Culture
Cold Days and Good Stories
I hope you are all keeping warm through what is likely our coldest stretch of winter. It’s not a bad time to stay in and stay warm for other reasons, as well. Maybe the cold has...
Pivot Point Gallery Coming to 15 Emory Place
In December I wrote of development plans for Emory Place, designed to turn the area into an arts destination. 15 Emory Place, a part of the project which was ready for use, has been leased by...
Paris Woodhull Adds Her Unique Style to a New Mural in Strong Alley
A new mural is underway in Strong Alley and should be completed this week. Dogwood Arts commissioned the mural by one of may favorite artists and favorite humans, Paris Woodhull. Mural work marks a shift for...
Three New Books with Knoxville Ties
Three recent books have come to my attention, each written by local authors. In a perfect trifecta, one is non-fiction, one fiction, and the other poetry. A genre for every taste. And a perfect time to...
Business
Knox Selfie Lab is Open at 906 Sevier Avenue
Heather Berthiaume has opened Knox Selfie Lab at 906 Sevier Avenue. The new business is next to Red Bud Kitchen and to the front and below Hi Wire Brewing. The location offers a range of booths...
Cafe 4 Changes Ownership
HD Patel and the Ephant Group have assumed ownership of Cafe 4 from Jim and Lori Klonaris in a transaction brokered by Oliver Smith IV and Will Sims for Oliver Smith Realty and Development. The Cafe...
Jenna Baker to Open Vid’l, Plant-Based Restaurant in the Old City
Jenna Baker, owner and operator of Cook to be Well, is opening her own space in the Old City at 111 East Jackson, Suite 103, in the former home of Blüen. The new restaurant, Vid’l, will...
The Ale’ Rae Grill Opens at 937 North Broadway
David Goldschmitt and his daughters Allie and Rachel Goldschmidt have opened Ale’ (pronounced “Alley,” like Allie) Rae (Short for Rachel — spotting a pattern?) Grill, a music-centered gastropub, at 937 North Broadway, which some of you...
Development
Broadway Viaduct on Schedule
I was asked recently for an update on the Broadway viaduct, so I walked out and took a look. While TDOT isn’t the most communicative agency in town, it did generously leave the gate open for...
Economic Perspective and the City
The caption isn’t quite as enticing as Sex and the City, but for most of us, it’s as least as important, and probably more so. How is the economy? It depends on whom you ask and the...
New Development Comes to Happy Holler (1201 North Central Street)
A central location in the heart of Happy Holler is undergoing a transformation behind a large plywood barricade. At 1201 North Central Street, which was most recently Friends Antiques, Jeffrey Nash and the Courtland Group have...
5th Avenue Plaza Nearing Completion: Units Preleasing
It’s been over nine months since my last update on 5th Avenue Plaza, a development on the 100 block of East Fifth Avenue that has grown into a three building project. Great progress has been made...
Events
Downtown Knoxville Ten Day Planner (1/16-1/25/2022)
The rules are the same – if you want your event included, please make a Facebook event, invite me (Alan Sims – you’ll have to friend me) and it will be included. I need enough lead...
WUTK Celebrates Forty Years
I grew up enjoying great local radio in Mobile, Alabama. WABB-FM was an amazing station for a few years, playing Led Zeppelin, Emmy Lou Harris, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, John Prine and more. Still,...
Downtown Knoxville Ten Day Planner (1/9-1/18/2022)
The rules are the same – if you want your event included, please make a Facebook event, invite me (Alan Sims – you’ll have to friend me) and it will be included. I need enough lead...
Downtown Knoxville Ten Day Planner (1/2-1/11/2022)
The rules are the same – if you want your event included, please make a Facebook event, invite me (Alan Sims – you’ll have to friend me) and it will be included. I need enough lead...
Life
COVID-19: 1/20/2022 Update
This report comes to you at the peak, to this point, of the COVID-19 pandemic as experienced in Knoxville and Knox County. Unfortunately, most of the information we have is already nearly a week old. Orwell...
COVID-19: 1/13/2022 Update
At this point, the only update that makes sense is one each week and that on Thursday. Both the state of Tennessee and the Knox County Health Department have determined that COVID-19 updates will only come...
COVID-19: 1/7/2022 Update
And so, we meet again. What seemed unimaginable in March 2020 when I wrote my first articles about COVID-19, seemed inevitable when I wrote my most recent article at the end of October: The virus continues...
Tennessee and Knox County COVID-19 Numbers By Month (Through 12/2021)
I know we are all done with COVID, but it isn’t done with us. It’s been a month since I’ve reported on the topic and, like many of you, I’d love to never hear about it...