Culture
Eric Sublett’s Life and Art Explored at UT Downtown Gallery
How do you sum up a life that was both integral to a creative community while largely unknown outside those at the center of that moment in history? An attempt to present glimpses of the person...
New Sculptures Introduced Around the City
New sculptures have been introduced to Krutch Park, Emory Place and other spots around the city in the last couple of weeks as part of Dogwood Arts 2022-2023 Art in Public Places Sculpture Exhibition. This year’s...
Knoxville First Friday, June 2022
This is the first time I’ve really gotten into the flow of a First Friday in at least three years. When you live downtown, it’s kind of easy to leave it to the tourists and check...
After a Bitter Division, Can There Be Reconciliation?
Imagine a bitterly divided country. Each side demonizes and dehumanizes the other. Relationships are lost over political, social, and humanitarian views. Elections are close and bitter. Ultimately, an insurrection foments that threatens the very heart of...
Business
Kopita Expanding, Moving to Larger Space in the Embassy Suites
The wait to see which restaurant would move into the space soon to be vacated by Knox Mason at Embassy Suites was not a long one. Avi Zenatti and spouse Ilana Brodt will move Kopita just...
Vine Furniture and Property Sold; Store to Close
A journey that began in 1944, will soon come to a close. After 78 years, Vine Furniture will close its doors before the end of summer. The business provided for four generations of one family and...
Knox Mason to Close Its Doors July 2
Businesses have a lifespan and restaurants often have a shorter one. It’s easy to get used to the ebb and flow, but it is important to realize that every business that closes ends an important chapter...
Addison’s Books and Events Has Officially Opened
Addison’s is a new antiquarian and used bookstore and event space that opened this week at 126 South Gay Street. I first spoke to owner Brian Worley about his plans last March and his excitement and...
Development
Can We Sustain More Downtown Hotels?
I get questions all the time. For years a consistent thread of those questions has been about issues surrounding the homeless population. There are popular questions about parking and a downtown grocery store. When we experienced...
Century Building Appears to be Headed for Complete Redevelopment
I’m sorry about the qualifier in the caption, but I’m a bit cautious when it comes to the Century Building. It’s a beautiful building that, by all rights of downtown development, should have been a slam-dunk...
Holiday Inn Express Planned for Walnut Building
The nine-story Walnut Building at 706 Walnut Street has become the most recent downtown building to be planned for conversion to a hotel. The building, owned by Nadeem Saddiqi, will be transformed by Hitesh Patel and...
$7.3 Million Sale on Gay Street Should Lead to New Mixed Use Building
A transaction took place this week that ripples in multiple directions and is an important story for downtown. It involves large amounts of money, personalities who are shaping the city, and a strong statement on the...
Events
Downtown Knoxville Ten Day Planner (6/19-6/28/2022)
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 time that the list can be...
Downtown Knoxville Ten Day Planner (6/12 – 6/21/2022)
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 time that the list can be...
Dolly Fest Fills the Old City with Dollyliciousness
It seems to me that 2022 is really the year that Dolly Fest was able to take off. The crowds on Saturday, particularly, looked large (not individually, just as a group, though there was a lot...
Downtown Knoxville Ten Day Planner (6/5-6/14/22)
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 time that the list can be...
Life
Plaudits and Plans
Knoxville has more than its share of good people doing good things. I love connecting with new people only to find out that we each have overlapping lists of friends and acquaintances who we admire, have...
Inside of New York City, Summer 2022
For those of you who knew I was leaving town for a few days, this article won’t come as any surprise. I’ve taken the privilege since I started writing about this urban spot, to write about...
Knox County Joint Mental Health Workshop Offers Information, Few Answers
That there is a national, state, and local mental health crisis is a subject of wide-spread agreement. What produced the crisis, how to navigate the crisis, and how to get people the help they need is...
State and Local COVID-19 Cases and Death by Month
Here’s a look at where we are at the state and local level by month, something that I started early in the pandemic at the request of a reader. It provides an easier way to see...