by Emily Stooks | Aug 24, 2023 | All Articles, Emilie Stooksbury, Lifestyle
It’s fun to grab a drink after work with your pals. It’s more fun to grab a drink after work with your pals and your pups! Not only are dogs the best, but they also act as incredible buffers if you’re in a new place. Want to meet some strangers? Life hack: Get a dog. Thankfully, Knoxville is a super dog-friendly town and most bars and restaurants are more than happy to host your pupper on their patio. The problem arises when it’s rainy or, you know, frigid. We’re here to help! Next time you want to bring your pup with you on a fun night out, check out some of these indoor dog-friendly businesses!
Geezers Brewery
The first dog-friendly business on our list is Geezers Brewery. Geezers taproom may be new, but these guys have been around Knoxville long enough to know we take our furry friends’ comfort very seriously. That’s why they threw open their new taproom’s doors to both you and your pup!
Southside Garage [Image by: @southsidegarageknox]
Southside Garage
This food truck park in South Knoxville has a big beautiful backyard we adore – but the reason they’re able to be open year round is their convenient indoor bar. The good news for you? Your dog is welcome in both spaces!
Alliance Brewing Co.
Alliance Brewing Co.
When you’re done hanging out at Ijams or Suttrees Landing in South Knoxville, head over to Alliance. They’re all about that active beer culture, and active beer culture is all about that dog-lovin’ life. Whether you’re hanging out on Alliance’s patio or cozying up inside, feel free to bring your four-legged friend!
Mast General Store
If you’re strolling downtown, a great place to pop in with your pup is Mast General Store! Not only are they pet friendly, but they also sell a whole bunch of toys, treats, and goodies for your dog. Treat yoself and then treat yo pup by heading over to the downtown dog park located down a couple blocks and around the corner.
by Emily Stooks | Aug 7, 2023 | All Articles, Emilie Stooksbury
I think I can speak for the collective whole of humanity when I say – we love unlikely best friends. Suuuure, this is usually a duck and a German Shepherd, an elephant and a mouse, or a chihuahua and a chicken. But as of today, new unlikely BFFs have entered the scene 😂🙌
We at New2Knox are here to help you discover (or rediscover!) Knoxville. We’re here to help you find your new favorite Happy Hour and your new best friend. We’re here to share the good news about a rad new business or, you know, where to find The Office trivia. We are THRIIIILLED to do this 🤩 We are not, however, hard-hitting journalists. We’re not here to share numbers or hours of research or general nitty gritty.
We’re here to share Scruffy City sunshine. In fact, in this unlikely best friends pairing, we’d confidently say New2Knox is the duck. A delighted duck on her way to Happy Hour while quacking about it to all her friends. (Hey, friend! 😘)
But we have leaned on Knox News as a helpful resource for getting to know this city for YEARS now. They do share the numbers. They do share the research. They do share the nitty-gritty. They are feet-on-the-ground local journalists. You can email them. You can DM them. You can high five them on the street.
This is Ryan! He’s a journalist for Knox News who you should totally high five when you see him on the street!
We figured it was about time to combine our love for Knoxville and officially partner up. Come to us for date night ideas and then we’ll point you to Knox News for why dating can be so gosh darn hard in Knoxville. Come to us to feel out the vibes on the local quarries and then we’ll point you to Knox News to learn what’s on the bottom of the quarries 👀 Come to us for advice on your birthday dinner and then we’ll point you to Knox News to find out who’s serving the most expensive dish in town.
You get it. We’re stoked to be partnering with our local journalists here in Knoxville and taking this unlikely best-friendship to the next level. We have some exciting things in the works with them that we’ll be sharing over the course of this month STARTING WITHHHH a curated selection of Knox News articles on our home page we ✨specifically✨ think you cuties will enjoy! Click here & scroll down to see what’s been curated for you at the moment; then come back every couple weeks to see what new articles have hit the scene. We also recently recorded a podcast with them answering some of y’aaaaall’s questions about Downtown Knoxville. (You can listen to that here!)
We’re also thriiiiilled to have their research when it comes to neighborhoods in Knoxville. The (🎉freeee🎉) Move2Knox Rental Guide will soon include links to not just top-rated apartments and moving companies – but all the Knox News nitty-gritty facts about each neighborhood in Knoxville as well.
