Culture
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...
Arrowmont Establishes a Gallery in Downtown Knoxville (In Subterranean Gay Street)
In what could be seen as a merging of a mystery and an unknown for many of us, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, located on a thirteen-acre campus in downtown Gatlinburg since 1912, has opened...
A Night in the City or Why I Didn’t Do My Assignment
You are free to look at this article in either of two ways. It could be a perfect example of an urban night. It could also be an excuse for not writing the column I had...
Dogwood Arts Chalk Walk 2022 Returns to Downtown
After distanced events the previous two years, the Dogwood Arts Chalk Walk returned to downtown Knoxville. With a footprint that extended further down Market Street, the event was decompressed a bit from previous years. The crowd...
Business
This is Knoxville Craft Beer Week! Ale Trail Goes Digital!
It’s been a while since I’ve written about craft beer in the city. Something that seemed a novelty just a few short years ago has evolved into a mature local industry that is easy to take...
Five and Hoek Coffee Shop Coming to 200 West Magnolia
Last week I announced a Loyal’s Barbershop coming to 204 West Magnolia Avenue. This week brings the news that another of the three retail units in the same building, Mews II, will be taken by Tyler...
Loyal’s Barbershop Coming to 204 West Magnolia Avenue
Nick Kitsos will soon open a barbershop at 204 West Magnolia, the first retail to enter the ground floor of the Mews II building. He’s been visiting Knoxville for about ten years because his wife has family...
The Holistic Connection, Cannabis Store Coming to 716 South Gay Street
In a surprising development, legal cannabis sales will soon take place on Gay Street. The Holistic Connection, a Nashville-based business with numerous franchises, offers “legal handcrafted cannabis and cannabis products.” Owned by Mike Solomon, this first...
Development
$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...
TDOT Talks EV Infrastructure
In a sign that actions taken in Washington do eventually impact our lives, TDOT is holding a series of public meetings across the state to discuss the coming investment in electric vehicle infrastructure. The funding in...
Major New Project Will Reconnect the Fabric of Downtown
In a very significant development for downtown, Hatcher-Hill Properties has introduced a project that will restore the western side of the 200 block of Gay Street. The combination of residential and commercial buildings is one of...
Dewhirst Properties Purchases Greyhound Bus Station: A Conversation with Mark Heinz
Dewhirst Properties recently purchased the Greyhound Bus Station at 100 East Magnolia. It’s another signal that much of the focus of downtown development is moving to the north and east. Residential development now sits across the...
Events
Two Celebrations in One Day on the World’s Fair Park
This will be mostly a photo essay. Saturday was a beautiful day, if a bit warm and I had to come and go from the festivities. Many of the photos are from just after opening of...
Downtown Knoxville Ten Day Planner (5/22 – 5/31/2022)
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...
Celebrations and Festivals at World’s Fair Park This Weekend
Children’s Festival of Reading, World’s Fair Park, Knoxville, May 2016Children’s Festival of Reading Two major events are happening at the World’s Fair Park this weekend. One of them, the Children’s Festival of Reading, is returning for...
The Southern Skies Festival Offered a Day of Great Music and Fun
After two years of delays and dealing with the loss of headliner Blues Traveler (Leader John Popper down with COVID), the Dogwood Arts sponsored festival, with music curated by the Dirty Guv’nahs finally launched last Saturday....
Life
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...
David Cain Gives the World Perhaps the Quirkiest Dolly Yet
There are lots of parts to a great city, or simply a great place to live. While we focus on businesses and development, both of which are important and get people excited, at a more granular...
Recent Community Forum on Homelessness Continues the Conversation
When Nikki Elliott and Downtown Knoxville Alliance recently announced a community meeting on homelessness, no one expected a solution regarding one of our thorniest problems to present itself that evening in the Tennessee Theatre. About 75...