Amidst rampant social media posts examining the current climate of the Athletic Department at the University of Tennessee came a true breath of fresh air from Scott West, Market Square’s most enthusiastic champion, on Friday afternoon.
The post announced news that the West empire would grow yet again in the form of 26 Market Square, the building formerly occupied by Rita’s Italian Ice. It will be the family’s sixth business in Market Square.
The post started: “WE NEED YOUR HELP IN NAMING Preservation Pub‘s newest sibling building/business! AND WE’LL GIVE YOU A $500 PARTY TO SAY THANKS IF WE USE YOUR NAME!”
The post went on to explain a bit about what Knoxvillians and travelers can expect for the future of the project.
“We have a new baby building at 26 Historic Market Square, Knoxville to decorate and open for your pleasure over the winter months. The building which formerly was the home of Rita’s Italian Ice will include 3 floors of fun, from the patio on Market Square all the way to the Crystal Cave in the Clouds overlooking the Sunsphere.
Oh yeah, when you’re helping think of a name, keep in mind that we have 30,000 lbs of quartz, amethyst glitter, glass, stalactites, stalagmites, fountains, waterfalls, medieval doors, azurite, malachite, citrine, cement and stained glass with which to decorate. 😉 What do we call her?”
We caught up with West shortly after the announcement to dig in a bit more about the new project.
BLANK: How did this building become available and have you always wondered what you’d do with it if you could obtain it?
Scott West: Interestingly, I have agreed to buy this building on one or two other occasions in my distant past, but then certain events with an ensuing “Adventure Sabbatical” occurred.
On another interesting tangent, we now we know the value we helped create on Market Square by what we had to pay for this building. We paid literally TEN times the price per square foot for this building as each building we purchased back in the tumbleweed days of 2000…
blank: Did you acquire the entire building and will it have a similar structure to the other buildings you’ve remodeled on the square?
Scott: Yes and yes, but no.
Three floors, all the way to the roof as is our MO, yes. But Bernadette and I never want to open business that is just like another business, or even just like another business that is our own.
We are not interested in opening a bar that is just a bar. It has to be a unique epiphany for its visitors. When we started with Preservation Pub and World Grotto on Market Square, our goal even back then was to create the coolest bars on the planet… And that still is our goal.
We intend to make Knoxville one of the best cities in the world for nightlife. If we have any say about it, Scruffy City will have a more awesome bar scene right here on Market Square than any bar anywhere…That doesn’t mean the most revenues vs. Vegas or Orlando, just the most bad*ss bars on the planet, that’s all. They can put their fake crystals on their walls. We’re going to build our crystal bars out of actual crystals.
blank: What are some of the initial concept ideas? It looks like you might be relocating the Crystal Cave in the Clouds from Scruffy City Hall to this new location.
Scott: You are correct, we decided to build the Crystal Cave here vs atop Scruffy City Hall, as we can now have a Crystal Cave and Crystal Forest that spans the rooftops of both Preservation Pub at 28 Market Square and the next contiguous roof at 26 Market Square.
That is not to say that Scruffy City Hall will not have its own crystal destination (It will, an 18′ tall Crystal Waterfall). But first, 26 Market Square gets its Crystal Forest and Crystal Cave.
blank: Will music and entertainment be an element of the concept?
Scott: We will not have live bands on the 1st and 2nd floor (unless private parties want one), but I do intend to go with an electro-international groovy-cosmopolitan DJ atop a Crystal Dais in the Crystal Cave.
blank: What are you most excited about in terms of the possibilities this property has and is this building in better shape in terms of a remodel than the other buildings you’ve revamped on the square?
Scott: Yes, the building is a far cry from the condemnable buildings we originally acquired on Market Square, which didn’t even have roofs (see photo).
We’re most excited to finally get to use those 15 tons of crystals, fossils and medieval decor we’ve been hoarding!
blank: Is there a timeframe for getting started and completion?
Scott: The time frame is yesterday, as in all things we attempt. We signed the deal to purchase the building at 11am today. The architectural plans were already in process last month. The constructions will start as soon as we can get a permit. Tomorrow if they’ll let us!
Find out more by periodically checking www.scruffycity.com
