Just Love Coffee Cafe Owner Brings New Ideas to Walmart and Springbrook Farm Locations
A Long Island transplant who has called East Tennessee home for two decades has taken over Just Love Coffee Cafe’s two Alcoa locations — and she’s wasting no time putting her stamp on both. Lydia Donahue, who spent her career as a director of operations in the restaurant industry, acquired the Franck Street cafe and […]
Think Your Small Business Can Ignore AI?
By Marcedes Schindler The Hotel Insider There is a lot of hesitation among small business owners when it comes to artificial intelligence. Some think it is too technical. Some think it is a passing trend. Others are simply too busy running payroll, serving customers, managing employees and keeping the lights on to stop and learn […]
Townsend Adds Oversight to Rental Market
Townsend formalized oversight of its short-term rental market through a permitting and inspection system during its regular Board of Commissioners meeting May 19. City staff said the changes are aimed at improving safety standards and giving the city better visibility into the industry. The new ordinance requires short-term rental operators to maintain a city-issued permit […]
Greenback Eyes Food Truck Rules Ahead of Growth Expectations
The Town of Greenback is moving toward its first formal food truck regulations, a step town officials say is less about cracking down on vendors than getting ahead of anticipated growth before a problem arises. The topic is expected to come before the town board for discussion as soon as its next meeting, according to […]
Alcoa Overhauls Sign Ordinances, Offering Path to Digital Billboards with Fewer Locations
Changes to Alcoa’s sign ordinances approved in May will mean an easier process that what has been in place for developers to find pertinent information — and potentially fewer billboards in town. The new ordinances will allow advertising companies to swap static billboards for their digital cousins as long as they meet a 16-point list […]
National Car Wash Chain MOJO Relocates Headquarters to Alcoa
MOJO Car Wash, one of the nation’s largest express car wash platforms, has relocated its corporate headquarters from Dallas to Alcoa, establishing its home base at the 3205 Alcoa Hwy. Pure Magic Car Wash location. The move, completed in March, brings the company’s central operations to a market where it already has an established footprint. […]
Two Sisters Trading Company to Open July 1 at Foothills Mall
A new gift and home décor shop built on a decade of retail experience and a love of creative design is coming to Foothills Mall. Two Sisters Trading Co. is set to open July 1 next door to Bath & Body Works, the first brick-and-mortar venture for sibling co-owners Heather Raines and Wendy Giguere, who […]
Tatooed Taco to Begin Construction This Summer on Broadway Avenue
James Tomiczek, the developer behind The Greenway Village near Gamble Avenue, is preparing to construct an elevated Mexican food restaurant concept at 205 W. Broadway Ave. in downtown Maryville. Tentatively named “Tattooed Taco,” the restaurant will have a price point aimed at an accessible middle ground in downtown dining. “It’ll probably be more than your […]
Elite Suites to Open Unique Salon Concept at Foothills Mall in October
Elite Suites Salon Studios will open its first Blount County location at Foothills Mall in October, marking both the company’s third site and its first franchise location. Owner Kim Hennessy said the Maryville build-out will be the company’s largest yet, with more than 30 suites — outpacing the 28 at West Town Mall and 23 […]
Collectibles and More Relocates from Mall to Springbrook Farm
A sports card and collectibles shop that built a following at Foothills Mall has relocated to Alcoa’s fast-growing Springbrook Farm development, trading mall hours and rules for a community-focused storefront with room to grow. Collectibles and More, owned by Josh Elswick, 37, opened May 1 in the Shoppes at Springbrook Farm. His father, Chuck Elswick, […]
