BEARDEN
Small businesses, big personalities made news in 2022
John Shearer, Shopper News
From downtown and the University of Tennessee campus out to Cedar Bluff and beyond, numerous places, people and groups in West Knoxville made news in 2022 and were chronicled in the Bearden Shopper News.
Others included the Three60fit gym, Apricot Lane boutique, Bear Den Books, Dogtopia, Athletic Republic Knoxville, Famous Milkshake Bar, Courtney's Cakes and Sweet Treats, Jaboni's pizzeria, the Artisan's Club studio, ORVIS in Western Plaza, and Pedego Electric Bikes. Also, CAVA eatery opened on Bearden Hill where sister chain Zoe's Kitchen had been.
White Realty Co., which had started as the White Stores grocery chain in 1922, was highlighted on its 100th anniversary. Also hitting the century mark and profiled was the Coffin Shoe Co. The 50th anniversary of West Town Mall was also celebrated.
Some Kingston Pike churches, including First United Methodist, were highlighted as part of the "Love Your Neighbor" campaign, and the James A. Dick Mighty Musical Monday programs resumed at the Tennessee Theatre in February after being halted for nearly two years during the pandemic.
In late March, a section of West Hills became an official Dogwood Arts dogwood trail and was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, while a Tennessee Music Pathways sign was installed at the Everly Brothers Park in September.
A video documentary of the Battle of Fort Sanders was released during the year, a Garden Conservancy tour was held at a home at 3024 Kingston Pike in October, and a landmark home at 1209 Scenic Drive in Sequoyah Hills was sold in the fall. In late September, a marker was dedicated downtown to the late former Knoxville resident Adolph Ochs of The New York Times.
Pieces of history going away
The landscape was also changing in West Knoxville. The Tennessee Highway Patrol headquarters, which had been at Kingston Pike near West Town Mall since the mid-1960s, closed after a new facility opened in Strawberry Plains. Buildings razed in the West Hills area included the former Shakey's/Alley building and another nearby pair of structures at the intersection of Kingston Pike and Wesley Road.
Also torn down was the historic former Euclid Avenue Baptist Church near the Alcoa Highway/Interstate 40 interchange, and a visible midcentury home at Cherokee Boulevard and Kingston Pike.
Stories also ran about plans to replace the Carousel Theatre at UT along with Dunford, Greve, and Henson halls. Stories on the latter three buildings' namesakes were also published.
Also, ground-breaking ceremonies were held for the addition of some ballfields and other amenities at Lakeshore Park.
The 40th anniversary of the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville was remembered. The Bearden Shopper News ran stories on former site development director Charlie Smith and his successful efforts at getting prized artifacts from China to display, the Heinz ketchup robot, the mementos at the McClung Historical Collection and East Tennessee History Center, and the memories of Diane Crook and her summer of family season passes.
Profiles and personalities
Those who were profiled included former UT football star Bobby Majors, 99-year-old longtime Sutherland Avenue resident W.C. Thornton, longtime McClung Historical Collection director Steve Cotham on his retirement, Pond Gap Neighborhood Association leader David Williams on his efforts to remember the old Pond Gap baseball field where early integrated games were held, custom drapery maker Roberta Houston on her retirement, the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Edward Terry Sanford of Knoxville, 93-year-old former Los Angeles deejay Al Fiori, and UT Torchbearer recipient and L&N STEM Academy graduate Aruha Khan.
Others included the late TV sports announcer Lindsey Nelson, the late accomplished music director Donald Pippin, retiring teachers Lori Montgomery from Ball Camp Elementary and Leslie Smenner at Cedar Bluff Elementary, Doug White for his "Kiss the Magnolia Tree" book, and UT journalism professor Dr. Mark Littmann on his distinguished professorship award.
