Mechanicsville has always been one of those Knoxville neighborhoods where the past still feels close. It shows up in the shotgun homes and colorful Victorian houses along Deaderick Avenue, in the stories still passed down about Knoxville College and the old College Homes, and in the residents who held onto the neighborhood’s identity through decades of redevelopment and displacement.
So when I heard another restaurant was opening next door to Gam’s Hair Fashions inside the historic Cansler Building, named for influential Black educator and civic leader Charles W. Cansler, it felt like another chapter in a neighborhood that has spent decades fighting to hold onto itself. The building, one of the few structures on the block that remained standing through the HOPE VI era, has long served as a gathering place in Mechanicsville. For more than 30 years, Gam’s has remained one of those places people measure time by, while the space next door itself has housed neighborhood staples like Brothers Johnson and Sisters BBQ, Soul Good and Nappy Wingz. The building knows good food.
Jackson Brown Chicken & Fish officially opens today, May 6, inside the historic building at 1518 University Ave., bringing smoked chicken, catfish and a community-centered vision to one of Knoxville’s most historic neighborhoods.
Grills & Hustle
For Melvin Jackson III and PJ Brown, the team behind the business, the restaurant has been decades in the making. It’s the culmination of a 30-year family legacy in food, a leap away from corporate America, and a decision to build something that stretches beyond the plate.
“This is more than just a restaurant,” Jackson said. “I really believe that if the community doesn’t feel like they own your place, then you’re in business for the wrong reason. We want people to walk in here and feel like this is their space, not just somewhere they came to eat and leave.”
To understand Jackson Brown, you first have to understand the legacy behind it. For Jackson, 48, a graduate of Gibbs High School, that story started long before the restaurant itself, standing beside his late father, learning the rhythms of the kitchen and the importance of serving people well.
“I’ve been in this business since I was 14,” he said. “And I mean every part of it, from bus boy, cook, general manager, district manager, all of it. My dad spent 40 years doing this. We were the neighborhood barbecue people. That’s what we were known for. I grew up around grills, smokers, cooking turkeys, doing everything. That’s what built me.”
But Jackson said his entrepreneurial spirit started even earlier. Long before restaurants, he was a 12-year-old knocking on doors with a lawn mower, trying to earn enough money to buy a pair of Jordans.
“My dad told me, ‘I’m not buying the Jordans. If you want them, go figure out how to make the money,’” Jackson laughed. “So I started cutting grass around the neighborhood. One yard turned into a couple yards, and then neighbors started telling other neighbors. Before I knew it, I was cutting 20 yards a week.”
Looking back, Jackson said those early experiences taught him independence, hustle and the value of building something for himself.
“I always had that spirit in me to work for myself and do business on my own,” he said. “I never lost it. But growing up, people tell you to go to school, go get a job, go work for somebody else. They don’t really teach entrepreneurship like that. But eventually I got to a point where I was fed up, and I knew I wanted to build something for myself.”
That foundation later turned into FATS BBQ in 2006, short for “Family Atmosphere, Terrific Service,” a name that became well known across East Tennessee not just for food, but for how people were treated. The business expanded into catering, large-scale events, and food trucks, feeding hundreds, often thousands, of people at a time.
“We’ve fed three, four thousand people before,” he said. “We’ve done events for churches, for the University of Tennessee, for all kinds of people. A lot of folks don’t even realize how much we’ve done because we don’t always put everything out there. We just show up and do the work.”
But like many small businesses, the journey hasn’t been easy. After years of building a location in Oak Ridge, the restaurant closed in 2012 due to issues with the building. Around that same time, Jackson lost both his parents.
“My dad passed in 2012, and then my mom passed not long after that,” he said. “So I didn’t really know what I was going to do. I had been at this with my dad for as long as I can remember. It’s hard doing something like this by yourself. But I just kept going. That’s all I knew how to do.”
That persistence carried the FATS BBQ business forward in Oak Ridge up until last year. And while the FATS food truck will still stick around, the two are ready to start the next chapter.
Mechanicsville Made Sense
Mechanicsville has spent decades navigating change and redevelopment while fighting to preserve the pieces of itself that remain. The future closure of Mechanicsville’s historic Maynard Elementary School to make way for the new K-12 school at the former Rule High School site marked another major shift in a neighborhood that has already seen tremendous transformation over the last several decades.
At the same time, the ongoing fight to preserve and revive Knoxville College remains one of the clearest symbols of the neighborhood’s persistence. Even through decades of disinvestment, redevelopment and uncertainty, Mechanicsville continues to be carried forward by the people and institutions still fighting to keep its identity intact.
That history is part of what made the Jackson Brown location feel significant beyond just another restaurant opening.
Mechanicsville itself was originally established in the late 1800s as a neighborhood for skilled laborers and tradesmen working in Knoxville’s growing industrial economy. The community took its name from the “mechanics,” or workers, who settled there near factories, rail lines and mills that once surrounded the neighborhood. By the early 20th century, Mechanicsville had also become one of Knoxville’s most important Black communities, home to Knoxville College, Black churches, businesses and generations of African American families.
Charles W. Cansler, who the building is named after, was one of Knoxville’s most influential Black leaders during the early 20th century. An educator, lawyer, civil rights advocate and author, Cansler served as longtime principal of Austin High School, Knoxville’s historic Black high school, and helped establish the Knoxville Free Colored Carnegie Library, the city’s first public library for Black residents, in 1917.
