The Knoxville Smokies have finished their season, but the blocks around Covenant Health Park are still filling in. In September, the leasing lead for the Delaney Building said every commercial space in the stadium district is now spoken for. Most of the tenants still to open this fall are businesses that do fine in November: indoor golf, burgers, fried chicken and doughnuts, warm soft serve. Baseball got the district built. The tenants arriving now are betting it works on a Tuesday night in December too.
The Ballpark Opens on Weekday Mornings
Many people downtown don't know the stadium itself is open on ordinary weekdays. According to Visit Knoxville, the Covenant Health Park concourse is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can walk in through the First Base and Third Base gates on days with nothing on the schedule.
That makes the concourse a weekday walking loop and a shortcut for anyone working near East Jackson Avenue. It closes on event days, and the November list shows how busy the building stays without baseball:
- November 4 and 5: Light the Night
- November 12: Knox News Sentinel event
- November 13: Pilot event
- November 20: Light Show Media Day
- November 26: Thanksgiving
- November 27: Light Show Day 1
Seven closure dates in one month with no home games is a stadium booked for its own off-season.
The First Wave Already Stays Open Without a Game
The businesses that opened this summer were the first sign. Iron Forge Brewing Company, founded by Audrei and Rani Dabul, opened its second location at 604 E. Jackson Ave. in early June. Inside of Knoxville covered the ribbon cutting. Around the same time, Jackie Griffin moved her soul-food restaurant, Jackie's Dream, to 498 E. Jackson Ave. WATE reported it open to the public by June 8.
Berry Social opened in early September at 122 Stadium Way, at the base of The Delaney just outside the stadium's west entrance. The menu is açaí bowls and smoothies, and the mural shows the Sunsphere drawn as an açaí berry. Local owners Heather and Chad Jenkins run it as a franchise of Arizona-based Berry Divine. They chose the space partly because it sits where game crowds line up. Even so, Heather Jenkins described the draw in broader terms to Inside of Knoxville:
"It's exciting, and exciting that we get to be a part of it."
In that same article, Inside of Knoxville pointed out that Iron Forge and Jackie's Dream stay open whether or not anything is happening on the field. So do D1 Training and Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance on the ground floor of Yardley Flats. A brewery, a soul-food kitchen, a training gym and an orthopedic clinic don't depend on game days. They're the kind of mix you'd expect on any downtown block.
The Fall Arrivals Are Built for Cold Weather
The next group of openings pushes further in that direction. Christi Branscom of Partners Development, who handles leasing for the residential and restaurant units in the Delaney Building, went through the incoming roster at the Berry Social ribbon cutting. Here's where each one stood heading into late October.
| Business | Location | Behind it | Timing as last reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| ParTee Golf | Base of The Delaney | Brennan Hunt and Adam Cushman | Site advertised an Oct. 19 opening |
| T-Ralph's Burgers & Fries | The Delaney | Dustin Cochran | Expected in October |
| Disco Chicken & Donuts | The Delaney | Dustin Cochran | Expected in October |
| Knox-Quila Cantina | The Delaney | Local family-owned | No date announced |
| Crispy Cones | 500 E. Jackson Ave. | Franchisee Brad Burcham | Early November |
| Two final Delaney bays | The Delaney | Letters of intent signed | Concepts not yet announced |
| Jonathan's Grille | 406 Willow Ave. | Nashville-based chain | No date announced |
ParTee Golf fits the off-season best. Knox News described plans for three golf-simulator bays, a putting green, a full bar and food service. The opening slipped from September to October, and ParTee's own website posted "Opening October 19th!" with bay booking through TrackMan. Indoor golf doesn't care about rain delays or January temperatures.
According to Knox News, the two Delaney restaurants from Dustin Cochran are second locations of concepts that started at Kern's Food Hall. Knox-Quila Cantina is planning tacos and a selection of 200 tequilas. Crispy Cones is moving from its former Karns-area spot to the Jackson Avenue side, just below Jackie's Dream and Iron Forge. Knox News reported an early November opening. Its dough cones are cooked rotisserie-style and coated in cinnamon sugar, which suits a November evening better than a summer one.
Across the street, Jonathan's Grille is planning its first Knoxville location. In July, the Nashville-based sports bar was seeking approval for a reduced two-story, 11,200-square-foot plan with patio seating.
November Fills the Stadium Without Baseball
The stadium's own calendar shows the same shift. Xul Beer Company moved its Kill the Lights Beer Festival out of its taproom and into Covenant Health Park in 2025, WATE reported. The fifth edition, scheduled for Oct. 24, was its second year at the ballpark, and Xul advertised more than 100 breweries. An event that outgrew a taproom now uses the stadium in late October.
Here's what's left on the calendar through Thanksgiving weekend:
- One Knoxville SC playoffs. Knox News reported in early October that One Knox had clinched a USL League One playoff berth. The club schedule lists the quarterfinal window as Oct. 30 through Nov. 1. Check there for the opponent, site and kickoff time.
- Light the Night, Nov. 5. The Knoxville Chamber's listing shows a free blood-cancer awareness and fundraising event from 5:30 to 8 p.m., organized by Blood Cancer United. The stadium calendar blocks out both Nov. 4 and Nov. 5.
- The holiday light show, listed for Nov. 27. The stadium calendar shows "Light Show Day 1" the day after Thanksgiving. The Smokies' event page describes the inaugural Smokies Winter Wonderland Light Show, presented by ORNL Federal Credit Union, running Friday, Dec. 5 through Monday, Jan. 5. That run was listed at 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6 to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets started at $9.99, and the show included a kids' train ride around the ballpark, a s'mores campfire and Santa visits. Hours and prices to go with the Nov. 27 calendar date haven't been posted yet.
The Next Ring Out Runs Through the Old City
The stadium district's leasable space is spoken for, so the next round of openings is landing a few blocks west. Knox News reported in July that Country Road, a honky-tonk and country-music venue, is planned for 300 W. Magnolia Ave. beside Parlor Doughnuts and expected "later this year." City Beer Board records list Justin Mangelsdorf as the owner. The same report covered three cocktail bars in the works. House of Strays, a performance-oriented bar from A.J. Tierney, is at 205 W. Jackson Ave. The Jaguar Room comes from Tyler Measley. The third is a not-yet-named bar in the former Rala space, from the operators of Brother Wolf, Lilou Brasserie and Osteria Stella.
Larger projects are moving more slowly. The Alpha, a proposed seven-story building at 250 Patton St., would put 245 residential units and ground-floor retail on the former Pumps of Tennessee site. Inside of Knoxville reported that it was scheduled to go before the Design Review Board on July 15. Next to Barley's, a six-story, 175-room SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites hotel got Design Review Board approval in December.
Citywide, Knox News counted 29 restaurants, bars and coffee shops on the way in its mid-October roundup. The new restaurants at Covenant Health Park were among the openings that defined Knoxville's dining year. Crispy Cones is due in early November, and the light show is listed for Nov. 27. With those two dates, the busiest month at the ballpark this year may be one without a single home game.
If you own a condo or loft near the stadium or in the Old City and want to know how these openings could affect your building's appeal to buyers, Nancy Keith can walk you through recent downtown sales and how she would market your home. Schedule a free consultation and bring your questions about the blocks around Jackson Avenue.
