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Old 09-25-2008, 12:38 AM
BRH BRH started this thread
 
Location: East TN.
99 posts, read 345,731 times
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Since there is a thread about stores we'd like to see, I thought I would ask about restaurants. Most of the ones I'm listing fall into the fast/casual category.

First off, I REALLY want a Boston Market in Knoxville. They are my favorite fast/casual chain and I don't know why we have never had one here.

Others I'd like to see include; Chipotle, Whataburger, White Castle, Sweet Tomatoes, Skyline Chili, Nathan's, Del Taco, On The Border, Cheeseburger in Paradise, and Taco Mayo.

One's that used to be here that I would love to see return include; Blue Coast Burrito, Schlotzky's, Spaghetti Warehouse, Joe's Crab Shack, and Bob Evans.

That's just a few I can think of off the top of my head. Anybody else have any restaurant chains they would like to see come to the region?
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Old 09-25-2008, 01:20 AM
 
Location: Seattle
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I love Cheeseburger in Paradise. It's worth the trip to Asheville just to eat there.

Just curious, why a White Castle? Never eaten at one, but doesn't Krystal suffice?

I can't *believe* that Schlotzky's closed. That was my fave fast food when I lived in Knoxville. Surely there's enough people to support one. I wonder if it was just in a bad location.
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Old 09-25-2008, 02:46 AM
 
Location: The Conterminous United States
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More locally-owned restaurants.
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Old 09-25-2008, 04:54 AM
 
Location: Tennessee
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Our favorite restaurant in Lexington was Johnny Carinos, but it looks like the one in Knoxville closed. I wish Knoxville had a Johnny Carinos again.
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Old 09-25-2008, 05:16 AM
 
16,174 posts, read 32,349,168 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BRH View Post
First off, I REALLY want a Boston Market in Knoxville. They are my favorite fast/casual chain and I don't know why we have never had one here.
Actually, we used to have a Boston Market near the Home Depot in the Cedar Bluff area that closed back around 1997 or so. That was a sad day for me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jabogitlu View Post
I can't *believe* that Schlotzky's closed. That was my fave fast food when I lived in Knoxville. Surely there's enough people to support one. I wonder if it was just in a bad location.
All Schlotzky's regional locations closed. With slim margins in the restaurant industry you must have very sharp management. I liked them a lot too. They were the pioneers of fresh food in the fast food market.
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Old 09-25-2008, 08:00 AM
 
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That's right, SMG, the entire Schlotzky's company went bankrupt and had to close most of its locations. They're slowly rebuilding.

Same scenario for Boston Market. They expanded too quickly and ended up having to close a bunch of locations.

I also agree with hik, I'd MUCH rather support locally-owned, independent restaurants like Tomato Head, Harby's, Litton's, Fountain City Creamery, Time-Out Deli, and most of the places on Market Square (which is seeing a wonderful renaissance).

However, there are some chain restaurants that I enjoy from time to time when I go to Atlanta or other places.
  • La Madeleine: wonderful country French food.
  • Pappadeaux: great Cajun food
  • Cheesecake Factory: massive amounts of food, a menu the size of the Sunday Times, and of course a whole bunch of cheesecake!
  • Braum's Ice Cream: I make a bee line to Braum's every time I visit my sister in Oklahoma. Not only do they have awesome hand-dipped ice cream, but they also have great burgers.
  • J&S Cafeteria: There used to be one in Pigeon Forge. It's a WNC chain. My parents have been known to drive the 100 miles from Knoxville to Asheville just to eat there. Everything is made from scratch.
  • Leatherby's: a Utah chain, a Salt Lake City institution. It's a huge ice cream parlor with great sandwiches and fries with a Belgian-style fry sauce.
  • Marie Callendar's: comfort food and delicious pies
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Old 09-25-2008, 08:54 AM
BRH BRH started this thread
 
Location: East TN.
99 posts, read 345,731 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JMT View Post
[*]Braum's Ice Cream: I make a bee line to Braum's every time I visit my sister in Oklahoma. Not only do they have awesome hand-dipped ice cream, but they also have great burgers.[/list]
Yes, I'll definitely agree with you on this one. I have relatives in Texas, and I often visit Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle when I travel out west, and I always stop at Braums. As you say, it's kind of an old school type business that specializes in hand dipped ice cream, but also has a restaurant and a small deli and store in many locations as well.

Another ice cream chain that is popular in the Northeast that I wished we had here is Carvel. Their "Carvalanche" (same as DQ's Blizzard) is yummy. I know you can buy the Carvel cakes in local Kroger's, but I wish they would open up one of their actual locations here.

As far as Schlotzky's goes, I knew the company had financial troubles, but I was surprised to see the local franchise leave. They always seemed to be packed and everyone I knew loved them. (Btw, there is still a Schlotzky's left in Cleveland, TN off of Exit 25 on I-75 if anyone is ever down in the Chattanooga direction. It's the only one I know of that is left in the Knoxville-Chattanooga area).

Oh, one other one I thought of to add to my list; Taco Cabana. They have these out west in Texas and they are great fast/casual tex mex restaurants.
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Old 09-25-2008, 09:10 AM
 
Location: Knoxville
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I agree with Boston Market. I would love to see it here. At first in Florida it didn't go well and then suddenly made a great come back. Also would like Sweet Tomatoes.
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Old 09-25-2008, 09:16 AM
BRH BRH started this thread
 
Location: East TN.
99 posts, read 345,731 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hiknapster View Post
More locally-owned restaurants.
I agree with you on the local restaurants too hiknapster. I didn't mean to exclude local restaurants. I just figured it would be easier for people to recognize the bigger chains.

But I do love local, quirky, home grown restaurants too. As I mentioned earlier, my son and I often visit New York City, and that is one thing we love to do while we are there. Most of the restaurants in Manhattan itself are either locally owned or local only chains. And we are always amazed at some of the odd and fun things that we can find. There's S'mac (a restaurant specializing in nothing but gourmet Mac n Cheese), Peanut Butter Company (featuring all kinds of peanut butter sandwiches and creations), Pommes Frites (a hand cut Belgium waffle fry restaurant with all kinds of dipping sauces), Jamaican Flavors (with wonderful Jamaican Jerk patties), Serendipity 3 (with the most outlandish and delicious desserts you could ever imagine), H&H Bagels (best bagels anywhere), Jackson Hole (world's biggest hamburgers), etc. etc. I could go on and on.

That's one thing I love about traveling to NYC. I would love to have more of these unique, specialty type of restaurants in Knoxville and East Tennessee as well. I know that being a mid-sized city makes it tougher for specialty places to make it, but it would be great to see more eclectic offerings like this pop up here. (especially somewhere like Market Square and Gay St.)
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Old 09-25-2008, 09:49 AM
 
Location: The Conterminous United States
22,584 posts, read 54,062,618 times
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I come from a small town, surrounded by small towns. We did have a "Knoxville" that wasn't too far from us, but we managed to escape the chains because they weren't very interested in us.

Consequently, we had great local restaurants, pizza joints, etc. On Fridays, several local convenience stores cooked up the best fish and chips I have ever had. Some came with onion rings and clam fritters.

I guess I just don't have a lot of experience with chains. In the town that I graduated from high school the McDonald's only opened a few years ago, and the town really fought it.
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