What makes a really great bar? How do we pick our favorites and do we necessarily agree on the variables that produce a great night at a bar? Two Knoxville bars, both downtown, were recently recognized by USA Today as two of the best in the state. We’ll look at the other (which was recognized nationally) in a later article. Today, we’ll look at Boyd’s Jig and Reel. I talked to owner Jenny Boyd to learn what she thinks makes it special.
Nothing before it really suggested that Jenny would ever own a bar. She’d never done anything like it, but in her 30’s she started connecting to Scottish music, which is part of her heritage, and ultimately, that would lead her to owning her own Scottish bar. She’s happy with how it’s turned out.
I think we’re a one-off. I would never do another one like this, but I think it is great for our area and the music of east Tennessee. The building lent itself to this: It’s old and warm and cozy . . . I’m proud of it.
For me, I remember the opening of Boyd’s Jig and Reel as an important moment for downtown. I’d started writing about downtown in 2010, the year before it opened. The jury on the downtown experiment was still out. In 2010, we lost Vagabondia and 10,000 Villages on Market Square at a time Market Square was far from fully leased. Manhattan’s (in the current location of Boyd’s Jig and Reel) closed and that building and the one across the street previously housing Patrick Sullivan’s was empty and for sale. When Boyd’s opened in 2011, it felt like a lifeline thrown to a sinking Old City.
Jenny describes herself as an introvert who, when she opened the bar “never went to bars and didn’t drink.” Still, circumstances presented themselves that led to her not only going to a bar, but owning one. She’d developed her love for Scottish music by that time, had taken lessons locally, and then traveled to Scotland to learn more. After playing in pubs there, she noted to Randy that “adults need a place to play with other adult players,” like in the pubs she’d found in Scotland. She loved the “sessions” she played in pubs there.
Randy showed her the current building and asked if it would work. After the purchase he handed it off to her. It was the first Boyd property in the Old City. “I knew in my mind what I wanted it to be, but . . .” She had help early. Randy Burleson planned the kitchen and connected her with a local Irish caterer who knew Scottish food and helped her develop a menu and then they hired a kitchen crew.
I decorated the place and got all the people I’d taken lessons from to see if they would help me (lead sessions) . . . It was really a miracle. If I had not done this . . . They have been an integral part of the pub since the beginning.
The pub currently features those sessions on Thursday nights, alternating each week between Irish and Scottish, while Old Time and Bluegrass alternate on Tuesdays. Wednesday nights feature singer/songwriters and she said that has really taken off. Friday and Saturday nights have different kinds of music, but much of it is local and she considers it still roots music with a regional base. She said they may expand then genres in the future.
The mission of my pub is to promote and preserve the music of East Tennessee and to pass it down to the younger generations.
She’s hoping to draw more younger people to the sessions because she said it’s important that they hear it early. So much of it is passed from player to player and may not be written down. “When I heard Scottish music the first time, I cried . . . The minute I sat there and heard the music, I thought ‘This is what I’m supposed to do’ . . . I live for the night I can come in here and play.” She’s had guests from Scotland and England who have fallen in love with the place.
Beyond the session music, which you mostly only find in the largest cities, she said she has tried to bring the best of every pub she visited and combine all those elements into this one place. She chose everything on the walls personally and each thing holds a meaning for her. You’ll find stained glass, chairs, and pewter plates from Regas restaurant. Lots of pictures of Scottish and other traditional players line the walls.
The area has been a part of her life. Her father was in the army and when they returned to Knoxville they lived with her grandmother on east Fifth Avenue, her parents got married on that street, and she became a naturalized citizen at Knox High. “It’s all special for me.” It made her happy to start her business in the same area and she said she wishes more people knew about the Old City.
Of the bar, she said, “It’s such a special place. The flowers have been so beautiful the last couple of years! It’s old and worn out, but it’s special. I think of all the people who have been here.” She pointed out that the large mirror came with the building and she imagines all the people whose reflections have danced across its surface.
Beyond the physical space (and the amazing Scotch collection: “1077 whiskies and counting”) she said the customers have been great and the current team is amazing. Chef Will Pelcher anchors the kitchen and has been with her from the beginning, as has Chelsea. Gina Truitt has managed the bar in recent years and always makes things work, sometimes despite circumstances. Randy is the one who pushed the idea of having a vast expanse of Scotch.
She said she thinks the attraction of the bar is its authenticity. “All we’re about is being real.” she said.