South Knoxville’s Sevier Avenue is about to get a new hangout where the pins are short, the lanes are small, and the biscuits are a big deal. Scott and Bernadette West are turning the former Everything Mushrooms warehouse at 1004 Sevier Avenue into Buffleheads, a roughly 10,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor bar and game venue that can open up to the street with large garage doors. The concept pairs duckpin bowling, shuffleboard, and other games with a biscuits-focused food menu and alcoholic drinks, and the owners say they plan to be open within months.
The Wests paid about $2,000,000 for the Sevier Avenue property and are developing it as Buffleheads, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. The 10,000-square-foot interior is slated to hold duckpin lanes and other games alongside a sizable bar area. It is the West family’s first major project on the South Waterfront stretch of Sevier Avenue, an area developers have been eyeing for years.
Sevier Avenue Gets a Street-Level Upgrade
Buffleheads are landing just as the city pours money into making Sevier Avenue more walkable and welcoming. A $19.2 million Sevier Avenue streetscape project will move utilities underground, widen ADA-compliant sidewalks, and add new lighting and crosswalks, according to the City of Knoxville. The goal is to support more restaurants, bars, and foot traffic along the corridor, setting the stage for projects like Buffleheads to plug into a livelier street scene.
Hometown Hospitality Team Heads South
The West family has been in the business of turning old Knoxville spaces into busy gathering spots for about 20 years, including Bernadette’s Crystal Gardens, Preservation Pub, Scruffy City Hall, and Alice in Appalachia, as noted by Downtown Knoxville. Their cluster of Market Square businesses is often credited with reviving downtown’s foot traffic and nightlife, and Buffleheads will be their most substantial investment in South Knoxville so far. City officials and nearby residents have said they want more daytime activity along the riverfront, and the new venue is expected to help fill that gap.
Inside the Lanes at Buffleheads
Plans for the interior call for duckpin bowling, shuffleboard and other games, a large bar and a comfort-food menu built around biscuits, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. Oversized garage doors will let the space open up to Sevier Avenue in warmer months, essentially turning parts of the venue into a covered patio. With roughly 10,000 square feet to work with, the Wests say they see Buffleheads as a spot that can handle daytime families along with later-night crowds.
From Fungi to Frames…