Savoring Change: A Culinary Legacy and the Future of a Family-Owned Business with Elise Collier Massey

Julia: Hey everybody, and welcome to another episode of Connect the Knox. I’m your host, Julia Hurley, connecting Knoxville to the nation. Today’s guests is—today’s guests, because we have more than one; just kidding—today’s guest is one of my favorite female owners of one of the best locally-owned restaurant chains still left in the Knoxville, Tennessee, and now national market, somebody you need to get to know and get to know a little bit about it when you relocate here and get to know these restaurants. Everybody welcome Elise Massey, owner of Collier Restaurants. Thank you for being with us today.

Elise: [laugh] Thank you for having me.

Julia: So, starting out the conversation, give us a little history on the restaurant company itself and how it got its grip into Knoxville, and how you ended up being raised through this and then what you’re doing now to grow it.

Elise: You know, I’m so lucky to have a dad and a grandfather that saw the vision for Sevier County from such an early start. So, in 1968, my grandfather started the restaurants and hotels in Pigeon Forge. And as it grew, my dad and his siblings took it over, and then in ’96, my dad took the restaurant side of it. And then you know, went to college, came back home, and I’m doing it now. And I’m just so lucky that they had the vision to see what was coming in Sevier County.

Julia: Sure. What was the very first… what was the first thing, like, the first restaurant that you all… that the family built? Like, what was it like? What was the name of it? Tell us a little bit about how that played out?

Elise: Well, if anybody’s ever been up to Sevier County, you will see pancakes everywhere, so it was a Pancake House [laugh]. Yeah.

Julia: No way [laugh]. I did not know that.

Elise: Oh, yeah. We started on pancakes.

Julia: I did not know that.

Elise: We still. It is our strongest—

Julia: Oh, my gosh.

Elise: —thing, pancakes.

Julia: It’s the best. We still—we go there. Whenever we take people to stay or we stay at the cabins, we wake up purposefully early so we don’t have to wait in line [laugh].

Elise: Oh, yeah. We’re so lucky. Like, I’ve said that 50 million times, but pancakes is also… everyone loves a pancake, so I feel like the customer—and everybody in the [van 00:02:27] wants to go eat breakfast at a pancake house, you know? Not everybody wants barbecue, not everybody wants seafood. Everybody wants breakfast.

Julia: True. That’s very true. I did not know that you all owned the Pancake House. Now, I know something that I didn’t know, and we’re sharing it with the entire country right now. That’s amazing. Yeah, the Pancake House is like, it’s the staple breakfast place in Sevier County. If anybody visits, everybody knows what it is, everybody knows where it is, and you literally have to… I mean, it’s a line around the block to get into that place, daily.

Elise: Oh, I mean, Pancake Pantry and our Flapjack's are the two that really has the biggest line. Our first pancake house was not a Flapjack's, so it was just called Smoky Mountain Pancake House. And we still have that one today, but when you go up to Gatlinburg, you know, there’s lines out the buildings for almost—most pancake houses.

Julia: Very true. So, we started with pancakes, then we evolved into what?

Elise: And then we did, like, a full service day [part 00:03:32] restaurant. It is where the Golden Crown Pigeon Forge is now. It was a family-style restaurant, and it was so sweet and little, and I barely remember it. Like, I was really young when they switched it over. But yeah, we did, like, three or four pancake houses before we went on to something else.

Julia: Interesting.

Elise: So, we did a little family-style restaurant, and then as things started growing more in the tourism area, we saw chains start to come in. So, my dad went out and got a Country Kitchen Cafe. Those really aren’t around anymore very much. It was the best home cooking food, and it was really made, like, in the restaurant. They had the best calico bean soup I know that’s so silly, but if anybody from around the world ever ate at Country Kitchen, it was like their staple. It was this calico bean soup and it was so good. You can’t find it anywhere.

