The Old City is Celebrating in Downtown Knoxville (2020)
There's a buzz in the Old City with new businesses from sports bars to wedding dresses and everything in between. Three new businesses in particular, HenHoc, Honeymouth, and Kaizen, have recently made their homes at 123, 125, and 127 S Central.
Let's take a quick peak inside each of these reliably unpretentious, unpredictably fun neighbors!
A Three Stop Stroll on Central
HenHoc Butcher & Deli
HenHoc is a one-stop shop opened by OliBea owner Chef Jeff DeAlejandro and Chef Jon Newman, who previously helped open Charleston's famous restaurant Husk. The butcher shop sources fresh meats like chicken, steak, and pork, plus fresh seafood from Charleston and the Alabama Gulf Coast. Along with butcher items, they also have homemade grab-n-go items like beet hummus, hatch chile pimento cheese, sandwich specials, and other yummies you probably won't be able to leave without. If that's not enough, you'll also find house charcuterie and pantry items like fresh eggs, vegetables, cheese, milk, and spices.
Honeymouth
Honeymouth has been a popular online shopping destination, and now they have a storefront selling handmade leather bags and accessories. The hand-sewn leather purses takes about 45 hours to stitch. Talk about made with love! They also sell local artist-made wares with a mission to empower humans by spreading kindness and encouraging self-love. Honeymouth is woman-owned and donates 10% of every purchase to one of seven organizations listed on their site.
Kaizen
Kaizen has made the move from their quaint, original home on Clinch Ave to a larger space right next door to HenHoc. As they settle in, they’re serving up their famous buns, noodles and daily specials – like grilled blacktip shark steak – in their laid-back dining room. Maybe the coolest feature of their new location is the spacious patio, where you can physically-distance under twinkling lights.
And we love the collaboration!
What’s most special about these new places? We love the collaboration between them. After some serious afternoon shopping at Honeymouth, imagine ordering a banh mi from Kaizen made with HenHoc’s ground beef to eat at Pretentious Beer Co. It’s possible!