If you’re new to the area or maybe haven’t ventured north past the I-40/640 interstate split, you’ll want to check out my very unofficial guide to North Knoxville.
I’ve lived here my entire life and think that in order to know North Knoxville, it’s important you understand the geography of Halls, Powell, Gibbs and Fountain City. I don’t work for the City of Knoxville, so their maps may tell you differently, but the information below is from a true local.
Fountain City
Fountain City is known for the duck pond. Yes, a man constructed the pond for his wife in the shape of a heart. It’s the “heart of Fountain City” (insert laugh track here). Fountain City has many great family-owned restaurants that are worth a drive, even from Farragut.
My favorite restaurant is Louis. They have the best spaghetti I’ve ever had (FYI, they are closed on Mondays). Litton’s is famous for their burgers, weekly specials, and homemade desserts (they are closed on Sundays). Sam and Andy’s has a great burger. Cultivate is a little coffee shop that has coffee and flowers (great idea for a date). Fountain City’s newest establishment, Wren House Bakery, is a coffee shop and bakery with revolving bakery items each day. They have the best Oatmeal Cream Pie I have ever had.
In Fountain City, you will also find the cutest little boutique named Gracie Lee’s Gifts and More; it is a little girl’s dream. They have a great selection of gifts, clothing and accessories, a new baby line and Knoxville’s only Balloon bar. Birdie’s Boutique is another cute locally-owned business that has great game day apparel. If you like antiques, next to Birdie’s is a place called Vintage, Etc. I am extremely picky when it comes to antique stores, but this one really impressed me and even had local antique cups, plates, shirts, books, etc.
Halls
If you want to visit Fountain City, just look for Broadway Avenue and follow it all the way to Skatetown, one of the only rollerblading rinks left in Knoxville. They are still operating for skate nights, field trips, and birthday parties. Once you pass Skatetown, you’ve officially made it into Halls.
I am allowed to make this joke because I have lived here my whole life: once you pass the 10 car lots and 15 fast food restaurants, you’ve officially made it to Halls. I will be honest: we do most of our eating in Fountain City, except a few special places. If you want a good home cooked breakfast, Amber Restaurant will not disappoint. Kobe Japanese Grill is like Wasabi without having to drive to West Knoxville and even better because they have a drive-thru (tip: order ahead and you won’t have to wait as long). Gondolier isn’t locally-owned, but I still stand by Gondolier as they have the best Caesar salad I have ever had (if you see me dipping anything and everything in it, please keep your eyes to yourself). If you want Mexican food, just stand on a corner and look. You’ll see three different options no matter what corner you stand on (another joke I am allowed to make). If you lived in Halls in the ’90s, the old lawn mower shop is where you can find the best burger around; it’s now called The Chow Hall. It’s not fancy, but they sure know how to cook a burger.
What really put us on the map is the Rural King. I am not a farm girl, but it’s a really neat store with more than just farm equipment. My favorite part about the store is the live animals, but my husband’s favorite part is the free coffee and popcorn. Our motto is “Halls has it.” I am not sure what “it” is; perhaps we’re referring to storage facilities, car lots, fast food, Mexican restaurants. Regardless, if you want any of those things, we have plenty.
Gibbs
Let’s drive down Emory road to Gibbs. Gibbs starts at the Emory Road and Tazewell Pike red light (remember this is from a local, not the City of Knoxville). It’s a cute and quiet little area. Some of the best breakfast and ice cream you can have is from Twisters and there are two locations about five miles from each other.
If you like coffee, but don’t want to drive out to Fountain City, you’re in luck. Wren House Bakery and Coffee Shop opened their first location in Gibbs so you don’t have to travel far. If you like BBQ, Crazy D’s is where you’ll find yourself on a Friday night. Well, that’s about all Gibbs has to offer. That’s the point though. They like their quiet little town. (Yes, I am missing a chunk of Gibbs, but we will talk about that later).
Powell
Now we are going to travel back down Emory Road and not stop. We are going to drive back through Halls. Once we cross Norris Freeway, Emory Road is wide open and it’s a mini interstate, so be careful. It’s easy to speed and cops eat that up. At this point, the argument lies in where Halls stops and Powell begins.
If you lived here when Emory Road was two lanes, it was an easy answer: after you go under I-75 bridge, you’ve entered Powell. Not too long ago, the area around Tennova North Hospital was nothing but land so it still felt like Halls. Technically, the split is at Emory Road and Dry Gap, but it’s still under the bridge for me. Powell has truly blossomed over the past 15 years. I have to split Powell into three segments. We will visit the busiest segments later. The cute little downtown Powell is what Powell used to be. Parents with littles would visit Powell Station with the cutest little water play area and playground beside the High School. Everyone’s prescriptions were filled at Vaughn Pharmacy which is still family-owned. You had breakfast at Scotties and ordered Friday night pizza from Pizza Hoss. Now all of these things are still possible, but Powell has almost doubled in size and it’s not so quaint anymore.
There are three big areas in North Knoxville we haven’t talked about: two in Powell and one Fountain City/Gibbs (these are claimed depending on where you live), but they have their own community names. Clinton Highway is technically Powell, but you don’t call it Powell.
This is where you will find a Target, Marshall’s, Hobby Lobby, Chili’s, Smoothie King and now a Crumbl. East Town is between Fountain City and Gibbs. It earned its name from the mall that existed in the area in the ’90s and will always be known as East Town to any local. It has a Target, Five Below, Bath and Body Works, Marshall’s, Joann, Kohl’s and Sam’s Club. If you are in Halls, you are conveniently located between both. What you need will determine if you go to East Town or Clinton Highway. The newly constructed area in Powell is almost like a mini Turkey Creek. It is situated close to I-75. There you will find a massive Kroger, Pet Supplies Plus, Tennova Hospital, medical offices, Texas Roadhouse, the new Freddy’s, a plethora of restaurants, and more coming. You’ll want to avoid this area unless there’s a reason to be there or you need to get onto the interstate as traffic can be really awful. There are plans to update the interstate exchange like the one in Sevierville, so buckle up. This area will be like the next Alcoa Highway, a never-ending project.
