Trailhead Beer Market looks ahead to a brighter, beery future
Joe Jennings and his crew at Trailhead Beer Market in South Knoxville know hard times.
After all, they opened in 2015 at the height of the south-of-the-river building boom, when construction on Waterfront Drive and Suttree Landing Park made for crazy traffic patterns, and erection of the River’s Edge apartment complex began on the far end of Island Home Drive, actually closing the road where Trailhead is located for a time.
In fact, in those early days, Trailhead was a far cry from its current incarnation as the SoKno watering hole that caters to Ijams hikers and southside dwellers in equal measure.
“When we opened, the road was closed, and people had to drive past ‘road closed’ signs just to get here,” Jennings told BLANK Newspaper recently. “When we saw headlights at night, we knew somebody wanted a beer. Even when the road opened back up, at first it was mostly just folks in the neighborhood coming by, and I knew some of it was done out of pity – people would come down on a Sunday just to say hi, so I wasn’t by myself!”
So when COVID-19 came calling on East Tennessee last March, Jennings knew to brace for economic impact. He’d been through it before, but no one, in his business or any other, could have foreseen that almost a year later, the pandemic would persist. By the same token, that both Trailhead locations – the original on Island Home and the one that opened on Sutherland Avenue 10 months ago – are still open is a testament to the perseverance of the staff to adapt and overcome.
“It’s definitely gotten us outside of our comfort zone and made us explore other avenues of how to do this while trying to be safe about everything,” Jennings said. “We now have firepits, we’re doing live music – and that’s something we’ve never done before. But we did it in a way to keep everyone safe. There have been some pros to come out of it, and going forward, I’m sure we’re going to be thankful we went through it.
“But right now, it’s the everyday stuff we’re always thinking about. For example, right now, we have both doors open so that the air is circulating, and there aren’t people on top of one another. It’s never a normal day. Before, you would go to work, and when you got off, you’d be done with work. Now, it’s a lot of time and thought put into everything.”
Trailhead can trace its roots back to Jennings’ days at Sunspot, owned by Randy Burleson of Aubrey’s fame. The restaurant’s vibe has long been one of urban chic – the motto “where tie-dyes and neckties unite” describes both the ambience and the cuisine – and at the time, the beer selection was a particular point of pride, Jennings said.
“Our motto was, if you see it on NASCAR or on a baseball wall, we’re not going to have it on draft,” he said with a chuckle. “On gameday, if people came in and wanted a big gulp of Bud Light, we didn’t have it. But it was kind of fun, and we got to know people. I was lucky to work for Randy, who believed in us and let us do that.”
At the time, the craft beer explosion that was to come was still being primed. In his college days, Jennings remembers it being a big deal if he saved up enough money to spring for a sixer of Newcastle. When the Sunspot gang procured Yuengling and Fat Tire on tap, it was cause for celebration. But when it came time to plan out his own establishment, he and co-owner Kathy Wright wanted to appeal to all manner of patrons.
“I look at beer as a vessel of communication amongst people,” he said. “I don’t look down on anybody who wants a High Life. At the end of the day, we’re a neighborhood spot for people to come and hang out with each other, because sometimes people need a reason to gather.”
And beer – whether it’s an Anchor Porter or a Miller Lite – is as good a reason as any. Jennings often found himself thirsty for one after walking the trails at nearby Ijams Nature Center with his dog, and the last thing he wanted to do, he said, was “go downtown with muddy boots and a muddy dog.” The building at 1317 Island Home Ave., however, seemed like an ideal place to open South Knoxville’s first beer market.
“Seeing that building and where it was, and thinking I knew where South Knoxville was going, I remember thinking, ‘I wish we could stop somewhere and have a beer,’” he said. “I saw a lot of people on those trails, and I knew a lot of them probably wanted a beer, too.”
Together, Jennings, Wright and their partners (who wish to remain anonymous) decided to take a chance. Other jobs would still be there if it didn’t work, he said, but their vision seemed like an ideal fit for the location.
“We just believed in the neighborhood, in the people of Island Home and the people who drive by it every day,” he said. “We just thought, we don’t know why it wouldn’t work.”
Together with Robert Richards – formerly of the Black Lillies and a session bassist extraordinaire of the local scene – and General Manager Corey Everett, who now runs Trailhead Marble City on Sutherland, they took that chance. Construction headaches notwithstanding, they slowly began to attract neighborhood attention, especially when the road opened and the weather improved.
“People started coming by and noticed we have a cool vibe,” Jennings said. “The place is built to be a cool hang. It’s like a living room with a bar, and the outside has a campground feel to it. You can talk to your neighbor, then go back to your own thing.”
Fortunately, plenty of street parking made it possible for the Trailhead owners to convert their parking lot into a bigger outdoor use area. In February, they plan to organize a Valentine’s Day dinner by reservation, where patrons can bring blankets and comfort food and “glamp” in Trailhead’s outdoor area, while the market provides the beverages.
“We want to give you something to do away from home,” Jennings said.
At this point, he added, all ideas are on the table, especially those that involve low overhead. The goal, he said, is to draw a steady – but not a large – crowd. Over at Trailhead Marble City, Everett is making slow progress in attracting customers, but everyone involved with the business is keenly aware of two things:
One, that visiting new establishments during a pandemic isn’t a priority for anyone who’s safety-conscious about COVID-19.
“I myself haven’t been anywhere new since the pandemic started, so I get it,” Jennings said. “We all want to be safe, and we want to go support places we know and that we know are being safe.”
And two: that Knox County Board of Health mandates mean that the onus on customer safety falls to Jennings and his contemporaries in the food and beverage industry.
“All the scrutiny has been on bars and restaurants. Some deserve it, but most do not,” he said. “We’re just trying to come up with ideas to be successful but won’t draw a ton of people, so we can be safe. And personally, I’m looking at it as if the worst days are behind us. I really do believe that things are going to be better moving forward, and we can’t be sitting on our hands. We’ve got to hit the ground running, ready to work, and hopefully it’ll work out.”
And more importantly, their attention to the little details – whether it’s pandemic safety, patron comfort or simply the atmosphere of a neighborhood bar where everybody may not know your name, but they don’t care if you’re drinking a Tailgate Guava Saison or a Budweiser – generates loyalty. Because once the pandemic eases, Jennings and company hope that those headlights shining down Island Home at all hours of the day and night indicate a desire for communion, complete with beer and good fellowship.
“If people want to get out, we’re safe; if they’re staying home, we respect that,” Jennings said. “We just want them to be on the side of the people who have done it right when they do go back out.”
