memory.

There will come a time when these cheaply built apartment buildings that are being thrown up left in right not only on Cumberland Ave., but all over south Knoxville and in other parts of Knoxville, will deteriorate and be torn down. They are not going to last long and they have NO historic value. I can't imagine UT students here in 2022 looking back fondly years from now at living in these apartments with any degree of fondness.

Who knows what will replace these buildings when they are gone in 2040 or whenever. Most of us here are old enough to remember the old Strip scene, but that also means most of us won't be around for whatever comes next on Cumberland.

Nailed it, brother.

 

[2EastTnVols]

Nailed it, brother.

Exactly. I lived in a pos apartment in the fort in the 90s and loved it. And it was apparently well built because it's still there with an interior update. Loved walking to and from the strip

 

[GameTime]

Is the Krystal gone from Cumberland? Had many a burger there...Have not been on Cumberland in a long time.

 

[Ted]

Are you talking about the Mexicali Rose or Casa Gallardo?

Where was the original Mexicali Rose restaurant? (edit: A search in this thread revealed it was on Bearden Hill.)

Here is a saved pic I have of the New Mexicali Rose on Papermill, some years after it had closed in the early 00's and the sign had been vandalized. Terrific restaurant.

The two Mexicali Roses were owned by Carmen Delarosa Kurth, who passed away in 2014 at age 91. Here's her obit. In it, the statement is made that the original Mexicali Rose opened in the location of the Orange Tee and was the first Mexican restaurant in Knoxville!

The New Mexicali Rose had the misfortune of an adult book/toy store opening in the space you see to the right of the restaurant. This adult store proved quite controversial for having a large XXX video section. It attracted a bad enough crowd that the Rose patrons did not feel safe going to the restaurant, which led to a decline in business and the family's decision to close. Carmen was also getting up in her 80's at that point.

This building was demolished in the 10's and the site is a vacant lot.

 

[Ted]

Is the Krystal gone from Cumberland? Had many a burger there...Have not been on Cumberland in a long time.

Yes, it's gone. Here's the Knoxnews.com piece. It was a victim of the Cumberland Ave. Corridor Project that is so maligned in this forum. @GameTime, you said you haven't been on Cumberland for a long time. Don't go there again unless you want to be astounded, and very sad.

From the piece linked above: "On Thursday, Krystal confirmed the Cumberland Avenue site, a near-campus icon since at least the 1960s, was shuttered permanently.

“The company-owned Krystal location on Cumberland Avenue in Knoxville, TN, has closed. This was a business decision and is in no way a reflection of the hard work of this location’s management team or employees," a statement from Krystal said."

 

[Ted]

For those of you who don't live in Knoxville, and haven't been here in five years or more, take a look at what you would see today if you drove out of downtown on the Henley Street Bridge. It looks like.. well.. you tell me. Some sort of nightmare architect's rendering. These are the shi**ty student apartments that are literally popping up around town as fast as they can be built.

Baptist Hospital was located to the left in this picture. The building you see now is the Regal Cinemas headquarters, at least for now.

I'm looking at this picture as I'm typing this posting and I still cannot believe this. This stuff is ruining our city.

 

[EricStratton]

Where was the original Mexicali Rose restaurant? (edit: A search revealed it was on Bearden Hill, and I bet that was the same place where El Charro operated for many years before they moved to their current Sutherland Ave. location.)

Here is a saved pic I have of the New Mexicali Rose on Papermill, some years after it had closed in the early 00's and had been vandalized. Terrific restaurant.

The two Mexicali Roses were owned by Carmen Kurth, who passed away in 2014 at age 91. Here's her obit. In it, the statement is made that the original Mexicali Rose opened in the location of the Orange Tee and was the first Mexican restaurant in Knoxville!

The New Mexicali Rose had the misfortune of an adult book/toy store opening in the space you see to the right of the restaurant. This adult store proved quite controversial and attracted a bad enough crowd that the Rose patrons did not feel safe going to the restaurant, which led to a decline in business and the family's decision to close. Carmen was also getting up in her 80's at that point.

This building was demolished in the 10's and the site is a vacant lot.

View attachment 513007

The building also served as the first Tim Burchett campaign HQ for TN Senate

 

[GameTime]

Is the Krystal gone from Cumberland? Had many a burger there...Have not been on Cumberland in a long time.

Thanks for the update guys....Seeing all the places I use to call a place to go, just vanish, is somewhat sad to see....

I'll make a point of going down Cumberland soon and see what has happened...

I guess the Hotel Monday is gone too....Lots of aventures there too...It was great to be young then...Leaves of Summer thing.

 

[Ace]

Yes, it's gone. Here's the Knoxnews.com piece. It was a victim of the Cumberland Ave. Corridor Project that is so maligned in this forum. @GameTime, you said you haven't been on Cumberland for a long time. Don't go there again unless you want to be astounded, and very sad.

From the piece linked above: "On Thursday, Krystal confirmed the Cumberland Avenue site, a near-campus icon since at least the 1960s, was shuttered permanently.

“The company-owned Krystal location on Cumberland Avenue in Knoxville, TN, has closed. This was a business decision and is in no way a reflection of the hard work of this location’s management team or employees," a statement from Krystal said."

Cumberland Ave is pitiful now, so many great memories

 

[MAD]

Thanks for the update guys....Seeing all the places I use to call a place to go, just vanish, is somewhat sad to see....

I'll make a point of going down Cumberland soon and see what has happened...

I guess the Hotel Monday is gone too....Lots of aventures there too...It was great to be young then...Leaves of Summer thing.

Hotel Monday

 

[Go aeiou]

For those of you who don't live in Knoxville, and haven't been here in five years or more, take a look at what you would see today if you drove out of downtown on the Henley Street Bridge. It looks like.. well.. you tell me. Some sort of nightmare architect's rendering. These are the shi**ty student apartments that are literally popping up around town as fast as they can be built.

Baptist Hospital was located to the left in this picture. The building you see now is the Regal Cinemas headquarters, at least for now.

I'm looking at this picture as I'm typing this posting and I still cannot believe this. This stuff is ruining our city.


View attachment 513026

Things change. You cannot tell what the quality is based on the picture, although I would be surprised if it's very good if for students who might be the worst tenants imaginable.
FWIW, I started seeing that look in European cities about 10+ years ago.