The story of Jackson Brown Chicken & Fish starts on a football field. About six years ago, the two owners met while coaching youth football. Jackson brought decades of experience in the kitchen, while Brown, 41, a graduate of Central High School, brought years of experience working in corporate America in sales and relationship management
“We met coaching, and we just clicked,” PJ Brown said. “We were boys from the jump. And I had already been around his food, so I knew what he was doing. I knew how good it was.”
At the time, Brown was still working a corporate job, traveling and building a career that looked stable from the outside, but didn’t feel fulfilling.
“I got tired of working for other people,” he said. “I was making good money, but I still had to answer to somebody. I still had to jump through hoops. And I always had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to do something on my own. So when we started talking about this, I told him, if I do it, I’m not doing it halfway. I’m going all in.”
Brown said there was never a fallback plan.
“This is our plan A. We don’t have a plan B, C or D. This is it,” he said. “And with that kind of buy-in, and his background, my background, just the belief that we have in each other … if I didn’t believe in him from day one, I never would have jumped on board with something like this. I believe in him, his product, his faith, his energy. He’s got good energy. We have a common goal, to run this thing as successfully as we can and uplift this community.”
That decision to leave behind stability and step fully into entrepreneurship became the turning point. Together, they began building toward the Jackson Brown concept they had talked about for years.
But the limitations became clear.
“We were on a back street in Oak Ridge,” Jackson said. “We had a following, but we didn’t have a space where people could sit down, where they could fellowship, where they could just be. We were doing takeout, and that only gets you so far. We couldn’t grow the way we wanted.”
When the Mechanicsville location became available, it felt like the opportunity they had been waiting for.
“Our people are in Knoxville,” he said. “And this area has so much going on, we have a relationship with Gam next door, it was perfect timing. There’s growth, there’s history, there’s community here. It just made sense.”
Just as important was what the space allowed them to do.
“A lot of what we do is about breaking bread together,” he said. “Food brings people together. You can have disagreements, you can have whatever going on, but you sit down over a meal, and people start talking. That’s what we wanted to create here, a place where people can sit, eat, and connect.”
Menu & Consistent Service
At its core, Jackson Brown’s menu focuses on chicken including wings, sandwiches and fried fish, but even that reflects years of experience and intentionality. The chicken is smoked before it’s fried, adding depth and flavor that sets it apart.
“We don’t just throw it in the fryer,” said Jackson. “We smoke it first, get that flavor in there, and then fry it. So when people bite into it, they’re like, ‘This is different.’ And that’s exactly what we want.”
The catfish, a favorite from their earlier concept, remains a staple, but the menu is designed to evolve.
“We’re going to have our staples, but every week we’re doing something different with a weekly special,” he said. “We want people to come in and try something new. We’re not trying to have a 30-page menu, we’re keeping it simple, but we’re also giving you variety.”
In a space where other restaurants have come and gone, Jackson and Brown are clear about what will set them apart: consistency and service.
Jackson Brown Chicken & Fish will operate Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. The restaurant also offers TVs, Wi-Fi access and delivery service through Uber Eats and DoorDash.
“You come in here today, and you come back two weeks from now, it should be the same,” Brown said. “Same quality, same flavor, same experience. That matters. We will be open regularly so people know that when they stop by we are open.”
But just as important is how people are treated when they walk through the door.
“We acknowledge everybody,” Brown said. “We talk to people. We learn their names. We ask them how their day is. That’s something that’s missing in a lot of places now. People are so used to just coming in, getting their food, and leaving. But we want more than that.”
That philosophy extends beyond customers.
“We don’t have employees, we have investments,” Jackson said.
“If you’re working with us, we’re trying to help you get to your next level. If you’re here for three years, we failed you. You should be growing, moving forward, building something for yourself.”
Community Beyond the Plate
The restaurant is also being built as a space for mentorship and community engagement.
Jackson and Brown hope the business will spark new community relationships and give young people and families a place to launch their own dreams.
“We want kids to be able to come in here, do homework, connect with people,” he said. “We’re working on leadership programs, bringing in people from different fields, giving young people somebody they can talk to. Because not every kid has that.”
Like many Black business owners, they’re also navigating challenges that go beyond the day-to-day demands of running a restaurant.
“We get overlooked a lot,” said Jackson. “We’ve been right down the street from places and still didn’t get opportunities, even when we knew we could do the job just as well or better. That’s just part of it.”
But instead of letting that discourage him, he uses it as motivation.
“In spite of everything, we’ve still been successful,” Brown added. “We still go get business. We still hustle. We’re not using it as an excuse, we’re just working.”
Inside, the space is designed to reflect that same energy, welcoming, relaxed and rooted in community. A patio with lights, music leaning into old-school soul, and an atmosphere that encourages people to stay.
They’re already thinking about events like First Fridays, social gatherings and ways to bring people together. Looking ahead, the vision doesn’t stop with this one location.
“In a year, we want to be looking at a second restaurant,” said Brown. “We want this to be running how it’s supposed to run, and then we expand. That’s the goal.”
But even as they think about growth, the focus remains on what they’re building right now.
“We want people to come in here and feel comfortable. Like they can sit, relax, talk, and just enjoy themselves. That’s what it’s about. Leave their problems at the door for a minute. I don’t care what you’ve got going on, when you walk in here, you can relax, you can eat, you can just be. That’s what we’re trying to create.”
And in Mechanicsville, a neighborhood that has carried so much history, change and community, that kind of space feels like more than just another restaurant opening.
It feels rooted there.
Jackson Brown Chicken & Fish | 1518 University Ave. | Facebook | Instagram | Call-ins: 865-421-3287 | Hours: Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.
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