Move2Knox, heyyy!
We’ll stop gushing now… but are you surprised? You know how much we love new friends 😉 Keep an eye out for more New2Knox Knox News News coming soon!🙌 (PS. Please say that last sentence out loud for the full impact 😂)
READ ABOUT THIS PARTNERSHIP FROM THEIR POINT OF VIEW RIGHT HERE 👀
by Emily Stooks | Jun 28, 2023 | All Articles, Downtown, Food & Drink, Nena Potter
An Interview with Owner Elle Nelson
WRITTEN BY: Nena Potter
Elle Nelson, owner of Monkey’s Bar in Downtown Knoxville, makes the joke that she is attracted to chaos. And I believe it. But as a famous quote goes, “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”
A couple of months ago, I sat down with Elle and her one year-old golden retriever, Monkey (whom the bar is lovingly named after 😍), inside her bar to chat for a bit about her new venture in Knoxville’s Old City. After a quick introduction, I ordered an espresso martini sensing I was going to need a tad bit more energy for the interview. Before I even started asking any questions, she exuberantly dove right in to tell me her story on how Monkey’s Bar came to be.
Elle started bartending at Central Depot (the bar that was previously in the same location) in 2021 and told the owner she was looking for a possible partnership or ownership in that bar. When that didn’t work out, Elle moved on to other things – BUT when 103 W. Depot became available in October of 2022, she seized the opportunity, took herself over to the Secretary of State building in Nashville to form an LLC in person (because she didn’t want to wait), and opened Monkey’s Bar a mere two months later on December 23rd.
Hearing this gave me whiplash. (Insert the anxious sweaty emoji here because wow. 😅) On top of this extremely quick turnaround, she was also still working a fulltime job. Chaos, y’all! She does admit it was the most stressful time in her life but was committed to opening the bar and doing whatever it would take to get it done. And she did, admittedly with a lot of help from those around her.
We joked that it may take a village to raise a child but the same can be said about opening a bar… and most other things in life. Elle pointed out pictures hanging up at the bar of family and friends. She first pointed out a picture of her mom with Monkey. Then she notes the picture of one of the bar managers, Mike, and his wife, Taylor, telling me they spent a lot of hours painting and doing so many other things to help get everything in place to open. Another friend helped get the birchwood and made the liquor shelves behind the bar. Her dad helped make the molding designs on the wall. Others helped by bringing in art to decorate and showcase… the list goes on. “It wouldn’t have opened without those people,” Elle says while looking at the photos. You can sense just how grateful she is to have such a supportive community around her and how important community is for Monkey’s Bar, period.
In the few months Monkey’s Bar has been open, Elle has made it a place where people not only come for the standard bar happenings like happy hour and trivia but also events like ABBA-themed karaoke parties, disco nights and much more. “I think I pretty much opened a business because I like to throw parties,” she says while laughing and honestly, I’m here for it. At one point, Elle and I got sidetracked during the interview, brainstorming party ideas for Christmas in July and Valentine’s Day. I joked about having a tattoo party and she was immediately on board, wondering out loud how many people would get a Monkey paw tattoo (um, everyone?) and went on to say if they did, they would drink for free at Monkey’s Bar. Needless to say, I love all of this.
Once we got back on track, the final question I had for Elle was just asking if she had any tips for people who are new to Knoxville or anyone trying to get involved or wanting to know more about different places to live in the area. Her advice? “Ask your bartenders. They’re some of the best connection points that you’ll have in the city.” I couldn’t agree more with this. They are the eyes and ears around town and if they don’t know something, odds are they know someone who does. And when in doubt Elle says, “Come to Monkey’s bar and ask me because I’m from Knoxville!”
So go to Monkey’s Bar to get to know all the good stuff from Elle. Go to Monkey’s Bar for Monkey snuggles and kisses. Go to Monkey’s Bar for cocktails & mocktails named after fabulous pop-culture references. Go to Monkey’s Bar for New Girl Trivia or a New2Knox Hop. I’ll personally be going to Monkey’s Bar to catch up with my new BFFs Ellie & Monkey. Just go to Monkey’s Bar, full stop. Because in the midst of what might sometimes be chaos, I guarantee you will find your own opportunities for community (and cocktails 😉).
Cheers!
Nena
