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

#2,979
#2,979
Swiftybaby said:
Well im contractor I’ll be out there times west Knoxville to check
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"HUN? Well I live on the other side of Maynardville, by God. How you spect Ima gonna get down there? I reckon it wouldn't be too much for you send me a pair. Yuns got postal service down there don't ya? We got it here, that's what's it's for."

John Bean....gone, but not forgotten.
 
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#2,980
#2,980
TN Jed said:
"HUN? Well I live on the other side of Maynardville, by God. How you spect Ima gonna get down there? I reckon it wouldn't be too much for you send me a pair. Yuns got postal service down there don't ya? We got it here, that's what's it's for."

John Bean....gone, but not forgotten.
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Comedic genius. No doubt had he lived he would’ve went on to great things
 
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#2,985
#2,985
I happened to be in Knoxville a few weeks ago and I made it a mission to eat at Pizza Inn. There used to be one near where I grew up and back then it was really good! And not only could you get pizza, you could get lasagna, italian subs, Spaghetti, etc. It was a nice "sit-down" style pizza ría! When I learned that Knoxville still had a Pizza Inn I was excited to eat there again! However I have to say, what Pizza Inn is now is a crushing disappointment compared to what it used to be! Now it's basically a CiCi's Pizza style buffet and it was not very good at all! I was so disappointed!
 
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#2,986
#2,986
Scanning through this thread for the first time. Great stuff! I knew the end was near when they demolished OCI. No institution was safe at that point. Some other things I remember during our time there in the 90's...
I really liked the original Sunspot. It was smaller and felt more eclectic. The bar was upstairs and only had room for like 10 people. It just had a great vibe. And Pluto skate shop, which I believe may have moved to the mall. My son and a lot of the local skaters shopped there.
And there was a great wing place on the strip in those days called Spicey's. Best wings I ever had in Knoxville.
The strip certainly wasn't posh in those days (it was actually a little grimy), but it did have a unique, local feel.
Outside of the strip, I hear King Tut closed. That place was around for a long time. South Knox hangout.
 
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#2,987
#2,987
As Cumberland Avenue transforms, Panera restaurant joins an ever-growing dust heap
In recent days, Panera and several other buildings on the south side of Cumberland Avenue have been torn down by Chicago-based owner Core Spaces.

The firm continues its work along Cumberland on multiple structures for private student housing to serve the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Last year, several roughly century-old houses on the lower part of the 1900 block by Lake Avenue were also razed.

As the changes continue for Cumberland Avenue – or the Strip as it has been affectionately nicknamed – the Shopper News researched what was on that block over the last half century or more.

As the changes continue for Cumberland Avenue – or the Strip as it has been affectionately nicknamed – the Shopper News researched what was on that block over the last half century or more.

Across Cumberland Avenue from this block were such businesses as Karnes drug store, Montell’s women’s clothing shop, Don Wylie Hardware, and the Toddle House restaurant, among others.

By 1975 that south side of the 1900 block had changed slightly. An Ed’s Union 76 station was at 1900 Cumberland Ave., and the C&S laundry and dry cleaners was at 1910. Also, the Last Lap Tavern − when the legal drinking age was 18 − was at 1912, while the unique England recording studio was at 2000 adjoining Mountcastle Street on the east side. In the rear of the latter building was Warren’s audiovisual sound services business.

By 1985, Taco Bell had arrived at 1900 Cumberland and is still there, as it is the lone structure on that block not torn down in recent days. The C&S Laundry was still at 1910, although it shared space with the University Club bar. The Last Lap Tavern was also at 1912, while the former music studio space at 2000 was still keeping the music theme, but it was by then home to Cat’s Records and Tapes.

Besides Taco Bell, also on the south side of the 1900 block of Cumberland by 1995 were the creatively named nightclub the Library at 1910, while the Last Lap Tavern was still going strong at 1912. At the 2000 address by then was Bud’s Sports Café. Star Vol quarterback Peyton Manning was in school at this time, but we don’t know if he frequented any of these places amid his busy schedule.

By 2005, Buffalo Wild Wings had moved into the 1910 and 1912 Cumberland Ave. addresses just west of Taco Bell, while Panera was now at 2000 next to Mountcastle Street. Some other checks reveal that Best Italian Café and Pizzeria had been located at that 2000 address for a brief period in the late 1990s. Further research would be required to see if the Panera building dated back to the Best Italian or Bud’s, or if it was new or remodeled construction.

The 2015 city directory said that the only business on that block other than Taco Bell and Panera was Whiskey Dix bar where Buffalo Wild Wings had been.

Regarding Panera, an online News Sentinel story from 2000 said that siblings Dan Cooke and Becky Cooke Smith from Cleveland, Tennessee, had received the franchise rights for the eatery in Knoxville and Asheville, North Carolina. The Bearden Panera in the Mercedes Place shopping center had been the first in Knoxville to open − on Nov. 27, 1999. The ones on Cumberland Avenue and North Peters Road opened around mid-2000.

Then-News Sentinel food editor Louise Durham was impressed with the new Panera at the time, writing, “The aroma of yeast products fills the air, and the bakery cases showcase beautiful products, making it impossible to leave without a bagel, a roll, or a loaf of bread.”

The Cumberland Avenue Panera was somewhat unusual in that parking was limited – diners had to find a free or metered space sometimes a block or two away – but it had a vibrant university-focused atmosphere. Students, UT faculty and staff and even Fort Sanders and downtown area workers would gather there to eat.

Among those spotted there over the past 15 years or so were such noted Knoxville residents as the late football coach Johnny Majors, former UT president Joe DiPietro, the late athletic director Mike Hamilton, and Vicky Fulmer, wife of former football coach Phil Fulmer.

As the pandemic hit and construction on the Strip geared up in recent years, Panera on Cumberland went to pickup service only for a period. In more recent months, it became a site for catering only.

But the pleasant memories of it as a full-service Panera still linger like the aroma of freshly baked breads.
 
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#2,992
#2,992
Woodrow Call said:
Scanning through this thread for the first time. Great stuff! I knew the end was near when they demolished OCI. No institution was safe at that point. Some other things I remember during our time there in the 90's...
I really liked the original Sunspot. It was smaller and felt more eclectic. The bar was upstairs and only had room for like 10 people. It just had a great vibe. And Pluto skate shop, which I believe may have moved to the mall. My son and a lot of the local skaters shopped there.
And there was a great wing place on the strip in those days called Spicey's. Best wings I ever had in Knoxville.
The strip certainly wasn't posh in those days (it was actually a little grimy), but it did have a unique, local feel.
Outside of the strip, I hear King Tut closed. That place was around for a long time. South Knox hangout.
Click to expand...
I liked the original Sunspot much better also.

King Tut's was a big loss. There are not any places like that left in Knoxville. The Girgis family made it memorable, both the food and entertainment.

** Update, April '24: I drove through Vestal recently and the old King Tut building has been painted over- modern boring white. You can't tell it was ever there now. **


We may have already posted a link to this article, but if so, here it is again: King Tut Grill, beloved South Knoxville restaurant, quietly closes doors It has a very nice photo album.

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From the article: "On Saturday nights, Seham Girgis would be in the back cooking and trying to get the food out while Mo Girgis switched on the disco lights and passed out instruments in the dining room. “It was B.Y.O.B., so they went wild; my Dad loves to be the life of the party,” said Girgis Kesecker."

Those were some fun times!
 
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