Julia: Where was that? I’m trying to think about it because you know my grandfather owned the Car—the Pi—the Smoky Mountain Car Museum in Pigeon Forge. And so, I spent summer after summer after su—and I promise you, we ate it every locally-owned restaurant because he wouldn’t eat anywhere if it was not a locally-owned—

Elise: Oh yeah.

Julia: Restaurant. He wouldn’t do it.

Elise: It is where the TGI Fridays Pigeon Forge is now.

Julia: I’ve got to think about it.

Elise: [crosstalk 00:04:57] island. It’s, like, across the parkway from the island.

Julia: How interesting. I’ll have to—because that’s just down the street from—it is just down the street from where the car museum used to be, so that’s like [unintelligible 00:05:08] Magic Wor—I grew up at Magic World, you know?

Elise: Oh, we walked to Magic World.

Julia: I got my five dollars, it was the best day of my life.

Elise: Yeah.

Julia: [laugh] you know, I miss Magic World.

Elise: It’s like, what’s so silly about growing up there is one of the pancake houses was an old farmhouse right there where Country Kitchen was. I lived in that pancake house in the back. So, we would, like, yell down, “Don’t run the dishwasher, we’re going to get the shower.” Like it—and then, you know, I always had breakfast every day, but I also had to work. We had to roll silverware.

Like, you’re sitting around watching TV, you’re going to roll silverware. So, like, we worked where we lived, at a Pancake House. And you know, as times changed in the building just kind of got a little older, and it was time to bring it in the franchise or to just to serve more customers a different day part. But you know, I always remember living there, walking the Magic World [laugh].

Julia: Yeah, I would literally—so I had to clean. So, you know, he had all those antique cars, so I had to clean and polish the cars, and sweep around the cars. And then every now and again, I would get up—I don’t know if you remember the gas globes, he had 400 gas globes that spanned the car museum, right? So, I would get up—I mean, I was like six or seven years old back then—climbing this, you know, 100-foot ladder to get up to these gas globes. But every day that I did something, I got $5 to go across the street to Magic World.

Elise: Absolutely.

Julia: So, whatever it took.

Elise: We were there together. We just didn’t know it.

Julia: We just didn’t know it. But yeah, those are the best days of my life. That’s awesome. That’s awesome. All right, so we had Pancake House, Pancake House, you know, like, move on pa—like, more Pancake Pantries, more Pancake Pantries, and then we got the full-service restaurant. And then what do we do?

Elise: Gosh, we just built, like, one every year. Used to, it would close down in the winter, so you would build something in the winter, and then you would open it up by the time summer came around. So, we built—we really got into TGI Fridays. We brought three of those to Sevier County. And then we did a Corky’s Barbecue, there’s a Melting Pot, we have two Golden Corrals, we have a Quaker Steak and Lube. We had a few come and go that didn’t last, you know? We had a Dunkin’ Donuts that then was turned into a Backyard Burger, and then it was an office. You know, just how things change, things move around, how property develops. And I think now we have 18 restaurants currently.

Julia: That’s fantastic. Okay, so that’s a lot—that’s—basically—so your family goes all the way back. I mean, I can remember when there was nothing but the Red Roof Mall, like, the little outdoor mall, there’s, like, 18 shops, there was Magic World, [unintelligible 00:07:54] Waterpark, and Dollywood. And I don’t recall anything else being there.

Elise: There was one little hotel as you entered the spur on the right that they built that hotel in ’68. And there was a little tiny Pancake House, which is now a really, really delicious German restaurant. I do not own it, but it is very good if someone loves German food. And that was the first, like, home base.

Julia: Gosh, so that’s—I mean, I don’t think that people that visit here—and this is why these podcasts are really important is it’s genuinely connecting people to the area. They come here and like, “Dollywood. Look at the island. Look at all these really cool, massive corporate restaurants.” Like, “This is so cool. I love it here.” And I’m like, “You have no idea”—

Elise: What it was 40 years ago.

Julia: How this place started.

Elise: Yes.

