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

[Go aeiou]

There was a godfathers pizza in the Clinton plaza shopping center a long time ago. Probably in the mid 70s.

Mid 70s , a long time ago? seems like yesterday. Godfathers was everywhere in the 70s, but was financially troubled.
At one tim Herman Cain was in charge of Godfathers , and closed 200 stores.

 

[InVOLuntary]

Mid 70s , a long time ago? seems like yesterday. Godfathers was everywhere in the 70s, but was financially troubled.
At one tim Herman Cain was in charge of Godfathers , and closed 200 stores.

So many babies on this board so I thought along time ago was appropriate.

It was just a few years ago there was a Godfathers pizza on Merchant Dr, in a gas station. I got it once and it wasn't anything like an original godfathers pizza. I had the disapoints.

I have a friend who owns a dominoes. I asked him why they didn't offer a pizza like that and he said it would cost $50 For one pizza. I said if you can duplicate an original godfathers pizza, I'd gladly pay you $50. He never has made me a god fathers pizza.

 

[Tennesseefan2019]

Hungry Fisherman
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I remember eating at a Hungry Fisherman in Marietta,Georgia in 1975 when I was a kid and I thought it was awesome It was much better than Red Lobster!

 

[SpaceCoastVol]

Pickle U Pub

 

[SpaceCoastVol]

Bro Jack's for Pigs burgers with screaming sauce. Only place i have every been in that had a 'C' health rating prominently displayed

 

[LampVol]

I went to UT in the early 1970's, don't get back to Knoxville much, it's really grown and changed,
This thread brought back a lot of memories:
George at the Roman Room, Sam & Andys, Cumberland Tap Room, La Cantina, Varsity Inn, Shakeys Pizza, Pizza Inn, the Mother Hen food truck (parked in front of Hess Hall) One of my roommates used to bring in Brother Jack's pig burgers, too.
There was a guy named Bobby that sold newspapers on the Strip, seemed like everyone on campus knew his nam.
good ole days.

 

[MAD]

I went to UT in the early 1970's, don't get back to Knoxville much, it's really grown and changed,
This thread brought back a lot of memories:
George at the Roman Room, Sam & Andys, Cumberland Tap Room, La Cantina, Varsity Inn, Shakeys Pizza, Pizza Inn, the Mother Hen food truck (parked in front of Hess Hall) One of my roommates used to bring in Brother Jack's pig burgers, too.
There was a guy named Bobby that sold newspapers on the Strip, seemed like everyone on campus knew his nam.
good ole days.

Was the original Ruby Tuesdays open yet while you were in Knoxville, I think it opened around 72?

 

[LampVol]

Was the original Ruby Tuesdays open yet while you were in Knoxville, I think it opened around 72?

I don't remember Ruby Tuesdays, but it could have been open then.

 

[bigdaddy]

Pickle U Pub

Don’t recall this one at all. Do tell

 

[pismonque]

Was the original Ruby Tuesdays open yet while you were in Knoxville, I think it opened around 72?

Was that the one at L&N?

 

[MAD]

Was that the one at L&N?

I don't remember, I was only 7 or 8, I just know the atmosphere and food were amazing, nothing like Ruby Tuesdays of today.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Was that the one at L&N?

No. The original Ruby Tuesday's was in the space above where Stefano's Pizza is today. Ruby Tuesday opened their restaurant in the L&N Depot for the 1982 World's Fair and also had the L&N Fish Market next door in the same building. The L&N Depot was in extreme decay throughout the 1970s.

I think that Morrison's had bought RT by the 1982 WF or at least a big piece of it.

 

[SpaceCoastVol]

Don’t recall this one at all. Do tell

tbh, I threw that out there because my brother in law mentioned it. I remember the name, but that is about it.

 

[SpaceCoastVol]

Was that the one at L&N?

I remember going to see the Lee Miles Stone Trio at the L&N. They were a house band of sorts. I have an album somewhere.

Edit... Union Cafe....

 

[VolNExile]

Was that the one at L&N?

Original L&N was just off the Strip. 19th Avenue? I can never remember the cross streets and which order they ran in.

 

[1972 Grad]

I went to UT in the early 1970's, don't get back to Knoxville much, it's really grown and changed,
This thread brought back a lot of memories:
George at the Roman Room, Sam & Andys, Cumberland Tap Room, La Cantina, Varsity Inn, Shakeys Pizza, Pizza Inn, the Mother Hen food truck (parked in front of Hess Hall) One of my roommates used to bring in Brother Jack's pig burgers, too.
There was a guy named Bobby that sold newspapers on the Strip, seemed like everyone on campus knew his nam.
good ole days.

