A Blount County Resident Shares His Favorite Places in the Area
Roy Milner grew up in Chattanooga, attended college at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and has called Blount County home for the past 12 years.
Milner came to Maryville to partner with the renowned resort Blackberry Farm to open their brewery, along with a variety of other hospitality-related projects.
“I really love living here,” he says about his adopted home.
From local bars to outdoor gems, here are a few of his personal favorite places to enjoy.
In This Article
Is there a hidden gem of a coffee shop or bar that you love?
My favorite coffee shop is called Beard Brothers in Maryville. The owner’s name is actually Joe Beard, which makes me laugh because he sells cups of joe and has a huge beard. In Townsend, I go to a coffee shop called The Dancing Bean.
RT Lodge is a local independent hotel, and they recently renovated their bar, The Morningside Room. They have great cocktails, outdoor water features and fire pits, so you feel like you’re in the woods. The Walnut Kitchen and Bella (both in Maryville) also have great bar programs. I love dive bars, and Brackins Blues Club (in Maryville) feels like it was plucked out of New Orleans or New York. You could be sitting next to a banker or a biker.
Where do you go to see live music or entertainment?
We’re in a fertile crescent of music. A lot of the string music or bluegrass that popular artists like Tyler Childers and Old Crow Medicine Show play comes from this area. Peaceful Side Social Brewery, our brewery, has local artists perform multiple times a week.
The Walnut Kitchen has acoustic artists; Bluetick Tavern in Maryville has a series with local artists, Brackins has blues, Two Doors Down in Maryville has live rock and roll, and The Shed Smokehouse & Juke Joint, which is part of the Harley-Davidson dealership, has regional and national acts.
What’s a lesser-known spot in town that you think deserves more attention?
We have an 18-mile greenway that locals don’t use enough and that has so many points of interest. It has great water features, dog parks and little places to have a picnic and enjoy the day.
We also have an amphitheater park in the middle of downtown, and I don’t think people realize that you can just go grab a picnic and enjoy the park.
Is there a unique local tradition that visitors should know about?
One of my favorite things to do is the Cades Cove Loop, which is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the Smoky Mountains. A lot of people don’t realize that it’s closed to cars on Wednesdays between the end of June and the end of September. You can rent or bring a bicycle and ride an 11-mile loop that is absolutely gorgeous. You’re going to see an abundance of wildlife, wildflowers, tree species and open fields. It’s really beautiful to be able to ride a bike with no car traffic.
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