School sports and activities
School sports stories focused on state championships by the Bearden High girls' basketball team, the Catholic girls' tennis team, the Webb girls' track team, the CAK boys' golf team, the West football team and the Bearden girls' soccer team, who were also named No. 1 in the nation. Other teams highlighted were the state runner-up Bearden boys' basketball team and Webb girls' cross country team, and the Bearden football team, which improved to 7-5 this fall.
Other school-related stories focused on some Bearden High students' opportunity to participate in an ABBA-themed show at the Bijou Theatre, the old-fashioned sign at Bearden Elementary and the clever messages put on it, a new scholarship in honor of Bearden Elementary principal Susan Dunlap, top UT baton twirler Laney Puhalla, new West High band director Cody Foster and new West Hills Elementary principal Kristen Jackson.
The Bearden and West High classes of 1972 were also profiled on their 50th anniversaries.
SOUTH KNOXVILLE
We turn the pages on 2022, and flip to plenty that's new
Ali James, Shopper News
In a year filled with yet more ups and downs, it is no surprise that our year in review is a real mixed bag. Plus, there was plenty of pivoting.
Sam Duff Dog Park gets finishing touches
The groundbreaking for the Sam Duff Memorial Park's dog park was held on March 21, the first of five city parks to be funded by the Boyd Foundation.
Then on Nov. 4, a joint event was held to celebrate Arbor Day and the opening of the dog park. To celebrate Knoxville's Tree City USA Status, four new trees were planted and dogs were invited to come and explore.
"For everyone close to downtown, the location was a popular suggestion, according to Aaron Browning, deputy director of city Parks and Recreation. "The first phase of the process was submitting ideas for ZIP codes and areas that need a dog park. The second phase was generating enough social media engagement, and that was how it came to be," said Browning.
"It is a pretty small dog park square footage-wise, but the only other one in the area is at Charter E. Doyle Park." There are defined spaces for big and small dogs.
Recent improvements made the park's restrooms ADHA compliant. "We opened the dog park and six weeks later the trash cans and benches came in," said Browning. "We didn't see any point in keeping the park locked until there was somewhere to sit."
Sugar Queen Creamery overwhelmed by support
Suvilla Gingerich and her daughters, Staci Meyer, Lauri and Allison Gingerich, completed the painstaking renovation of the former McLemore Florist building on East Young High Pike and opened The Sugar Queen Creamery in late June. "It has been amazing. We have had a great six months," said Staci Meyer, who also owns the Sugar Queen Doughnutry with her siblings and mom. "We have been so supported by the community and overwhelmed at how well it has gone, we could not have asked for it to have gone better."
Meyer said seasonal ice cream flavors, banana pudding and oatmeal cream pie proved so popular they kept them around. "We have expanded the type of soft pretzels we make, adding the parmesan garlic and cinnamon sugar," she added.
For the colder months they have added Affogato (a shot of espresso poured over ice cream), salted caramel hot chocolate, homemade apple crumb pie sundaes and s'mores kits that can be purchased and roasted over the firepits right outside.
Plenty of customers have asked after the Sugar Queen Doughnuts, and Meyer promised they are still hoping for a brick-and-mortar in the next 18 months.
A big year for Frog Juice Kombucha
About a month after the Shopper News spoke with Frog Greishaw about Frog Juice Kombucha and the expansions of her artisanal small batch kombucha in April, she announced plans to start a sober bar called The Boocherie on Sutherland Avenue.
"We are doing a lot for the community there; it is definitely a LGBTQ and recovery safe space for people that are worried about the triggers from whatever they are recovering from," said the South Knoxville resident. "We have had a couple of pop-up markets and Pints for Purpose to raise money for Nourish Knoxville, and Bryant's Bridge, we are going to continue doing them on Mondays and work with different organizations. We have Helen Ross McNabb, Young-Williams Animal Center and Hispanic Centro all so close."
Winter is the slow season for Frog Juice Kombucha and cold drink sales in general. "There are only four of us that do the wholesale, but we have a girl in Nashville that is crushing it and we are self-delivering it to Asheville," said Greishaw. "We are working on some things for 2023."