I remember Bobby. He had some sort of a speech and muscular/neurological problem. Did he have Muscular Dystrophy or something like that? Also, I have had George pour me a few at the Roman Room. Went to Jose's La Cantina when it first opened. The owner Jose was Joe Jenkins, who later became Knox County Sheriff.

I remember the Mother Hen very well. My brother lived at Hess, and used to frequent it, as he had a friend , Clayton Gries (not sure of spelling), who worked on the Hen some. Been to Brother Jack's many, many times, and got 26 cent Pigsburgers. On the menu on the wall, it was spelled pigsburger, instead of pigburger. It was a pork patty between 2 slices of white bread with different hotness of sauces, squirted out of a plastic bottle. He had loaves of white bread behind the counter. I remember we had to walk through the opening into the grocery next door to get a coke out of the box. Bro Jack didn't serve drinks.

 

[1972 Grad]

No. The original Ruby Tuesday's was in the space above where Stefano's Pizza is today. Ruby Tuesday opened their restaurant in the L&N Depot for the 1982 World's Fair and also had the L&N Fish Market next door in the same building. The L&N Depot was in extreme decay throughout the 1970s.

I think that Morrison's had bought RT by the 1982 WF or at least a big piece of it.

I don't know where Stefano's is because I haven't been near the Strip in years, but I seem to remember the first Ruby Tuesday being just right of the Strip on the side of Cumberland nearest the interstate as you head west. Maybe down near where you can walk up to Fort Sanders Hospital. I know it was below The Place .

 

[1972 Grad]

Was the original Ruby Tuesdays open yet while you were in Knoxville, I think it opened around 72?

I think that is about right. I graduated after Winter Quarter 1972, and it appeared in that time range.

 

[1972 Grad]

Original L&N was just off the Strip. 19th Avenue? I can never remember the cross streets and which order they ran in.

The cross street numbers get higher as you go west. In other words , 20th Street is closer to West Town Mall than 17th Street is.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

I don't know where Stefano's is because I haven't been near the Strip in years, but I seem to remember the first Ruby Tuesday being just right of the Strip on the side of Cumberland nearest the interstate as you head west. Maybe down near where you can walk up to Fort Sanders Hospital. I know it was below The Place .

Stefano's opened around 1977 and The Place was about 4 or 5 doors up Cumberland Avenue towards downtown. Antonio's was in between the 2.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

The cross street numbers get higher as you go west. In other words , 20th Street is closer to West Town Mall than 17th Street is.

11th Street runs along the western edge of the World's Fair site. The 11th Street Artists Colony was in the renovated houses that were a part of the WF.

The western end of Fort Sanders is either 22nd or 23rd. 17th Street is the most heavily traveled of the numbered north/south streets in Fort Sanders.

For some reason 44th Street was the connector between Western Avenue and Middlebrook Pike that's immediately west if I-640. It's been renamed Ed Shouse (Blvd?) for several years now... after a long serving Knoxville City Councilman.

Another oddity is 5th Avenue. Maybe way back when, "Streets" in Knoxville ran north/south and "Avenues" ran east/west.

 

[MAD]

Yes, Soccer Taco. Señor Taco is somewhere else.

Pizza Hut moved across Kingston Pike and a building or 2 farther east. The parking lot might have been too small in the original spot. The newer building was a bit larger as well.

There are a bunch of restaurants no longer on top of Bearden Hill. Darryl's 1879 and Fazoli's in addition to many already mentioned. China Inn or something similar was on the eastern side of BH for decades. Grady's at the bottom of the western slope. Old, original Arby's. Kay's. Gatti's. Mini-Deli. Wendy's. All just west of BH. Long John Silver's, Burger King, and Taco Rancho just a bit more west. Several others no doubt.

I looked on google, the Soccer Taco must have been in a newer Pizza Hut, in the 70’s Pizza Hut was on the other side of Kingston pike if I remember correctly.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

I looked on google, the Soccer Taco must have been in a newer Pizza Hut, in the 70’s Pizza Hut was on the other side of Kingston pike if I remember correctly.

Pizza Hut on Bearden Hill was originally on the corner of the road that cuts down to Papermill. It was first on the north side of KP and a new PH was built on the south side of KP probably in the 1980s.

 

[MAD]

Pizza Hut on Bearden Hill was originally on the corner of the road that cuts down to Papermill. It was first on the north side of KP and a new PH was built on the south side of KP probably in the 1980s.

Thanks man, I was worried my memory was going.

 

[SmokyRiverDog]

Remember East Towne Mall? I think they called it Knoxville Center also.