Two Business Monday: 31 Bistro, Julie Apple Handbags

31 Bistro (formerly La Costa), Market Square, Knoxville

I'm no food critic and I know nothing about women's handbags - or men's for that matter - but I found myself in each of these businesses recently, so I thought I'd send out a few thoughts. Take them for what they are - one guy's opinion.


Omelet at 31 Bistro, Market Square, Knoxville

Most of you probably know by now that 31 Bistro has taken place of long-time Market Square restaurant La Costa. I've eaten at La Costa many times over the years and I've almost always enjoyed the meals. It was always just a little different and a little surprising. A year ago it was purchased by a former Knox County teacher Sabrina Brittain.

Cheese Grits, Eggs and (Benton's!) Bacon

In the last year I've eaten there less. It seems I end up there for brunch most often. Several months ago we arrived after opening time, but the restaurant seemed to be closed. When we opened the door and looked inside none of the employees gathered acknowledged our presence until we said something. They didn't know anything about the coupon we'd gotten via e-mail that morning and said they'd ask about it, but never mentioned it again. Service was poor and the coffee, which had once been good, was awful.

Biscuits and Gravy, 31 Bistro, Knoxville

We gave it a try once again last week and the service was better. Our waitress was very patient and worked with our special requests. The food was good. I don't think anyone at the table would have had a major complaint. Still, it just didn't seem quite as different from other brunches as it had seemed before. My dominant impression of a brunch will likely always be the quality of the coffee. I found it odd that as the restaurant shifts emphasis to local, farm-to-table food they would use industrial coffee. There are a number of great local roasters, including one I'll soon feature on this blog. Ironically there is another fine roaster who used to provide coffee for La Costa before the change in ownership.

I'll try them again and I only wish them the very best, but my most recent impressions haven't been positive. Weigh in below if you've had a better experience or have eaten there for dinner recently.


Julianne Applegate schools Urban Woman on Handbags

The other business is quite different. Julie Apple Handbags on the 100 block of Gay Street is the brainchild of Julianne Applegate who left the high-flying life of the fashion industry to pursue her dream of making sustainable, fair-labor handbags of her own design. I first heard her present at Pecha-Kucha a year or so ago and Urban Woman has been scoping out the place ever since. 

Julianne Applegate gives Urban Woman some options



Bags at Julie Apple, 100 Block of Gay Street, Knoxville

Friday night the stars finally aligned that we were on the 100 block at the same time the store was open. Ms. Applegate was on hand to personally welcome customers into the colorful, cozy and inviting shop. She took time to explain the versatility of the bags, many of which may be worn different ways. She also emphasized that the purses are made from recycled materials assembled with fair-labor and are, themselves, recyclable when they are to be retired.


Urban Woman continually returns to her favorite bag - It's getting serious!

 As with all products developed and manufactured with such standards in mind, they are not cheap. Want a ten dollar handbag? Go to Target. A thirty dollar handbag? Steinmart. A great quality bag with a unique design and sustainable ideals infused in its very fabric? Some were available for just over fifty dollars. The newer designs, which naturally caught Urban Woman's eye? Extremely close to one hundred after taxes.

Celebrity Clerk Steven Dupree completes the deal

Is it worth it? I suppose part of the answer is that it depends on whether that price is justifiable in your financial world and how much you are willing to pay to support products and producers which represent high ideals. Would I pay that much for a purse? No. Of course, I don't carry a purse and I wasn't making the decision. So, at the end of the night I pulled out the debit card because you know what? The bag may be worth a hundred dollars, but a happy Urban Woman is priceless, my friends.

Watch for her about town as she sports the bag pictured below and be sure to check out Julie Apple handbags. It really is a cool business.

The bag in question

Related articles

• La Costa to reopen as 31 Bistro (knoxnews.com)

Pecha-Kucha Practically Pitch Perfect

Hosts for Knoxville's First PechaKucha

Crowd at PechaKucha, West Jackson Workshops, Knoxville, February 2011

I had read the descriptions of PechaKucha and I understood that people would make presentations regarding their creative endeavors and that they would have a limit of twenty seconds for each of twenty slides. Still, I didn't know exactly what to expect. I had never been inside the West Jackson Workshop. I wondered what the demographic would be, given that I had not run into any publicity about the event. How many people would attend presentations on a Friday night?