Richy Kreme purchases The Donut Theory and expands
Dustin Cochran, owner of Richy Kreme Do-Nuts and Myrtle's Bakehouse, purchased The Donut Theory at Marble City Market in late March. Then, on July 29 he opened the second Richy Kreme (RK2) location in Rocky Hill when he purchased Pop's Original Donuts.
"We have been fairly fortunate with our staffing; we have had some tough times, but we have had three-quarters of a good year," said Cochran, who still takes the original Donut Theory truck out for events. "It is not uncommon to do six or seven things a week, at the Farmer's Market, out in Farragut, down in Townsend."
Cochran said he has purchased a food truck to serve Knoxville's celiac-friendly gluten free fried chicken, doughnuts and mac-n-cheese and it will be pink and rebranded with the new Donut Theory and Chicken logo featuring a chicken on a sprinkled doughnut.
"We have also acquired a purple Volkswagen to sell Myrtle's Bakehouse cookies around town," said Cochran. While Myrtle's giant cookies can be seen as a luxury item, Cochran said they have a lot of fans and have been inundated with pre-orders for Christmas.
Thai Time opens on Chapman Highway
"Business has been good," said Juthinart (Jay) Pomanee, who helped his family open their new eatery in October in the former Kay's ice cream shop at 6200 Chapman Highway. "It has been quite busy thanks in large part to the article you wrote about us (majority of folks mentioned discovering us after reading it)."
Srichan (Gina) and Samarn (Sam) Chakpuang started Jai Dee Thai and Japanese in October 2012. "A lot of customers have gotten a chance to try some new Thai food they never had before and of course the ice cream," continued Pomanee.
Thai Time is now available on three major delivery platforms, and they launched a new website recently. Look out for more changes and menu additions after the new year.
Archer's BBQ and Bullseye Pizza open in Seymour
In April, Archer Bagley leased an old Citizens National Bank at 10225 Chapman Highway in Seymour, shuttered his Fountain City store and set up his food truck. It was an instant hit.
Initially his business was primarily pickup orders, with some limited picnic tables. He has since added indoor seating.
On July 1 he opened Bullseye Pizza downstairs. "We are adding wings to the menu and we are redoing the menu to keep it simple," said Bagley, who has taken the last six months to see what kinds of toppings the locals like most.
"We are in the middle of installing a big 30-inch disco ball in the bell tower so you can see the disco lights on Chapman Highway," he added.
Lad N Lass Motorcycle Co relocating Danger bar and venue
Founder Josh Moore relocated Lad N Lass Motorcycle Co into a remodeled space at 605 Sevier Ave. and was all set to host his first live show for Danger Company on July 10 when the building owner hit the brakes. Long story short, Lad N Lass Motorcycle Co will continue to operate out of the building, but Moore was forced to look for an alternative location for his neighborhood bar and live music venue.
"The gift in the garbage is that we found a new building and are pushing full steam ahead," he said. The new venue is close to the Old City and is a good, mid-sized 350-capacity music venue. Danger Company will move after Jan. 1, and after extensive renovations Moore hopes to open for business by June 2023.
Honeybee Coffee & Brewery introduces beer
On April 23, Honeybee Coffee & Brewery finally started serving their own beer. "Since then, things are progressing; the tap room business is building slowly," said head brewer Steve Dedman. "Distribution is going well and generally it is as good a year as I could have hoped for."
Honeybee Coffee & Brewery is now on tap at 32 locations around Knoxville. "The South Knoxville shop is the only other location with a beer license, but we are working on licenses for the other two locations at West Town Mall and in Sevierville," Dedman said.
"We are eyeing different expansion ideas in terms of a satellite tap room, but we are growing as fast as is judicious," he continued. Last weekend they released a Coffeehouse Maibock, and in a short span of a week distributed all of their half barrel kegs. Salute to the Hill, an IPA, remains one of the biggest sellers.
