Peter Kern, a German immigrant, established a bakery at the corner of State Street and Main in Knoxville and sold cookies, made from flour and molasses, to Union soldiers. They were known as Kern’s Confections and he later expanded to ice cream. Kern built a new three-story structure in 1876, the Kern Building (now The Oliver Hotel), on Market Square in Knoxville, which is on the Register of Historic places. Peter Kern died in 1907 and his descendants sold the company in 1920 to the Brown family. They are the ones who built Kerns Bakery on Chapman Hwy and Kerns was a top selling bread in East TN. Sara Lee bought out the Browns in 1989 and discontinued the brand. Sara Lee left the building in 2012.

I don’t go to Knoxville much. Occasionally, I will hit Lowe’s or have lunch with a friend, but mostly I just stay in Union County. Out of curiosity, and because my husband is a serious foodie, we decided to visit the fairly new Kerns Food Hall on Chapman Hwy. I found it a little confusing as to how to get into their parking lot, which of the 2 buildings there was the Food Hall, and which of the many doors was the entry door. The parking fee was also a curiosity. Apparently, you have to register your car digitally and the first 2 hours are free. Hours after that are free if you purchased something and scanned the purchase code in. The building is a large warehouse with the vendors along the outer walls and in the center. We entered through what we thought was the main entrance and it was – to the large bar called the Monday Night Proofing Company. Entrance to the Food Hall is on the other side of the bar. There are several other smaller bars for beer or mixed drinks inside the Food Hall. One is called the Scruff Bar and it includes zero proof drinks as well as full bar offerings.

We walked around twice looking at all the food choices. There are many options including Won Kitchen (Chinese), Kandilige Ghanian Cuisine, Hemingway’s Cuban Kitchen), Ooh LaLa Indian Kitchen, Zukku Sushi, Myrtle’s Bakehouse, Hey Bear Café (Boba teas), Amaryllis Taqueria, Ava Italian Pizza, Clean Smoke BBQ, and others. Overwhelming choices for people who like to eat and are not at all picky. Choosing one was difficult. There were other vendors as well including a dress shop, a make-up shop and a flower shop. We paid them little mind: we were on a mission!

We recently had pizza and BBQ, so we ruled those out. I was leaning toward Indian and he was leaning toward Cuban when we reconsidered Ghandian. We had never had Ghandian food before. Had no idea what it tasted like, had no expectations. We went for it. So many menu choices! We decided on sharing the most expensive dish on the menu – a sharable “sampler” plate. Choice of 3 (out of 4) meats and choice of 2 sides. We went with beef ribs, chicken breast and chicken thigh, passing on the lamb. I have had plantain before and its taste is completely dependent upon how it is cooked. I was willing to give it a go. There were many rice sides and we chose one we had never heard of. The owner assured us that although she used a lot of spices, the food was not spicey hot. The plate of food was huge. Way more food than two elderly people could put away at lunch. It is always an interesting experience to eat food from another country.

Kerns Food Hall has more than just food and drink. Other than seasonal events like Trick or Treat for kids and Pumpkin Carving, people gather for Monday Night Football, Monday Night Trivia, Kickboxing Class, Movie Night (this month it is Beetlejuice) and other entertainments. There is plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. Grab your food and sit where you please.

We will go back at some point (recommend not doing so on a Vol ball game – we were told the lines for food and drink are very long). Lunch in the middle of the week was a good time for us. Not a lot of people and no lines.