Julia: And it was this short—it wasn’t even a whole lifetime ago.

Elise: No.

Julia: Not one, even, generation.

Elise: In our lifetime, and it’s completely changed.

Julia: Yeah, yeah, 150%. So, watching the growth is amazing. And you know, you are one of the only, if not the only, female restaurateur in this entire area. Is that correct?

Elise: Well, we have one other. I’m sure there’s others that might not know, but one of my sweet friends is the Johnson Family, and she has a handful of restaurants up here, too. And then we live near each other in Knoxville. So, it’s kind of funny, our kids go to school together, and so we’ve kind of made this bond. And when Covid hit, we actually [unintelligible 00:09:22] to know each other a little better. We had never really talked before, but it made our restaurant industry—because there’s about six or seven of us that own multiple restaurants up here, so it really brought us together to maybe make a better friendship, make a better bond, and work together instead of, like, competition.

Julia: Yeah. Everybody had to survive together during that time.

Elise: Absolutely.

Julia: I mean, it was either all hands-on deck or no hands-on the deck.

Elise: Right. And you know, if you’re in a family business, it is a different world than just running your own business. And, [laugh]—whoo—could you go to Thanksgiving with the same issue you had the day before, you know? So, you can be mad at somebody and walk off and have a difference, but you still have to love somebody, and you still sit down to break bread. And, you know, you’re in a fami—you’ve grown up with family in business, and it’s really difficult to still come to work, still love somebody, and still sit down and give them a hug them at end of the day, and, “Today was hard, but I still love you,” you know?

Julia: Agreed. You really have to buy into that person’s idea, that person’s vision for what they wanted, and then also still convince them that there’s a different way to do it, or a change that they could make. And when they see you as just the young daughter or the young granddaughter, and they’re like, “I don’t think that you know what this vision is.” And so, that support, and you’re like, “But I do, and I just want a little change, just a little addition. Let’s just do one little different thing.”

So, I totally get that. And you’ve taken that on pretty hardcore. I mean, you are changing, but not changing. And I know that doesn’t… you’re changing, but not changing. You’re growing with what Sevier County needs instead of staying stagnant with just the same concept. You are pushing forward in the restaurant industry, with your family, with these additions, so you know, going from Pancake Pantry to sit-down restaurant to TGI Fridays, what’s next on the menu for people to see from—now that you are owner and running the place, what are you bringing for the future?

Because it’s changing. Sevier County, for as much as people think it’s built out, there’s so much more to be had, and we’re watching a massive growth currently in Sevierville itself, which I never thought was going to happen. I never thought people were going to pay attention to Kodak and Sevierville. So, we’re finally seeing it. What is your vision for that future?

Elise: Well, you know, TGI Fridays has been a great brand for us, and we have been with Fridays for 20, 25 years, but this month, we’re going to open up a new restaurant where we ended our agreement with TGI Fridays in Sevierville, we’re starting a Roma Table Italia kitchen. It is—

Julia: I love it.

Elise: —our own brand. It is not a franchise. It is a lot of hard work of a team that has made the recipes, we’ve designed the building, we have done all the steps that we have been handed for franchises for years, that it’s not that hard sometimes to open a franchise because they’ve done all the legwork. We have done every piece of Roma Table, and I’m so proud of it. It should open up here in the next week or two, hopefully before Christmas. Hopefully.

And you know, just to, like, take that, and it was a Fridays, again, and Fridays was great, but I think just culture in Sevier County and even in Knoxville, people want to eat at somewhere they can’t get everywhere. The chains are just shifting a little bit, I feel like, and people want a different experience. So, we’re shifting with the customer. And I feel like Italian is something that Sevier County didn’t have a ton of. We have a ton of burger restaurants and good appetizer restaurants, which Fridays was, so we’re kind of trying to change what our customer, I think, was asking for.

