Friday Business Edition - And More!

The business developments in this city continue at an adequately rapid pace to fill a blog about that topic alone. I'm not planning to do that, but I do have quite a bit to pass on today. I'll probably follow up with more sometime next week.

Outside Hotel St. Oliver after the storm blew down the wall.

I've already mentioned the fact that the Market Street Kitchen is closed (see below if you missed it). It seems Mr. Ghodrat will try his fortunes in Clinton with a new restaurant there. His was an important contribution to Market Square and downtown. His vision appears to have been at odds with the new owners of the Hotel St. Oliver and they amicably parted ways. Ethan Orley, one of those owners, stood outside the hotel earlier this week when I approached, somewhat breathless at the sight of Cynthia Markert's art in the dumpster. The wall constructed around the entrance to the Hotel St. Oliver on which the art had been placed collapsed during the high winds in the first round of storms to pass through the city this week.

After receiving assurances about Cynthia's art, we talked about the hotel, which he plans to open very soon, quite possibly in May, which seems to me an amazing turn around given the enormity of the task. I pressed the point that we will need an open house to look around in the hotel and he seemed very receptive to the idea. During the conversation I learned about the Market Street Kitchen and the fact that a new restaurant will soon replace it which will be affiliated with the hotel and will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Coolers and Shelving inside Just Ripe.

Chairs and display cases inside Just Ripe.

But that certainly isn't all the business news about. In the Daylight Building, Reruns is planning a May 24 opening and Just Ripe is making progress. Kristen said it will open "soon." Sandwiched between the two is Union Avenue Books. The news there is that complications have arisen which delayed the opening and the current hope, according to co-owner Flossie McNabb, is for a mid-May opening.

Interior of Crush, Carhart Building, as merchandize being added for May 1 opeing.

Crush flyer.

So that's three openings slated for May: the refurbished Hotel St. Oliver, the relocated Reruns and Union Avenue Books. With luck we might add Just Ripe to that list, but it turns out none of them will have the first opening of the month. That honor will go to Crush, a new store in the Old City. Located in the beautiful Carhart Building that currently houses Remedy Coffee among other businesses, Crush will open this Sunday, May 1, offering dresses, gifts, cupcakes!?! and other sundries. I'm excited to see that building achieving greater utilization. There is a huge amount of business activity in the Old City, 100 Block and particularly Jackson Avenue, but I will have to save that for the next business update.

Interior,front of the new Lunchbox, Market Street.

Interior of the Lunchbox, Market Street, Knoxville.

Meanwhile, the Lunchbox has already moved into it's new location on Market Street. As the name implies, it is a lunch spot and, as such, I've not been able to make it in there. You'll have to visit for me until I can be downtown during a business day. Here's wishing the Sproles the best in their new location.

Handbill on the entrance announces the opening of Bella Luna, 15 Market Square.

On the square a new restaurant was announced earlier this month on Property Scope: Bella Luna is taking the old Abode spot at 15 Market Square. The plan is to serve food based on that of Northern Italy. I'm not sure how they missed the memo about the western side of the square, but they are bucking the trend of Latin food offerings. It sounds like the owners are passionate about their offerings, so it should be interesting. I'll learn a little about the different parts of Italy, I suspect.

Newly widened sidewalk nears completion on Union Avenue.

A small, but important detail on Union Avenue between the square and Gay Street is the fact that the sidewalk project is finally showing some promise of eventually reaching completion. Unfortunately, it appears cars will still be allowed to park on that stretch of the street. It will be more pleasant to sit outside Coffee and Chocolate, given the wider sidewalk, but it would have been far nicer if cars didn't obstruct the views from that sidewalk. Honestly, I wish Union Avenue from Walnut to Gay, but that's just me hallucinating.

I think he was waving at me. Inside 36 Market Squre a wall is constructed.

At the other end of the square, progress is actually being made inside 36 Market Square. I'm still waiting for a tour of the inside.

Interior of the Arnstein Building - everything is being ripped out.

Arnstein Building - and carried out the door.

Finally, but importantly, something is finally happening at that jewel on the corner of Union and Market. The Arnstein building was given, provisionally I believe, a CBID grant to improve the facade. Initially trumpeted as a new location for an Urban Outfitters store, until that fell apart, most recently the building has been discussed as a cosmetology school for Paul Mitchell, but that has since been called into question as they have purchased property outside downtown. Since all signs point to the Miller's Building being occupied by a competing cosmetology school, I'm hoping something else is in store for the building. But what is the plan? Maybe David Dewhirst would like to comment below and tell us. If not, I'll keep watching and let you know what I learn.

That's all I have time for today. Be sure to check out the Dogwood Arts Parade on Gay Street tonight and the amazing chalk drawings on Market Square Saturday morning. After you go to the opening of Crush on Sunday, take a nap. It's going to be a beautiful, fun weekend in the city.

