The space at 2419 North Central Street, formerly home to Elst Brewing Company, became The Black Dog in summer 2024, after BBN Hospitality took over when Elst closed. The group behind Chivo, The Brass Pearl, and the recently expanded Stock & Barrel kept the brewery running while laying plans for a major transformation aimed at turning it into a true neighborhood restaurant and gathering spot.
At the end of 2024, The Black Dog closed temporarily to begin renovations in earnest. The goal was to build out a kitchen, upgrade the bar program, and rework the space to better support both food service and a broader drink menu, while still honoring the site’s brewing roots and its long history in North Knoxville. After months of construction, The Black Dog reopens today, bringing new life to the space as a full restaurant, cocktail bar and brewery.
When BBN Hospitality took over the space, they didn’t just inherit one building. They purchased both 2417 and 2419 N. Central Street and combined them into a single, unified home to include a 4,000-sq.-ft. brewery/double kitchen, 2,200-sq.-ft. taproom and a 4,000-sq.-ft. courtyard. The scope of the renovation had its ups and downs and started with essential infrastructure. This is the group’s first time as property owners versus renting their other spaces in Knoxville. I spoke with Ben Austin, one of the “B’s” of BBN Hospitality, and attended the soft opening last week.
“The brewery needed a new roof, so that was pretty well known,” Ben said. “Trying to tie all that in with the guttering and unexpected stormwater drainage concerns, and making sure we didn’t have any groundwater issues, that was quite a bit.”
Despite the scale of the project, the team says the final result stayed remarkably close to their original vision. “I’d say it’s about 95 percent intact,” Ben said. “The five percent we had to cut was mostly in the courtyard, just cost of construction. The interior, the spirit of the project, and the vision of the concept stayed the same.”
The courtyard itself was designed to do more than just add outdoor seating. The elevated edge serves as both a place to sit and a flexible space for events. “There’s an efficiency moment there,” Ben said, “and it also gives us the option to use it as a footprint for a stage if we need to.” It’s a spacious and comfortable fenced area that makes for a welcoming entrance.
The Black Dog’s identity leans into a classic rock spirit, with a sense of humor about the building’s layered past. The name nods to the site’s former life as the Black Poodle, a bar remembered as much for its stories as its drinks. “We started digging through old archives and found these funny classified ads and crime reports,” Ben said. “You don’t know what’s myth and what’s real, but it was somewhere between a strip club, a city political bar and a mafia bar. We just thought the whole history around it was kind of funny.” The name also connects back to Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog,” tying the music theme directly into the concept.
That music focus runs throughout the space, which was designed by Lauderdale Group. Vinyl records, vintage touches and a working turntable connected to custom speakers behind the bar set the tone. “We’ve got a turntable that actually plays through the speakers behind the bar,” Ben said. “A lot of the records on the wall are in good condition and playable. We want to do nights where people bring in their own records and play them.” The collection ranges widely, from classic rock to unexpected picks. “It’s not just one genre. We’ve got Wu-Tang Clan up there too. It’s just good music.” The team at SouthMade is responsible for the logo and branding.
Inside, The Black Dog seats about 80, with the courtyard adding room for roughly 100 more. The cocktail program, developed by Ben and bar manager Kadi Caldwell, was built to complement the brewery rather than compete with it. “We wanted a simple, clean cocktail menu that still lets beer be the star of the show,” Ben said. Some of the drinks pull directly from the brewery itself, including a tequila cocktail made with a syrup created by reducing their vanilla milkshake stout. “Passion fruit and vanilla just play really well together,” he said. Another crowd favorite leans into nostalgia. “The peanut butter and jelly one was kind of a joke at first, like, ‘Let’s see if we can make something that tastes like a PB&J,’ but it works.” I tried them both, and for me, the La Pasión was a clear winner with its tropical flavors, and the Disstape was interesting and unique.
When it comes to the food, “I’ll take things that go well with beer, Alex” (said in my most convincing Jeopardy contestant voice). The menu centers on dishes that can be executed quickly and consistently, with pizza as a natural anchor thanks to two of the owners’ Greek and Mediterranean background and all of their long history in restaurant kitchens. Each menu item has a clever, sometimes corny, name that makes each dish even more memorable. You’ll find plenty of plays on words, song titles, and other funny cultural references scattered throughout the menu, with names like MTV Ribs, Goodbye Bello Brick Road, and Auto-Haddock, Systematic. One of my favorites is Liberty Riberty, because who doesn’t get that commercial stuck in their head?
“My partners are Greek, and Italian and Greek food cultures are so similar, especially with pizza. We all grew up making pizzas in their dad’s restaurant.” The rest of the menu, Ben said, is built to be quick, approachable and flexible. “We wanted something that could work as a nice dinner spot, but also be very casual and easy to get in and out of.”…