Julia: I can see that change happening all over in the growth of all the restaurant—like into—like, I call them one-offs, but they’re not really one-offs. I mean, some people own five or six of one, but it is a one-off. You can’t really get it anywhere else. It’s here.

Elise: Like our Flapjack's. You know, we have—

Julia: Yes exactly.

Elise: —like, eight of them, and it was a great start in 1998, and it was a great brand, and then we just grew that brand. And I think people think it’s a chain all the time. It’s like, it is not a chain. It is locally owned. We are touching the recipes. Like, it is not—I don’t know, I feel like there’s this backlash with chains. Which they shouldn’t be. Chains are still fantastic. But I feel like, on vacation, people are really looking for that family restaurant.

Julia: Yeah. I think that with Covid—and I’m going to tell you, we can reference Covid probably for the next decade because we’re still going to see the shift in change and conversation—when people were cooped up—and I mean we were lucky; Tennessee did not close. We were all very lucky that Tennessee did not fully close its doors, and it’s its ability to continue to move forward with business because that gave us an insight to handle controversy in a different way. We all got to learn that. But I think that you can reference Covid to a lot of people’s successes and change is when you have all this extra open time to sit and think, you know, can I learn something new, can I experience something new, that when you start traveling especially to the Smoky Mountains, the number one most visited park in the country, what experience do I want to have that’s not like anything else? And I really think that people across the nation are seeking out entrepreneurs and business owners who can give them that.

Elise: Absolutely.

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Julia: And you seeing that shift in the market and that ability to, like, come in quickly and say, “Hey, our family has been here for 40 years. We’ve had—” or 50. Wait, 50 years. Wait, longer than that.

Elise: Yeah. Like, 54 years. Going on fifty—

Julia: Yeah. Fifty—yeah [laugh] I’m trying to count in my head.

Elise: Yeah, 55 coming up.

Julia: Yeah, basically of 60 years—let’s just say 60 years—your family has been in Sevier County for 60 years, and to be able to still say, “We are going to grow, we are going to change, we are going to evolve.” What about that lesson do you absorb and credit back to your father and grandfather? And what about that can you give other people who want to learn that ability and maybe just don’t know the steps? Or is there just a feeling that you have, and this is your natural habitat. Like, this is just what your family has done, and you just know.

Elise: I think a lot of it is just what my family has done, and it’s just what we know. Like, I don’t know life without restaurant business. I don’t know life without a family business, and I would say it was almost easier for my grandfather or my dad because social media has changed the way we eat as well. And it changes the way we have to do the menu, it changes the way—the food allergies have changed the way we do menus also. Like, my dad didn’t have to deal with gluten-free, didn’t have to deal with all these allergies that we’re seeing more.

And this—I get the question every day. I get—I’m the girl if you email in the question or put the comment of if you’re happy or unhappy, you know, that’s me. I’m the girl that gets them. And so, every day, I get a gluten question, I get some type of—it goes so far some days, of soybean, dairy, nut, like, some people I’m like, “Can you bring your own apple with you,” because I don’t know what this person could eat at any restaurant. Like, it makes me s—[laugh] it’s really hard.

But you know, just dealing with marketing and social media in Sevier County, as you said earlier, it was not what it is now. Like, there was only ten restaurants to choose from, so you were going to capture people for a meal while they were on vacation. Now, the pie is sliced so many ways in Sevier County that I am fighting for every customer. It’s not just open the doors and they will come. Like, that was honestly—we broke records when we opened chain restaurant.

Chains, they didn’t understand why I was asking them to come to Sevier County because the population is so much smaller compared to, really what we have here on a daily basis of tourism. So, we’ve been looked over for years by chains because I didn’t have a demographic that could support them. Little do they know, we had the number one Walmart, you know, and the grocery stores are breaking records. So, then I would open a restaurant. I would just break all these records for, you know, sales dollars. Well, Sevier County is not a sleepy little town, now [laugh].

