Neighborhood Bars? (Knoxville, Johnson City, Kingsport: transferring to, cinema, school)

[airwair]

Hey there. I'm a native Knoxvillian (just moved back after 3.5 years up north) and I'm going to school down here at the moment, however I'm probably going to be transferring to ETSU next year.

My question is... what's the bar scene like in JC-Kingsport-Bristol? We're not raging alcoholics or anything, but my husband and I do like to treat ourselves to a couple of cold ones at a good place with good company every now and then.

[jabogitlu]

It's a bit better in JC than Kpt or Bristol, I think, mostly due to ETSU and a slightly larger population. I'll only go into the JC establishments here.

Not sure how old you are or what scene you're into, but the majority of the bar scene is located along Walnut Street and in downtown. My favorite is Halo (on Main St), but there's also Capone's and Tipton Street Pub right in there, and Newman's (billiards) too. A new restaurant is getting ready to open called something like Downtown Pizza Factory. I'm not sure if they're gonna have a bar or not.

On Walnut Street, there's the Acoustic Coffeehouse/Next Door. Lots of live music here and it is HELLA CHILL but mostly just a beer drinking kind of place. There's lots of college kids but nobody gives anyone a second glance. Last time I was there I talked for an hour to some stoned-out-of-his-mind Vietnam War Vet about world peace, while some French Exchange students played chess beside us.

Also on Walnut there's Poor Richards, "the" college hangout, Cahootenany's, fratty douchland central, Chrome, a club...

Coming soon is a Mellow Mushroom with an excellent beer selection, but unfortunately the owners decided to put it in way far away, at the intersection of Oakland and North Roan. There's also a Poor Richard's Uptown near the Bank of Tennessee building, and Newbie's gay bar near Johnson City Honda. There's an Electric Cowboy (you can imagine what it's like) near Carmike Cinemas, and Vision "Upscale Nightclub" in the Central Shopping Center just north of downtown.

Hmm, I've probably missed a few. Fuzzy Hole (in Keystone) and Mouse's Ear (near the airport) and Second Level (in downtown) are ones that you're gonna wanna stay away from.

[blindsolitude]

I really like Kingsport Grocery Co.

[rccrain]

Baileys and Fanatics (at the Double Tree) are two sports bars on N Roan. Someone else might be able to comment on the quality of Baileys, but Fanatics is alright.

Beef O' Bradys is a "family-friendly pub" just off I26 in North JC. It's a newish franchise but owned by a nice local family.

[jabogitlu]

Also, The Office is another sports bar (billed a "steakhouse and sports lounge" in the Best Western on North Roan.

I've only been to Bailey's once but thought it was pretty good, food-wise. Of course beer is beer.

[airwair]

Thanks so much, guys! We are beer drinkers. We pretty much will hang anywhere so long as it's chill. Not big fans of the frat-boy type places...

And we love sports bars on Sundays to watch the Steelers! (Sorry, guys.)

I guess that leads me to another question... who's the big NFL team in the Tri-Cities? It seems that the Colts have a bigger following in Knoxville than the Titans do... maybe because of Peyton?

[rccrain]

With Pro teams there is a huge variety of fans around here. I like the Colts, Cowboys, and Titans, but that's basically because I like to follow former Vols. I like the Braves for MLB and for some odd reason the Maverick for NBA.

I guess most like the Colts or the Titans but there's a strong contingent of Steelers fans too. Cowboys, Redskins, Panthers, Niners, and Raiders are other popular NFL teams. In MLB its mostly Braves, Yankees, Red Sox, and Reds.

All in all this area is not as die-hard pro as most.

[JakilaTheHun]

Originally Posted by rccrain

With Pro teams there is a huge variety of fans around here. I like the Colts, Cowboys, and Titans, but that's basically because I like to follow former Vols. I like the Braves for MLB and for some odd reason the Maverick for NBA.

I guess most like the Colts or the Titans but there's a strong contingent of Steelers fans too. Cowboys, Redskins, Panthers, Niners, and Raiders are other popular NFL teams. In MLB its mostly Braves, Yankees, Red Sox, and Reds.

All in all this area is not as die-hard pro as most.

I agree with this. There's not really a pro market that close to the Tri-Cities so people seem to go all over the place with the teams they like.

College sports are obviously different, however.

[dreamofmonterey]

What's wrong with Second Level? (Other than you shouldnt park near there after having a few drinks,lol).

Friebergs has a nice bar, they are having an Oktoberfest, music, etc.

[jabogitlu]

I've not really met anybody here that is gung-ho about pro teams. It's all about THE VOLS!