Breaking News: Market Square Kitchen Closes



Market Square Kitchen, 1 Market Square, Knoxville, 2004 - 2011

 I don't usually do more than one blog a day - simply because I have an actual life, but this couldn't really wait. I'll do my regular blog tomorrow, but for now I wanted to get the word out that Market Square Kitchen officially closed and cleared out the last of their tables, chairs and other items today. It had occupied that spot since 2004 when it replaced the Soup Kitchen. The business may reappear, but not in downtown Knoxville.

1 Market Square, Knoxville, Empty, April 26, 2011

It appears a new tenant will be forthcoming and the restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and will be directly affiliated with the new Hotel St. Oliver. At the moment, that leaves one new business, an empty building, an empty store-front and a soon-to-be-closed store-front on the four corners of Market Square. The situation won't last, of course, but it is striking to consider since those are four of the premier addresses on the square.

1 Market Square, Knoxville, April 26, 2011

I'll have more details as part of a downtown business update on Friday. Check back then for more. Now: back to our regular programming.

Business Update, Day Two

Today's information comes from a multitude of sources. My favorite business blog is Josh Flory's Property Scope and much of what I'll mention in this post came from that site. There has been a great deal of movement so far this year in downtown businesses. Yesterday I mentioned that Reruns is moving to the Daylight Building where it will soon open (May 24) as will Union Avenue Books (April 28) and Just Ripe.

New outdoor seating at Blue Coast Burrito, Market Square, Knoxville

One business update I can give you is that Blue Coast Burrito has just added a great deck to their north side. It had to be built up slightly from the sidewalk to make it level and when the weather is good, if this weekend is any indication, it will be packed.

Interior View of 36 Market Square demolition/renovation/reconstruction, April 2011

Interior view of 36 Market Square, April 2011

Across the square at 36 Market Square, I've come to a greater appreciation of the task at hand. To someone with my limited (read: total ignorance) knowledge of such matters, it seemed that 37 Market Square would have been the more difficult project of the two in that all they had to work with was a facade. I've changed my mind.

Interior view of 36 Market Square, April 2011

Rare open view from the front of 36 Market Square, April 2011

As the pictures reveal, a stunning amount of work has to be done inside the 36 Market Square structure while not bringing the building down and not having much room to operate. I'm still waiting on the developer to contact me for a tour (he's reading this :-)), but so far he doesn't seem so inclined. I'm excited about what might happen on that corner. I just hope I live long enough to see it come to fruition.

Here are other tidbits which have recently happened or are in the process of happening:

• General Store in the Fidelity Building is temporarily closed, causing a gap in retail offerings downtown for both residents and workers. The building is owned by the by the H.T. Hackney Company, a food wholesaler. As first reported here last fall, the group has been considering the possibility of expanding General Store into a small store with a light grocery selection. They have the contacts, we have the need, now we just need a better name than "General Store." Really.
• Regions Bank is moving across Union Avenue to the old Miller's Building. This raises several questions in my little mind: Why did the bank cross the street? (Leave your answers in the comment section.) What happens to the ugly time/temperature atrocity, which they promised to fix, on the roof? Who will occupy that large (ugly) building?
• I can't see much progress on the Lunch Box move to Market Street, but it isn't very visible from the street, so who knows? Do the Sprouses read the blog and would you like to comment?
• It appears less likely there will be a beauty school in the Arnstein Building as the group promoting the idea has purchased property elsewhere. It's completely clear if the other property is in place of or in addition to their plans for the Arnstein Building which seems like one of the best spots downtown and a property waiting to take off in the right hands.
• Not to worry, beauty school fans, the same article just cited also suggests that a beauty school is still planned for the old Kress Building.
• There is no signal that Tennessee Shines will emerge from its hiatus.
• Sundown in the City is back in its scaled-down incarnation. That link will give you the entire schedule of five concerts starting next week (April 21- Randy Houser) and happening sporadically through June 16 (probably the most exciting to me: Warren Haynes with opening act the Black Cadillacs). This news is great or terrible to downtown residents and businesses depending on one's perspective - and many people have a strong one. For me it's good news. Being able to walk to Sundown concerts was a big draw for me to move downtown. I love it in all its sloppy, ugly beauty.
• Work is moving forward steadily at the corner of Jackson and Gay on residences and retail space.
• Improvements to Jackson Avenue Office/Retail space on the block just east of Central are very impressive and the space appears ready or near ready for lease.

So there you go. Now you are up to date on all the big business news I've caught lately. Now you see why I read Property Scope. It's not just about downtown, but often that's where I learn about business developments downtown. You might want to check it out. In the meantime, hang on for the ride. 2011 is off to a fast start for downtown development. Also, if you come across a tidbit you think the Urban Nation might like to know, pass it to me at KnoxvilleUrbanGuy@gmail.com.

