Multiple bars and restaurants in downtown Knoxville are prepping for the strong possibility of a weekend snowstorm the same way they did in January 2024 − by staying open.
It was two years ago to the day Knox News reported downtown business owners were still clearing icy sidewalks a full week after Knoxville’s worst winter storm in years blanketed Gay Street, Market Square and the Old City.
City code leaves clearing sidewalks up to adjacent property owners, though the city in 2024 did clear Market Square, which needs to be maintained for emergency vehicles.
City crews help with sidewalks where they can, but the public service department is mostly dedicated to clearing priority streets (the bigger the road, the sooner it gets plowed).
Marble City Market is planning to keep the doors open through the winter weather, Yassin Terou told Knox News, by salting and shoveling in front of the business at 333 W. Depot Ave. Terou has temporarily relocated the downtown Yassin’s Falafel House restaurant to the food hall while his existing space is renovated for a new hotel moving to Walnut Street.
Restaurant owner Martha Boggs, similarly, kept the Bistro at the Bijou open on Gay Street in 2024 and plans to do it again − even if Knoxville feels like it’s freezing to a halt. The tough part is knowing how to prepare when the forecast is changing daily for East Tennessee.
“I keep seeing stuff on TikTok (about the snow),” she told Knox News. “Did y’all not have anything better to lie about today than the weather?”
‘Community minded’ downtown Knoxville businesses stay open in snow
Boggs has been with the restaurant for 32 years and has persevered through the various challenges of running a Gay Street business − whether that’s winter weather or, more recently, the closing of the Gay Street Bridge.
“I don’t know what has hurt us more, the bridge being closed or Ozempic,” she told Knox News in February.
Rather than make a decision now about whether to close − and lose business − Boggs likes to “wait to see until the last minute” as winter weather begins rolling in. The decision to remain open in 2024 paid off for Boggs, who said she welcomed business from snowed-in downtown residents and workers looking to warm up with a cup of soup or a glass of whiskey − as well as folks who just needed an outlet to charge their phone.
“I’m more community minded,” she said. “And I didn’t want to come back to burst pipes and spoiled food.”
With a skeleton crew, Boggs said, the 2024 storm made for “two of the hardest days ever.”
Boggs is aware of the rules about business owners clearing sidewalks in front of their buildings but said some of her peers might not know what’s required. She’ll be out in her coat shoveling to make sure people can reach the Bistro, and her bag is packed for work on Saturday as she plans to couch surf with friends downtown to keep the restaurant running.
Market Square bar owner has temporary downtown housing for workers
Three blocks north and one block west of the Bijou, businesses on Market Square are also planning now for how to keep the doors open. Scott West plans to keep at least part of his collection of family-owned bars open. He’s seen this type of weather before, and he’s not letting it rattle him or his plans for business.
“It’s normal for Knoxville to freak out,” he told Knox News, “but it’s not normal for us to freak out.”
The pub proprietor said he has lined up places for his employees to stay downtown so they can get to work and get paid. West himself will be walking an hour to make it to Market Square and open the doors.
The priority, West said, is keeping Preservation Pub and Tommy Trent’s open. If West is able, Scruffy City Hall and his other businesses could also keep running through the snow.
“The pub never closes,” West said. “(Preservation Pub) didn’t close when I was in prison, and it won’t close now.”
West, Boggs and Terou − whose nonprofit Seeds and Bridges is working to get meals to warming shelters − share a similar sentiment: Downtown business owners put the safety of their employees first, but they want to be available to provide Knoxvillians who might be stuck downtown with the items and services they need.
“We’ve been through this before,” Terou said. “I’m the fighter of the business. We will be there.”
Knox News reporter Joanna Hayes covers restaurants and retail for the business growth and development team. Email: joanna.hayes@knoxnews.com; Instagram: @knoxeat65. Sign up for Joanna’s Eat65 email newsletter to get the latest drink and dining news, as well as restaurant recommendations, at knoxnews.com/newsletters.
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