Within the next seven weeks Knoxville will be saying goodbye to the landmark bull statue that welcomes guests to the Peerless Restaurant, 320 N. Peters Road, and hello to a new sign announcing the opening of K-town Tavern.
Its part of a shift among more-upscale eateries from fine dining to more-casual atmospheres, as millennials make their mark on the restaurant landscape.
Peerless has operated in Knoxville for 10 years and has had its flagship restaurant in Johnson City since 1938. Owner Gary Kalogeros said the change in branding locally is being made to follow restaurant trends.
With the economy on the downside over the last several years, we have noticed a shift in the dining segment, he said. People have less time to go out for a nicer dinner and are looking less and less for a steakhouse type of experience. We are diversifying our restaurant and bringing to Knoxville probably the hottest trend in the business right now.
The new K-town Tavern will present a casual-dining atmosphere with a menu centered around craft beer, craft bourbon and a more relaxed menu.
People want quality food but in a casual surrounding, Kalogeros said. We have adapted our menu in that regard, offering pecan and hickory wood-smoked ribs, signature tacos and pizza from our new wood-fired pizza oven. But we are absolutely keeping the Peerless signature dishes including the steaks, our famous Grecian salad and the flaming cheese.
The complete Peerless menu will continue to be available through the restaurants banquet facility.
Renovation of the restaurant will include the installation of a 40-tap draft beer system to feature local and regional craft beers, a wood-burning brick pizza oven, and a separate bourbon and whiskey lounge to feature 101 products.
We will have two distinct areas, the craft beer bar area and the whiskey lounge, he said. The kitchen will be open and exposed.
The windows on the left side of the restaurant will be replaced with custom glass garage doors offering an indoor/outdoor patio area with new patio furniture, booths, and handcrafted wooden bar and tables to be installed. Approximately 20 televisions will be positioned throughout the dining areas, and a custom mural of the city will be featured near the entrance.
It will celebrate what Knoxville is, from the river that runs all the way through it to the downtown Worlds Fair site and the University of Tennessee Vols, he said.
The restaurant will remain open for the majority of the renovation except for a few days during the switch to the new concept, Kalogeros said.
Its important to our staff that we remain open, and we hope by Thanksgiving to have tripled the staff, Kalogeros said. Were currently looking to hire an additional 40 employees.
Once K-town has been in operation for a few weeks, plans are to expand the hours to include lunch as well as dinner service. The restaurant will be open seven days a week.
