It’s been a tough year for local breweries, with sales, mergers and outright closures outnumbering any new openings or growth spurts. One notable exception has been Tennessee Brew Works, which has seen years of planning come to fruition with the recent soft opening of a new Taproom Barrel House in Lenoir City.
Located just off I-40, I-75 and Route 321 before you get to Knoxville, Lenoir City is known as the “Lakeway to the Smokies,” a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts. A grand opening weekend is scheduled for Aug. 28 and 29, but they’re already pulling pints at 200 East Depot St., just a block away from the main drag of the historic downtown.
Tennessee Brew Works founder Christian Spears has burned a lot of miles traveling between the locations, but like his original brewery at 809 Ewing St., the new Barrel House is an architectural standout. The former firehouse has been outfitted with a five-barrel brewhouse system and decked out with all the accoutrements of a proper hang, from multiple televisions to a large scratch kitchen that will actually offer even more food items than the Nashville location. Former Nashville TBW chef Alex Leibow has been named executive chef and moved to Lenoir City, where he has expanded the offering of burgers, wraps, pizzas and appetizers, many of which include Tennessee Brew Works beer as integral ingredients.
You can’t miss it, especially at night when a brilliant neon sign draws you in to enjoy Tennessee Brew Works’ broad range of beer styles, all made with natural ingredients that are sourced locally whenever possible. The company also maintains a close relationship with Tennessee State Parks, and many of their beers are associated with individual parks and help raise money to support the entire system. So this location near so many outdoor attractions in East Tennessee is a natural fit.
During the soft opening, operating hours are 4 until 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, but you can expect expanded hours after the grand opening.
Chef Kayla Bridwell
With chef Leibow’s big move, Kayla Bridwell has stepped into the role of chef de cuisine at the Nashville location. Bridwell has lived all over the place as part of a military family, but her parents are Nashville natives, so Music City has felt like an ancestral home to her.
At 16, she got her first restaurant job in a bakery and sandwich shop in Oklahoma before relocating to Tennessee and taking a gig at Knead Dough Pizzeria in Hendersonville. She joined the TBW kitchen team as a line cook in 2018 and pressed up the ranks to sous chef to finally taking over the kitchen.
In her new role, Bridwell has already introduced several new additions to the menu, including a Nash Smash Burger to accompany the already popular Five Beer Burger. The Nash Smash also incorporates the brewery’s products throughout its construction with an English ale bun, Hippies & Cowboys IPA-brined pickles and Tennessee Brew Works craft beer smash sauce. Other new menu additions include the Brew-BBQ Pork Sandwich with saison-brined pulled pork and the Pimento Grilled Cheese with Belgian white beer bread, pimento beer cheese, and Cherokee purple heirloom tomatoes. A seasonal eloté Corn Chowder joins lighter offerings including fresh salads showcasing produce from Greener Roots Farm, Kentucky Farm Fresh Eggs, and RC Farms.
So whether you’re traveling to Pietown or K-Town, there’s a Tennessee Brew Works close by. Drop in and congratulate both kitchens on the new developments!
