Tarik’s North African Hosts ‘The JFG Exhibit’ Honoring Iconic South Knoxville Sign

The spirit of South Knoxville’s venerable and beloved JFG Sign is alive and well at Tarik’s North African. While the sign itself remains in storage, the restaurant is hosting a small but intriguing exhibit featuring artistic portrayals of the iconic structure. (We last wrote about Tarik’s brick-and-mortar opening in July here, and recounted Tarik’s story in 2022 here.)

The show is the brainchild of talented local photographer and social media wizard Holly Rainey.

“When the sign was taken down in 2023, I thought it would be cool to have a show because as a photographer myself, I would always capture images of the sign from all sorts of angles,” she said. “One day Tarik [Becha, owner of Tarik’s North African] mentioned starting to host First Friday shows, and I thought The JFG Exhibit would be a fun one to put together featuring local photographers and artists.”

The exhibit features 18 works, mostly photography with some paintings as well. Featured artists include Robert Batey, Jeff Bell, Khoa Dinh, Taryn Ferro, Holly Rainey, Paula Savage, Esther Sitver and Tinah Utsman.

Tarik, a Real Good Kitchen alum who has emerged in recent years not just as a culinary force but as someone committed to reinvesting whatever momentum he has back into the community, said that when Holly pitched the idea to him it just made sense. Tarik’s professional experience spans Tunisia, Algeria, Greece, Turkey, Serbia and Paris (where he met his wife, Allison, a Knoxville native) and after moving here in 2014, he recognized the power of the iconic sign to galvanize people and create a sense of welcoming. “It made people happy,” he told me when I stopped by for dinner last night.

JFG Coffee Company was founded in Morristown in 1882 by James Franklin Goodson and began roasting its own beans by 1919. The company moved its roasting operations to Knoxville in 1924 and established its first headquarters at 200 W. Jackson Ave. in 2026. JFG was purchased in the ’60s by Reily Foods and the company eventually moved to a factory off Sutherland Avenue.

Photographer Tinah Utsman’s father Jack served as president of JFG Coffee for 25 years. Tarik’s shared the story behind her photo, taken in the ’90s: “When Daddy retired from JFG, I wanted to document his retirement with a photo of him next to the south Knoxville sign so many loved. My dad agreed so we had a beer at the old Rendezvous bar on 200 Block and walked all the way down Gay Street to the old location of the sign next to Gay Street Bridge.”

For background: There are/were two JFG neon signs downtown, both of which were named to Knox Heritage’s “Fragile & Fading” list last year: one was installed in 1941 atop the building at 200 W. Jackson Ave., the other installed in 1954 just across the Gay Street Bridge. They have each been on their own journeys (read more here), but for today’s purposes we’re focusing on the south-side sign. Taken down for restoration in 2010, the sign was displaced due to a lease provision allowing redevelopment once it was removed. In response to public outcry Reily Foods, JFG’s owner since 1965, secured a new location on Kerbela Shriners property, and the sign returned in 2012 following its restoration.

But then, on Oct. 3, 2023, people fully and rightfully freaked out when the sign was dismantled and removed with no advance notice after the lease was terminated. The sign is currently in storage at the JFG plant off Sutherland Avenue.

Knox Heritage, which launched its Save Our Signs program in 2010 with seed funding from Reily Foods, is now working with the City of Knoxville and Reily Foods to identify a new South Knoxville home for the riverfront sign and explore restoration solutions. Yesterday I checked in Executive Director Christine Cloninger, whose organization does such important work in ensuring that dangling question marks like these don’t just fade into the ether forever. She confirmed that there are no real updates, but that “the hurdle is finding a new location” and “it would be great if a property owner in South Knox wanted to donate a small parcel to resurrect the sign.” So, just sending out that bat signal here!

Who wouldn’t want this iconic sign on their property? With all the exciting things happening now on the South Waterfront and with this week’s reopening of the Gay Street bridge to pedestrians and cyclists, the sign’s future feels promising. The Kerbela Temple site is for sale, if not already under contract, and returning the sign to its most recent site would curry a lot of popular opinion. Placing it back on its original footprint would be grounds for a ticker-tape parade.

In the meantime, you can visit The JFG Exhibit through the rest of December. Most of the works are for sale, in case you’re in the market for a last-minute Christmas gift. And, obviously, make a meal of it! Last night Auntie Trish, the kiddo and I ordered a little bit of everything (all of which was amazing) and came home with go-boxes to spare. It’s a critical time to support local restaurants and retail. Thank you to Tarik and your team for everything you do, making Knoxville a more meaningful and delicious place to call home.