And so, for a long time you would open the doors, and the customer capture was not as hard as it is now. I think social media, I think advertising, it is difficult. And like I said, we are fighting for every customer. We are spending money to try to get our name out there because if you don’t spend money to let people know you’re there or that you are a family business or that you are making the pasta for Roma Table—or the Pancake House, we are making the pancakes in the back—we are making the pasta in the back. A lot of things, you don’t get credit for it if you don’t put it out there. Everybody assumes that it comes from a refrigerator and a microwave. And a lot of places it does, but—

Julia: Exactly. I think that the Far—what is it—Farm to Fork—they’re no longer calling it Farm to Table; it’s now Farm to Fork—if people don’t know that that’s what you’re offering—

Elise: Yeah.

Julia: —they’re not going to, they’re not going to take it. They want the different experience.

Elise: They do. And you know, you can’t get food that way cheap either, so you can’t complain that something’s costing you more than it does down the street, when down the street opens it up a bag and puts it in the microwave. You know, it takes a lot more hands to prepare good farm fresh, made from scratch food.

Julia: I think Covid brought that out in people as well, when they were stuck at home and had to figure out how to cook for themselves, or the grocery store shelves were barren in very large cities where there are so many people, and not in food deserts, is what—you know, food desert was a thing, it became more prevalent in Covid, so people were like, “I’ve got to figure out how to make my own food,” and then they realized how hard it was and how time-consuming it was. And it brought a respect to… to people that value that. And now people want it. They talk about it, they want more of it, they want more what I call one-offs, individual ideas where they can get that experience. So, you’re bringing that to Sevier County on a regular basis, have brought it for 60 years. It’s brought its own challenges and its own opportunities. What do you see for the future of the area as a whole? What is your crystal ball prediction?

Elise: If I have a crystal ball, I tell you what [laugh]. You know, I just see so much more growth. There is land that is being developed that were farms for years that we never thought would be touched. And see, I guess they’re working on a 408 exit, you know? 407 was the only way in—

Julia: Isn’t that crazy?

Elise: —so now we see that 408 is actually, like, this far from being, like, a signed deal. And you know, that road will just develop differently. So, right now, I’ve read complaints about the traffic. It’s so hard to get in, and gosh, Highway 66 really backs up. And it does, but you know, we have Veterans Boulevard now that takes you around the backside; you know, you can cut through a lot of Parkway. So, that’s all getting developed. We never thought we’d see that.

But Dolly has—you know, Dollywood, Dolly’s [unintelligible 00:21:52] and she has two hotels over there. So, she has—that development has really pushed more gas stations, more food restaurants. We had to do a new fire station over there because so much cabins and… was coming out that way. So, as Veterans is developing, they’ll develop another road out to 66 that will come out near Wilderness, I think is the plan at this point. And then from there, surely at some point 408 will connect [unintelligible 00:22:22] to Veterans. Surely? I don’t know. I’m not in the government side here [laugh], but just to see the roads developing—

Julia: I think we’re going to start to see—you know, with a baseball team leaving and moving back into downtown Knoxville, that opens up an opportunity for a stadium. It’s going to open up an opportunity for hotels. You know, and there’s always rumors, there’s so many rumors, and that, I think, that part of that, I want to say is driven—I swear to goodness—by the Cabins USA people. It’s like, “Hey, we’re rental cabins. We’re going to start this rumor and, like, push out more people to come here and buy cabins.” But you know, the rumor is that there’s going to be a, like, an Indian reservation—

Elise: Yes.

Julia: —yes, exactly. So, that’s the new thing.

Elise: Oh, yeah.

Julia: It’s like, they’re going to buy that and turn this into a gambling area. And like, I’m not so sure [laugh] Dolly Parton would agree with that.

Elise: Well, you know, there’s a lot of legislation that has to happen, you know, as—

Julia: Exactly.

Elise: You would know more than me about that stuff. But they are—the Eastern Band of Cherokee does have control of a lot of land out there, and they are developing some really nice hotels, they’re developing a theme park that’s more of a European-style theme park. A relaxing theme park. I’m not going to say the name of it because I will get it wrong. I cannot pronounce it.

