Details about a new Sweet P's restaurant in Fountain City are slim, but the hype is not. People in the area have been buzzing with excitement, co-owner Jonathan Ford told Knox News, "and we hoped that would be the case."
The popular Southern restaurant, known for its barbecue, has signed a lease to take over the former Fountain City Diner location on Tazewell Pike.
"We want it to be a spot where you can come with your family and get a good meal, or maybe you and your buddies want to come and watch the game on a Saturday or Sunday and have a good time," Ford said.
'We had hoped to be open already'
What sort of games will be on TVs when the restaurant opens? It depends on the sports season. Ford said he is shooting to open Sweet P's in three or four months, but a lot can change during that time.
"Right now, it's just kind of ASAP," he said about the opening timeline.
The restaurant owners just recently signed the lease, and plans for the space are in progress.
"We had hoped to be open already, but COVID hit and everything kind of got put on pause," Ford said. "It's going to be Sweet P's. It's going to be on brand, similar to our other stores. Same menu, same great service."
However, Ford said there will be a "little twist" at the new location. He didn't explain the changes in full detail but did say the restaurant will be full service, unlike its other locations downtown and on Maryville Pike.
Same vibe, bigger space
Being full service doesn't mean the vibe will change.
"It's going to look like Sweet P's downtown," Ford said. "You're not going to walk in there and there be a white tablecloth or something."
There won't be much World's Fair memorabilia at the new location, if any. Ford said his cousin and business partner, Chris Ford, owns the trademark for the 1982 World's Fair logo, but the theme fits better downtown.
"The kitchen over (at the new location) is huge," Jonathan Ford said. "The dining room, itself, is about the size of the restaurant downtown as a whole, including the kitchen and everything."
There won't be a patio — at least not right away. But Sweet P's has some creative architects who could design a small outdoor area in the future, he said.
Bad timing, but 'we'll make it work'
Jonathan Ford said he doesn't want to knock any local restaurants in the Fountain City area, but most places to eat are chains.
"I think every fast-food restaurant ever conceived of is on that stretch of Broadway," he said. "We just felt like we could provide something to that area that it needed."
There are tons of people in Fountain City, he said, but people tend to stop spending money and eating out come Christmastime. That's around the time Sweet P's is scheduled to open up.
But the Ford cousins aren't letting the timing get them down.
"I don't know what it is," Jonathan Ford said. "New Year's resolution diets? It's just slow. ... It is what it is. We'll make it work."
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From pancakes to pork: Fountain City Diner will be replaced by Sweet P's Barbecue - Knoxville News Sentinel
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