Tupelo Honey Café is opening a restaurant on the first floor of The Oliver Hotel, a historic boutique property in Knoxville, Tenn. The building, originally the Peter Kern Bakery, was constructed in 1876, and was recently renovated. Tupelo Honey Owner Steve Frabitore says that the new location should be open by this summer.
The Knoxville restaurant will offer the same menu as its sister Asheville locations, and will be managed by Frabitore and his executive team. Tupelo’s executive chef, Brian Sonoskus, will oversee food quality and menu development. Alan Wolf, previously the operating and founding partner of Frankie Bones Asheville, will serve as director of store operations. Asheville architect Patti Glazer is in charge of the work to update the space.
The Oliver Hotel is located in the Market Square district of Knoxville, a city center with a farmers market. Market Square also hosts an International Biscuit Festival. Something tells us that Tupelo will participate in that event.
Knoxville’s Tupelo will seat 150 and boast a bar, The Sweet Spot, which will feature specialty moonshine cocktails and regional micro-brews and wine.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.