After more than 20 years as the General Manager of Oldham Hospitality’s RT Lodge, Gary Doyle passed the reins to Kelley Harris at the end of 2025.
Doyle began his hospitality career at the first Ruby Tuesday restaurant opened in Knoxville in 1972. He became the innkeeper and manager at Blackberry Farm in 1980 where he worked for the next 13 years. He later opened Bistro by the Tracks in Knoxville before joining RT Lodge in 2004. Doyle said he will remain on the Morningside Lodge, LLC’s board of directors.
Harris brings more than 20 years of hospitality experience from Blackberry Farm where she managed the event programming and spa operations.
Susan Wiley Cooper Walker built the first 26-room residence and adjacent Carriage House in 1932, according to government records. Maryville College records show that following Walker’s death in 1950, the property was donated to the College where it was used as an event center and the President’s residence. The main residence was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 and was later purchased by Ruby Tuesday, Inc. in 1997. Morningside Lodge, LLC, purchased the property in 2021.