"Sometime in the new year we are releasing a Girl Scouts cookie-inspired stout and a Smash Beers series of single malt and hop beers, simple recipes that show off a particular hop or malt or both," said Dedman. "The biggest obstacle is that still after eight or nine months people will drive by and not realize there is a brewery and they can come in whenever they like."
Mina's North African Cuisine changes name
When Tarik Becha started Mina's North African Cuisine, he was proud to name his pop-up restaurant and catering business after his sister. However, after the Shopper News article, a Philadelphia-based company selling Moroccan harissa paste and olives noticed the name and sent letters demanding that he cease serving food under the trademarked name.
"I posted on Instagram and people loved the idea of Tarik's North African Cuisine," said Becha, of the name change. In addition to his scheduled pop-up dinners at Alliance Brewing and Crafty Bastard Brewery, Becha has found himself in demand catering birthday parties, rehearsal dinners, baby showers and weddings. "I am focusing more on dinners at the breweries, because I like to be with my food, see and talk to people and not just send it," he said. Recently Becha added January dates at Next Level Brewing Co. and new Ebony and Ivory Brewing.
Mama C's Gluten Free Café merges with first location on Chapman
Mama C's Gluten Free Goodies owner Lynette Casazza opened a second café location inside the Health Factory on Alcoa Highway on June 13. "We had to close, but we moved as much of the menu as we can into the bakery, and now serve breakfast and lunch here," said Casazza. "Some of our favorites are our meatball subs for lunch and the breakfast sandwich with eggs, cheese and bacon or sausage for breakfast." A rotating weekly soup special has also been added to the original gluten free bakery menu.
"We picked up a lot of followers that come over here now and it is much easier to get to," said Casazza.
POWELL
Top 10 stories: People who make Powell special
Al Lesar, Shopper News
It's the personalities involved that make a story special.
Here are the Top 10 Powell stories of this year.
Collier Preserve taking off
Knox County's newest park is just starting to realize its possibilities.
When Dr. Robert Collier gifted 12 acres behind the Powell Library to Legacy Parks Foundation a couple years ago, he had a dream. Last week, Collier Preserve took a significant step.
"On the personal side, talking with Dr. Collier (in 2019, he has since passed away), so much of the conversation was about what was important to him," said Carol Evans, executive director of Legacy Parks Foundation.
Keeping the area a preserve, with limited additions or structures, was a big part of Collier's vision. Also, developing the area into an arboretum was important. An arboretum is a botanical collection composed exclusively or very largely of trees.
Six groups came together to make that arboretum possible at the park that was officially given to the county last month. Collier Preserve joins the Knoxville Botanical Gardens, Zoo Knoxville and Dogwood Elementary School as the arboretums in the city.
Mushroom 'farm' thriving
While dealing with a health issue, Josiah Patterson was fascinated with the healing powers of the Lion's Mane mushroom.
Not only did it make him feel better, but it appears to have changed his life significantly.
Josiah, 33, and his 35-year-old wife, Erin, have been living in Powell for the past 10 years. She was an accountant by trade, while Josiah bounced from unsatisfying job to unsatisfying job.
"My last job, I was learning to drive a forklift," Josiah said. "I just wasn't happy."
Josiah happened to watch a YouTube video from Mossy Creek Mushrooms in Jefferson City. He was hooked with this mushroom farm operation. Once he exhausted all the videos, he got in contact with owners Andrew and Samantha Reed and floated the idea of him spending time at the site learning in a mentorship program.
He meticulously studied the process from incubation to harvest and was able to equip the 2,000-square-foot basement area of his home as a replication of the Mossy Creek operation.
Thus was born Extraterrestrial Fungi.
A romantic backdrop
Forgive the south Florida couple for not factoring a snowstorm into their Great Smoky Mountains National Park engagement plans on Christmas, 2020.
Stephanie Richer, though, had it covered.