Sarah Bush discussed yard-gardens

Apparently I wasn't the only one who had little idea of what to expect. The organizers set up chairs for about fifty to seventy-five people. Standing room could comfortably accommodate a comparable number of people. My guess is twice that many - about three hundred - showed up. Madeline Rogero, who seems to be popping up everywhere I go, was there and fortunately, the Fire Marshall was not. The crowed, which trended young, continued to grow well after the presentations started. Despite the larger than expected crowds, or maybe partially because of the buzz that comes with a more than capacity group, the event was  a great success.

Ryann Aoukar presents amazing designs

The amazing range of creative projects discussed displayed beautifully the incredible creative community thriving in Knoxville. Sarah Bush discussed yard-gardens and showed photographs of a recent project in which the entire yard of a home was converted into a vegetable garden, along with tall flowers to border the street and herbs to attract the right kind of insects to fight the wrong kind of insects, if I understood it correctly.

Joshua and Jessica Wright read Haiku about CoolCorc

Understanding correctly was a bit of an issue all night. For some, hearing what was said had to be difficult. There was no amplification available for the presenters. I was close enough (old people tend to be more punctual than the younger set if this night was any indication), but the slides and discussion moved so quickly and often centered on topics about which I have little or no knowledge, which made catching everything almost impossible.

Julianne Applegate discusses design of her handbags at JulieApple

Ryann Aoukar, a French-Canadian who somehow landed in Knoxville displayed his amazing interior and product designs. Matt Hall also talked about his designs, which included, notably, an aluminum guitar. Haley Chapman talked about her journey into extreme cake making for her company, HaleyCakes. She also has an architecture background, which she brings to her cake creations. Joshua and Jessica Wright discussed their company CoolCorc which produces a wide range of products from cork including everything from cup sleeves to purses. Their entire presentation was delivered in Haiku.

Katherine Campbell discusses the activities at Birdhouse

Julianne Applegate talked about how she develops ideas for designs for her purses which she sells at JulieApple on the 100 block of Gay Street. Katherine Campbell explained the many functions of the Birdhouse located in the 4th and Gill neighborhood. There you find activism, philanthropy, arts, crafts and everything in between.


Daniel Schuh presents his amazing array of projects.

One of the presenters who really captured my attention by the incredible span of the projects he pursues, was Daniel Schuh. His company Knoxville Preservation and Development primarily restores old homes and buildings to their previous beauty and function, carefully preserving their unique histories. Along the way, however, he has also become landlord to businesses which inhabit some of his buildings, such as the one on North Central that includes Vegarama and the Relix Theater. Rather than renting the theater to someone, he manages it himself. He is also pursuing development of a rail-line for the southern Appalachian region, complete with networking with national government, railroad and municipal entities. I could not comprehend how one person could do a quarter of what he does. I talked to him during the break and he unraveled an extensive tale of intrigue involving Nixon, national railroads and Amtrack. If I disclosed the details I would have to kill you.

Preston Farabow, PechaKucha, West Jackson Workshop, Knoxville, February 2011

Preston Farabow discussed his company, Aespyre, and the designs and philosophy behind it, which included finding the history of an object and bringing it forward into it's future. It was Chris McAdoo of 2313 Creative who stole the night. Presenting more like a slam poet than a design artist, backed by pictures of Johnny Cash, John Prine and Tom Waits, he flew through an onslaught of verbiage about design, family and art. I caught about 25 percent of what he said, but he said it so impressively he brought the house down.

Chris McAdoo captivates the audience with his slam design presentation

This is intended to be the first of many such events, including at least three more between now and the end of 2011. Watch this website for more information. I'll try to mention it in advance on this blog. It's great fun and you don't want to miss it.