Expansion, Name Change for Southland Books & Café in Tenn.

Southland Books and Cafe, Maryville, Tenn., will soon become Southland Books, Cafe and Bar as co-owners Lisa Misosky and Catherine Frye plan for a fall opening of a restaurant, bar and event space in the former location of Bluetick Brewery, the Daily Times reported.

"We're hoping to open by fall, maybe sooner, but we cannot give a firm date. Stuff just takes time," Frye said of the new space currently nicknamed The Bird and the Book, which will either be "a bar that has food or a restaurant that has beer.... We don't really know what it's going to be yet. We're just waiting to see what people respond to and what the community wants."

Noting that she has wanted a bar since she was 20 years old, Misosky added: "There's nothing like what we're creating in Knoxville or Maryville that I've seen."

Frye said the bookshop, which sells new and used titles, will still be a key ingredient in the business: "We want it to feel like a place that's comfortable for people to come and hang out... not that raucous, crazy bar situation, but with places to chill and talk to your friends and be able to actually hear the people you're there with. We want this to be a fixture in this town for a long time--we don't want it to go anywhere, so we're not trying to do this quick and fast. We're trying to do it where it's going to be here forever."

Powered by: Xtenit