A resident of Powell since 2011, Richer has evolved into the go-to unofficial proposal photographer of the Smokies. She's 83-0 (83 "yes" responses) since 2014, but the south Florida couple still stands out in her mind.
"All our children are grown, so nobody's doing the 'Santa' thing on Christmas morning," Richer said. "I had no problem getting up early and doing the proposal."
Richer said she had one question for the groom-to-be before the couple left the hotel room that morning: "Have you ever driven in snow before?" she said. As expected, the answer was "No."
They went on with the plan. Richer directed the groom-to-be to her reliable spot, Greenbrier. She figured the roads out of Gatlinburg would be open, and they were.
When the couple arrived, Richer had her tripod set up, looking like a typical nature photographer enjoying the vista."It's a decoy," she said. The plan was for the groom-to-be to hand Richer his phone and ask to take their picture. Richer sprung into action with her equipment, the groom-to-be did his proposal and the moment was captured.
"It was like a Hallmark Christmas movie," Richer recalled. "She had a white, puffy jacket. He had a red jacket. Great colors. The snow was falling. It was perfect."
Richer will be in the Fort Lauderdale area in June to shoot the couple's wedding.
Faith maintains focus
February was as bad a month as anyone should have to endure: It started with a fire and ended with a flood.
Yet Faith Sadiku never lost her focus as a medical professional or an advocate for animal rights.
Sadiku, a Powell resident, is a nurse practitioner who had an office in Powell up until Jan. 31-Feb. 1, when a member of the homeless population started a fire with toxic material that destroyed her office.
It took a while, but she was finally able to relocate to Halls in April.
She's also the founder of Faith N Friends in the Powell area, a working farm that is a horse rescue. With about 30 horses in its care, the nonprofit experienced a flood on Feb. 21 that took out fencing and some buildings totaling about $8,000. The rebuilding process is only partially done.
"I keep going because I know it's the right thing to do," Sadiku said. "I realize this is a lonely, hard path, but it's where I'm supposed to be."
New life for Pizza Hoss
Consistency is the key to the successful pizza dough flip. Spin and toss, all in the same motion – and hope like heck that it doesn't end up on the floor.
That's one of the lessons Amanda Jablonski and her partner Brandon Chancey have learned as they prepare to give Pizza Hoss in Powell a new life.
A staple in the Powell community for a decade, it suffered staffing shortages and other issues that convinced Justin Holmes it was time to shut down the 2,400-square-foot facility and concentrate on his Karns location that was nearly twice the size.
It pained Holmes because it was the "baby" that he and his wife, Sarah, started together. When Sarah died in 2018, even walking through the door was tough for Holmes.
Then came Chancey, who went to high school with Sarah at Farragut, and his partner Jablonski, to take on the challenge to bring the Powell location (7215 Clinton Highway) back to life.
"Justin and Sarah put so much into this," Jablonski said. "It was hard for him to go in the door after Sarah passed away. He put so much sweat equity into making it a success."
Creekside Sno recipe for success
Nearly three years of back-breaking work clearing cluttered land, theft of equipment, a pandemic and zoning issues came down to one test. And Tracy Heard passed with flying colors.
"My dad grew up in New Orleans," Heard said. "He knows what real sno balls are supposed to taste like. He had his favorite – chocolate with sweetened cream – and said it was just right; just like the ones he had as a kid."
That was the motivation Heard needed in the final weeks before she opened CreekSide Sno, on Emory Road just west of the railroad tracks heading into Powell.
Tracy and her husband, Dan, bought the property in November, 2019. Since then, they have been revamping the building in front – new roof, siding, flooring, deck and everything else that could be imagined. That will house the sno ball shop.
Down the road, the back part of the property will be finished. That will allow a food truck park and farmer's market to get started.
"Our community needed somewhere where people can gather," Heard said. "That's what we're trying to do with this."
More than pizza at Marco's
On an ordinary day, with ordinary deadlines, and ordinary pressures, the extraordinary smacked Nicole Clemmons right between the eyes.