Julia: [laugh].

Elise: So, that part anyway. We got to Buc-ee’s recently.

Julia: Yep. Oh, that—the largest Buc-ee’s in the country, P.S.

Elise: For a minute. I think Texas is throwing a fit that Texas does not have the largest Buc-ee’s. So, we’ll hold on to that title for just a minute.

Julia: They’re going to, like, build an extra one square foot.

Elise: Exactly. It is the longest car wash, I think, also up there. But they have done great. I heard they are doing, like, a million dollars a day.

Julia: Oh, yeah. And they’re paying their employees exuberant wages. And I never thought—I never thought I would ever, and I’m so proud to say that I’ve relocated so many of their employees. So, you know, I get phone calls, and they’re like, “Hey, you know, I’m looking to buy a house now.” And housing is still technically affordable in Sevier County. You can find it. It’s there. You just have to look for it.

And, you know, I’m like, “So, what do you do?” And they’re like, I’m a cashier at Buc-ee’s, and they’re making, like, six figures, and they can buy a house.

Elise: It’s very strict, but if they can do it, yeah.

Julia: Yep. It’s rare, and it’s giving families an opportunity that have never had an opportunity to make that much money in their life with almost a non-needed skill level to come in and be, like, first-time homebuyer, first-time whatever. And they’re so proud, and they’re, like, dedicated to this community.

Elise: That’s great.

Julia: And I think that it’s huge. It’s huge. So, and that just feeds back into the restaurant industry. They’re going to take their families out to eat, and they’re going to want to stay local, and they’re going to want to do business with locals because they are local. And every single time something like that happens, it’s a trickle-down effect.

People truly want local. And you are local to Sevier County, and your restaurants are Sevier County local and I think that, when this publishes, when this airs, and all these people from all across the nation that have subscribed to this podcast see a face with a name, name of the restaurant, they’re like, “I’m going to go there because it’s locally owned,” and every single time that they say, you know, info and Collier Restaurants or whatever that is, they’re actually talking to you.

Elise: Oh, yeah.

Julia: And even to know that is huge.

Elise: I mean, it’s hard not to fight back with people online when they’re like, “Oh, it’s just a big corporate chain.” I was like, “Hi. I have an office just right by the Golden Corral. Hi.” [laugh].

Julia: I lived in the basement of this pancake house.

Elise: Absolutely.

Julia: Thank you.

Elise: I mean, my great-grandmother came out of the park. Like, she was Cherokee. Like, yeah, you wouldn’t tell it by the look of my skin and tone, but my dad looked a lot Cherokee [laugh].

Julia: [laugh] Totally okay. Totally okay. Oh, my gosh. All right, so we only have five minutes left, and I want to make sure that everybody understands. You’ve got Roma. Aroma or Roma.

Elise: Roma Table.

Julia: Roma Table coming out. It should open in the next month or so. It’s locally owned. Let me stress that y’all. Local is our thing. It’s why we do this podcast, it’s why we like to connect people from the Knoxville area to everyone. You need to know what’s here. It’s available. You’re moving here in droves [laugh], so let’s make sure you connect with local owners. It’s very important that you know how to support them. So, Roma Table. You still have the pancake houses.

Elise: Yes, we have Flapjack's Pancake Cabins, we have Smoky Mountain Pancake House, we have Smoky’s Pancake Cabin, we have Quaker Steak and Lube, Corky’s Ribs & BBQ, Golden Corral, we have the Melting Pot in Gatlinburg. We have…

Julia: Do you have like a coupon book like Disney does, around the world, where it’s like each and every one of our restaurants get a Collier punch card and then get, like, $50 gift card if you eat one meal within six months at each of our places or something?

Elise: Yeah, maybe. Maybe. That’s a great idea. We’ve thought about doing a passport, yes.

