Johnson City's top business stories from 2021: Visitors center, West Walnut growth – Johnson City Press (subscription)
Owners Stacy and Will Martin and their son Jax stand outside Italian Pizza Pub at 807 W. Walnut St. in Johnson City.
Johnson City commissioners are scheduled to vote Thursday on purchasing the two-story portion of the former Carolina, Clinchfield & Ohio Railway depot building at 300 Buffalo St.
Johnson City will give Fleet Feet more time to move out of the first floor of the historic train depot at 302 Buffalo St.
A rendering produced by Thomas Weems Architect showing the preliminary design for the new Tennessee Hills Brewing and Distilling location at 458 W. Walnut St. is shown. The drawing shows the building from the existing parking lot.
The Tennessee Hills Brewstillery opened on Wednesday
The Tennessee Hills Brewstillery opened on Wednesday.
Sisters-in-law Katelyn and Lauren Jones co-own Crumb Bakeshop, which opened last week at 500 W. Walnut St. on the Model Mill campus.
Crumb Bakeshop opened last week at 500 W. Walnut St. on the Model Mill campus.
Crumb Bakeshop opened last week at 500 W. Walnut St. on the Model Mill campus.
Owners Stacy and Will Martin and their son Jax stand outside Italian Pizza Pub at 807 W. Walnut St. in Johnson City.
Johnson City commissioners are scheduled to vote Thursday on purchasing the two-story portion of the former Carolina, Clinchfield & Ohio Railway depot building at 300 Buffalo St.
Johnson City will give Fleet Feet more time to move out of the first floor of the historic train depot at 302 Buffalo St.
A rendering produced by Thomas Weems Architect showing the preliminary design for the new Tennessee Hills Brewing and Distilling location at 458 W. Walnut St. is shown. The drawing shows the building from the existing parking lot.
The Tennessee Hills Brewstillery opened on Wednesday
The Tennessee Hills Brewstillery opened on Wednesday.
Sisters-in-law Katelyn and Lauren Jones co-own Crumb Bakeshop, which opened last week at 500 W. Walnut St. on the Model Mill campus.
Crumb Bakeshop opened last week at 500 W. Walnut St. on the Model Mill campus.
Crumb Bakeshop opened last week at 500 W. Walnut St. on the Model Mill campus.
Seeing its population increase to more than 71,000 people after the 2020 census, Johnson City positioned itself for further growth in 2021.
The city found a new place for its visitors center, which has been tucked away for years in the Chamber of Commerce’s building by City Hall, and has witnessed businesses flock to West Walnut Street as it prepares to redevelop the roadway.
Giving it a more visible presence downtown, Johnson City’s visitors center will soon move into the two-story portion of the former Carolina, Clinchfield & Ohio Railway depot building at 302 Buffalo St.
For years, the city’s visitors center has been situated in the Johnson City Chamber of Commerce building at 603 E. Market St., a location that city officials have said doesn’t offer enough exposure.
Johnson City bought the two-story part of the building in May for $750,000 with plans to use it to house the Johnson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Johnson City Development Authority and one or two employees from the city’s communications and marketing department.
The building has a two-story and single-story section, the latter of which used to be home to Tupelo Honey Cafe before the restaurant closed that location in 2018. The single-story portion was not part of the deal.
The Johnson City Convention and Visitors Bureau is a tourism development agency with control over a significant portion of the hotel tax revenue generated in Johnson City.
Brenda Whitson, the executive director of the bureau, said in May that the organization’s new location is at a nexus downtown, having easy access to Interstate 26 as well as multiple businesses and recreational opportunities.
As Johnson City prepared to launch its $30 million overhaul of West Walnut Street, several new businesses opened or changed hands this year along the corridor.
In March, Tennessee Hills Distillery announced a multi-million dollar expansion on West Walnut Street. The company bought the assets of JRH Brewing and has opened a second location at 458 W. Walnut St., where it is producing beer and spirits. Its original location in Jonesborough remains open.
The owners also plan to turn the Preston Woodworking property at 620 W. Walnut St. into a production facility that will also include a museum and a restaurant.
Sisters-in-law Katelyn and Lauren Jones, meanwhile, opened Crumb Bakeshop at 500 W. Walnut St. in May. Located at the Model Mill on the corner of Sevier and West Walnut streets, the bakery sells Jewish-inspired recipes, drawing from meals Katelyn’s grandmother made and the delis and bakeries she visited with her brother Josh.
Along with a plethora of other options, the bakery makes bear claws, rugelach, danishes, rye brownies, ricotta coffee cake and babka and challah breads.
Will and Stacy Martin, the owners of Peggy Ann Bakery, bought Italian Pizza Pub at 807 W. Walnut St. in mid-June from Burt Kordamiri, who opened the business in the 1980s.
The Martins plan to keep Italian Pizza Pub’s recipes the same and are reviving the music venue at the back of the restaurant.
“We want this to be your neighborhood bar,” Martin said in July. “We’re not going to be running these big fancy specials. We’re not going to be having these $20 meals. It’s going to be a $2 slice of pizza and a $2 or $3 beer and really a good family atmosphere.”
In May, Johnson City hired an engineering consultant to help develop a master plan for its portion of Innovation Park, a 60-acre stretch on West Market Street that includes two 30-acre parcels owned by the city and East Tennessee State University.
The city’s property is vacant, but officials hope to eventually see development occur on the land.
Preliminary plans have shown six buildings, each with ground floors that are at least 20,000 square feet. Those could be divided into smaller structures.
After spending years in a building just down the street from City Hall, Johnson City’s new visitors center could soon settle in a local histor…
Johnson City now has a home for its new visitors center.
The Willy Wonka factory of alcohol is coming to West Walnut Street.
At the beginning of 2020, JRH Brewing was doing better than ever.
A long-planned campus off West Market Street in Johnson City, which officials hope will serve as a site for business and job growth, could tak…
David Floyd covers Johnson City government, Johnson City schools and Ballad Health for the Johnson City Press. He grew up in East Tennessee and graduated from ETSU, where he was the executive editor of the school paper.
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