How Knoxville came to eat the way it does: the people, migrations and accidents that shaped the plate.
Key eras
1883, White Lily flour founded in Knoxville
J. Allen Smith founded White Lily flour in Knoxville in 1883, naming the soft red winter wheat flour for his wife Lillie. The 9-percent-protein flour became the South's biscuit standard for over a century, producing the flakiest biscuit known to American baking.
1946, Litton's anchors Fountain City
Eldridge Litton opened Litton's on Essary Drive in 1946 as a family-run grocery and service station; the kitchen added burgers in 1981 and the counter still anchors Fountain City. The store was a meeting point for Knoxville's growing northern suburbs.
1972, Buddy's Bar-B-Q opens on Kingston Pike
Buddy and LaMuriel Smothers opened Buddy's Bar-B-Q at 5806 Kingston Pike in 1972, building East Tennessee whole-hog barbecue into a region-wide chain. The Kingston Pike flagship still operates and the brand now runs 19 East Tennessee locations.
1982, the World's Fair downtown revival
The 1982 World's Fair drew 11 million visitors and anchored downtown Knoxville's modern food story. Petro's Chili and Chips originated at the fair, and the World's Fair Park has hosted Brewers' Jam and Big Ears Festival ever since.
2016, Joseph Lenn opens J.C. Holdway
Chef Joseph Lenn left Blackberry Farm in Walland to open J.C. Holdway on Union Avenue in 2016, anchoring downtown Knoxville's modern chef-driven Appalachian dining tier. The room has held its position as the city's top-tier reservation ever since.
Immigrant influences
- Syrian (via Yassin Terou): Yassin Terou opened Yassin's Falafel House in 2014 after arriving from Syria. The shop was named Reader's Digest 'Nicest Place in America' in 2018.
- Greek (via St George Greek Orthodox): St George Greek Orthodox Church has run the Knoxville Greek Festival since 1977, drawing 20,000 visitors every September for gyros, baklava and dance.
- Italian (via the Rossini Festival): Knoxville Opera launched the Rossini Festival in 2002 as a free Italian-American street fair on Gay Street, anchoring spring's downtown food calendar.
- German (via Schulz Brau): Schulz Brau Brewing on Bernard Avenue runs the city's largest German-style beer garden, pouring authentic German lagers and weisse in Happy Holler.
- Persian (via Mahasti Vafaie): Mahasti Vafaie opened The Tomato Head on Market Square in 1990, building Persian-American pizza into Knoxville's longest-running independent downtown restaurant.
Signature innovations
- White Lily flour, founded Knoxville 1883
- Petro's Chili and Chips, born at the 1982 World's Fair
- East Tennessee whole-hog barbecue codified by Buddy's since 1972
- Joseph Lenn's modern Appalachian dining at J.C. Holdway