Julia: [crosstalk 00:27:31] there’s so many restaurants from which to choose. You’re like, “Click here. Push here. This is a button. This is a button.” All right, then you get a—like a, you’ve conquered all of the Collier Restaurant chains. Here’s a reward. [laugh].

Elise: That’s a dream. I hope I get everybody for all the meals right?

Julia: I think that’s great [laugh].

Elise: No, there’s too many great competitions up here. I would never get everybody. There’s some great restaurants.

Julia: There are. There’s some new restaurants that came out that we try, and I can’t wait to try Roma. It’s on the list. So, we always want to make sure that if we’re there, we support any new business that comes out because it’s just really—it’s really important to support local people just don’t know how hard it is to keep a family business operating and moving forward.

Elise: Yes.

Julia: Generations don’t always want what you have.

Elise: It normally fails in the third generation. So.

Julia: Right. It’s hard. The third generation is always the best one [laugh].

Elise: Hopefully. We’ll see, you know?

Julia: [laugh]. So okay, so you live in Knox County. All your restaurants, you don’t actually have restaurants outside this area, though?

Elise: I have two in Garden City, South Carolina. We have a Flapjack's there and we have an Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom.

Julia: Okay. Well, so now we have pizza. What else is coming? Anything else outside of Roma that we need to be on the lookout for in 2024?

Elise: So, we’re working on a little taco concept every year called Taco Trail. That’s really just here. It’s—I didn’t do that—

Julia: I love the Taco Trail.

Elise: —on purpose. It’s really always here. I’ve probably had it there for months [laugh].

Julia: Oh, I love that so much. I love the Taco Trail, I love the name, I think it’s great. Very excited to hear all about that. We’ll probably have to—we’ll probably need to come up and do a live video of me just like eating tacos. Just, like, that is all [laugh]—

Elise: I know. We’re so excited. We’re going to do our first one of that in Gatlinburg, hopefully… start the project in May. Hopefully.

Julia: I love it. I love it. So, two minutes left, just, like, one last good question: outside of your own facilities. What do you think is the area’s best kept secret that if somebody visited you that’s not from here, where would you take them?

Elise: Hmm. You know, I think if someone’s not from here—and I think you’ll agree with me on this—you have to go to UT campus. You have to go to a UT football game, you have to go to UT basketball game. This is such a culture here. Living in Knoxville and being in Sevier County, we get lots of visitors that do both. Like, we play Georgia this coming weekend. There is Georgia people all in Sevier County you know? Like, I think it is such a draw. I think we’re very fortunate to have UT campus with such a great sport environment, close by to also the Smoky Mountains.

Julia: Absolutely. You can have—you can go to a sporting event one day and go literally hiking in the largest national park in the country—or the most visited national park in the country. You have both. You can do whatever you want, and then hit up a Collier Restaurant chain, locally owned and operated.

Elise: Just a Flapjack's [laugh].

Julia: [laugh]. I love it. Elise, thank you for your time today. That was 30 minutes. That was so fast. I have, you know, a thousand restaurant questions for you. You could teach a class on restaurateur. We’re very proud to have you as a female entrepreneur in the East Tennessee markets. There are so few and far between, and you’re carrying the legacy for so many women.

We appreciate you and your hard work, and we’re very much looking forward to Roma and Taco Trail. It’s going to be amazing. So, if you’re listening, visit Romo and Taco Trail when it gets open, and always remember that most of the businesses in Sevier County are locally owned and operated.

Elise: Absolutely.

Julia: So, remember that and we appreciate your patronage. Everybody, this was a wonderful episode of Connect the Knox. I’m Julia Hurley, your host, bringing Knoxville to the nation. Thanks for listening.

Julia: Thank you for tuning into the show. Make sure to like and subscribe, leave a five-star review on your podcast player of choice, and if you would like information on moving to Knoxville, send me a private message. As always, this is Julia Hurley, connecting Knoxville to the nation.