Business Update in the Center City

One of the oldest restaurants downtown, Arby's abruptly announced its closing, December 2010

After featuring some changes happening in the Old City yesterday, it seems only right to follow up a bit with what's happening up the hill. In the previous post I mentioned the fact that Nama is moving to the spot beside the Regal Cinemas and that's probably the biggest news on Gay Street. The other news in the last few weeks was of a more negative nature: Arby's closed. I'll confess to never having eaten there and apparently I'm not alone. Still, it was the only old-fashioned fast food downtown and it seemed to have its place. I suspect if I worked downtown, rather than living here, I would appreciate a place to snag a fast and cheap meal at lunchtime. It's getting harder to do that downtown. It occupied a prime location at the corner of Union and Gay and I imagine someone will grab it in short order.

Ice Skating Rink dematerializes, Market Square, January 2011

There are a few other projects percolating in the area that seem to warrant an update. Even as the ice skating rink is being dismantled, plans are being made for new businesses.

Just Ripe seems a long way from ripening, Daylight Building, January 2010

The new year should bring openings of Blue Coast Burrito on the northwest corner of Market Square and Just Ripe in the Daylight building. Both seem to be moving very slowly. While the exterior of the building appears ready to go at 37 Market Square, the interior still has a gravel floor. It seems a long way from opening. Just Ripe seems closer, but still a long way from having shelves stocked. It seems to have slowed so much that the hoped-for December opening, which turned to a possible January opening, may become a February opening. I was hoping it would help take the sting out of the seasonal loss of the farmer's market, but it appears it may open as anticipation is building for this spring's market.


Hotel Saint Oliver, January 2011

One of the major business stories being followed downtown is the purchase, closure and renovation of the Hotel Saint Oliver in the Kern building at 1 Market Square. I assume the goal is to go from shabby-elegant to more elegant. The new proprietors indicated they want to have more of a presence for the hotel on the Square. I'm not sure how they can accomplish this without removing the Market Square Kitchen, which seems to be a popular breakfast and lunch destination. I haven't heard any mention of removing the restaurant, but I don't see how the hotel is a factor on the square, other than the rooms that overlook it, unless they do so. Stay tuned on that.



There are also vacancies awaiting a commitment from an entrepreneur. Just a few doors down from the Kern Building is the now vacant former-home of Abode. I strongly hope we get another retail store selling useful items to downtown residents and not another restaurant. I think downtown can still support additional restaurants if they are different from the current offerings, but I certainly don't think that is our greatest need, right now. Also vacant is office space immediately west of the Kern Building on Union Avenue. Further out Union Avenue is the Daylight Building, home of Just Ripe, mentioned above. It also has vacancies in a very nice spot just a couple of blocks off Market Square nestled in among Just Ripe, John Black Photography and the Happy Envelope.



2011 promises to be a busy new year for downtown as change seems to be the only constant. Change is one of the most exciting elements to urban living. Something new always arrives, something old disappears and is mourned and, most predictably, there will always be a surprise just around the next corner.

100 Block Officially Reopens with a giant Block Party



Balloons Mark the Entrance to the 100 Block of Gay Street, Knoxville, October 2010

First Friday featured celebrations all over downtown. One of the biggest was on the 100 block of Gay Street which has finally reopened after a lengthy and painful reconstruction. The wait has been worth it.

Crowds Fill the Street at the 100 Block of Gay Street, Knoxville, October 2010

The sidewalks are much broader and have a faux tile design. The street is more nicely paved, less complicated with the closure of the intersection with State Street and with fewer lanes than its previous incarnation. One of the most picturesque of any blocks downtown, the businesses and residents have suffered while necessary underground repairs were made and surface improvements were put into place. While the block has been essentially finished for several weeks and a ribbon cutting ceremony was held in July, this was the official announcement that they are open for business.

City People Booth at 100 Block of Gay Street Grand Opening, Knoxville, October 2010

For the celebration, food, music and other entertainment was offered alongside the art galleries which have become synonymous with this part of downtown. The City People group also offered tickets for sale to their upcoming Tour of Downtown Homes set for October 10, which is a fun event know to convert curious onlookers to downtown residents.

We Have a Tradition provided a shot of Rock and Roll to the festivities

In that connection, this week saw the opening of Nouveau Classics, the newest business on the block. There are more improvements to come as the city plants large trees to line the street and more businesses are slated to be added. The next event is already set: a Haloween celebration for October 29.

I think we should all give a tip of the hat to the businesses that endured this difficult period. Check out Nama, Aaron at Unarmed Merchants or one of the others. The block is definitely worth the walk from other parts of downtown and will, in my opinion, become a more sought-after location for downtown living.