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

#2,451
#2,451
Ted said:
We will be losing the first, and last remaining, location of Smoky Mountain Market on Chapman Hwy.

A eulogy for the Smoky Mountain Market - Knox TN Today

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This is an old picture, back when it was still open. You wouldn't want to see it at present. Ramshackle, and graffiti-covered.

I love KnoxTnToday.com and keep up with it every week. They have people like us writing for them. People who also remember Knoxville and Knox County the way it was, and mourn its continued passing away- its people, businesses, buildings, and traditions.
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My dad would stop there on our way to the mountains and get lunch. I always ate two chili dogs and a Mayfield’s chocolate milk
 
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#2,455
#2,455
Is Boyd behind all the 5-over-1s being built on the Strip and in many places around Knoxville?

Read this: UT students worry about not finding housing next school year | wbir.com Featuring this: "What we have to do about it is just build more housing," Boyd said. "We hope to build 5,000 more beds within the next five years." Boyd said for the first time, UT plans to partner with private firms to build housing as opposed to relying on government funds."

At least UTK is saying they are going to cut the number of incoming undergraduates accepted this fall. About time!
 
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#2,456
#2,456
Don't miss this article by Beth Kinnane in today's KnoxTnToday: Swan song for The Strip: It’s just Cumberland Avenue, now

From Beth's article: "Other than those already mentioned, the list of gone but not forgotten includes, Gabby’s/Ivy’s, Hobo’s, Antonio’s, Vatican Pizza, Geronimo’s, Regas on 17th/Charlie’s Old Place, Quarters, The Last Lap, Electric Wizard, China King, Yosemite Sam’s, Sam and Andy’s holy triumvirate Deli/Roman Room/Tennessean, the Torch, Hawkeye’s Corner, Arnold’s, the Tap Room, Spicy’s and Flamingo’s. And I’m sure I’m missing a lot."

There are some names in that list that we haven't talked about here yet! Anybody remember those?

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#2,457
#2,457
I miss K-Marts. We had at least four here in Knoxville, right? Any others?
  • West Hills on Kingston Pike. Knoxville Wholesale Furniture Clearance Center is there now.
  • Halls in Black Oak Plaza. Now a climate-controlled storage center.
  • North Knoxville on Broadway in Northgate Plaza. Currently vacant (I think.)
  • Clinton Highway at Clinton Plaza. Right half of the old store is a Joe Neubert Collision Center. Left half is unoccupied.
mad4vols said:
Attention K-Mart Shoppers : Free Audio : Free Download, Borrow and Streaming : Internet Archive
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#2,460
#2,460
Ted said:
Was there an S.S. Kresge store in Knoxville? I'm sure there was. Where was it?

Also in that collection was K-Mart. I miss K-Marts. We had at least four here, right? Any others?
  • West Hills, where Knoxville Wholesale Furniture Clearance Center is now
  • Halls in Black Oak Plaza
  • North Knoxville on Broadway in Northgate Plaza
  • Clinton Highway at Clinton Plaza
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South Clinton had a Kmart on Clinton Hwy. It was on the left, just before the "green" bridge if heading North on 25W. Both are gone now.
 
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#2,462
#2,462
Ted said:
Don't miss this article by Beth Kinnane in today's KnoxTnToday: Swan song for The Strip: It’s just Cumberland Avenue, now

From Beth's article: "Other than those already mentioned, the list of gone but not forgotten includes, Gabby’s/Ivy’s, Hobo’s, Antonio’s, Vatican Pizza, Geronimo’s, Regas on 17th/Charlie’s Old Place, Quarters, The Last Lap, Electric Wizard, China King, Yosemite Sam’s, Sam and Andy’s holy triumvirate Deli/Roman Room/Tennessean, the Torch, Hawkeye’s Corner, Arnold’s, the Tap Room, Spicy’s and Flamingo’s. And I’m sure I’m missing a lot."

There are some names in that list that we haven't talked about here yet! Anybody remember those?

View attachment 533913
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Great trip down nostalgia lane. I haven’t been there since the mid 90s, don’t think I want to see it now.

I saw Black Flag at Vic & Bill’s.
 
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#2,463
#2,463
NorCalVol67 said:
Great trip down nostalgia lane. I haven’t been there since the mid 90s, don’t think I want to see it now.

I saw Black Flag at Vic & Bill’s.
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Norcal, you definitely wouldn't want to see it now.

A lot of bands played in bars on the Strip.. it's amazing. It was a helluva scene in the day! I only can wish I'd been here then.
 
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#2,465
#2,465
TN-POSSUM said:
Evidently there was one on Chapman Hwy and one in Farragut but I can't remember where. I found this article from 2008. West Knoxville Kmart closingView attachment 534037

***There was also 1 in Oak Ridge, in the same shopping center as Hobby Lobby is in now.
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One in Farragut was across Kingston Pike from Farragut High School. The entire building is gone now, redeveloped. An Aldi is in the general location of where it was.
 
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#2,466
#2,466
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#2,469
#2,469
TN-POSSUM said:
Knoxville Wholesale Furniture Clearance Center
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I worked at that KMart by West Town briefly, it was probably late 80s or so. I was a student at UT, my car was busted up and I needed extra cash so I took a second job there.

They put me in the garden dept and back then I didn't know Jackson Shiite about gardening but I learned quickly to make stuff up for survival. People would ask me questions and if I said I didn't know they'd get all indignant and pissed at me and get all up in my shít for not knowing. But if I made up some answer they'd go away happy and I wouldn't see them again.

"My maters got the blight and they's gophers eating my petunias. What can I do about that?"
"Why, you need this here sevin dust, it'll take care of all that for ya."

I feel kinda bad about that now and hope I didn't mess anyone's stuff up too much. But them people was nasty if I just didn't know.
 
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#2,470
#2,470
Ted said:
Norcal, you definitely wouldn't want to see it now.

A lot of bands played in bars on the Strip.. it's amazing. It was a helluva scene in the day! I only can wish I'd been here then.
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I saw DMB, Hootie, Toadies, among others at Flamingos in the early 90s. One of my favorite bands, Jackopierce, played there a few times as well. They are actually touring again. Saw them in Charlotte in November, going back in March to see them again. Still sound awesome.
 
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#2,471
#2,471
Today on WBIR: UT students urge university to 'control growth' during rally | wbir.com

Here are a couple of quotes, but be sure to read the whole article.

"Some members of the campus community said they wanted leaders to control UT's growth, as they struggled to find space for essentials l housing and parking. A decade ago, around 17,000 people applied to attend UT. That number climbed to around 49,000 this year."

"The university is pursuing a strategy of growth at any cost," said one student during a rally Thursday."

Obviously, that's just the applications, and only a percentage get in, but you know that many applications puts pressure on UTK to capitalize on them. They are obviously admitting many more students than before. They are choosing to. And the university is behind the curve in providing housing, and expecting the private sector to meet the need in the near-term.

UTK had to know that the current housing crisis would be an inevitable result of that kind of growth in undergraduate admissions! There was no way that all those additional students could find housing in Knoxville. Hence, the explosion in demolitions and private sector student housing (5-over-1s) being built on sites like Cumberland Avenue.
 
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#2,473
#2,473
2EastTnVols said:
I saw DMB, Hootie, Toadies, among others at Flamingos in the early 90s. One of my favorite bands, Jackopierce, played there a few times as well. They are actually touring again. Saw them in Charlotte in November, going back in March to see them again. Still sound awesome.
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I still have some of their CD’s. Finest Hour was a great album from start to finish. Had not heard they were touring again.
 
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