Chick-n-Sack, which has built a devoted local following, will plant its first brick and mortar (U.S.!) location at 410 West Jackson Avenue, former home of Sweet P’s Downtown Dive. The new location culminates quite a journey by owner James “Boo” Jackson. He wasn’t born here, moved here, left for another country, returned, and with his culinary ventures in recent years, has planted a very Knoxville flag. I caught up with him by phone to learn about the path that brought him to this pending location.
James moved to the area from his birthplace of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2008 when his father’s job was relocated to Alcoa. He’s lived here most of the time since but left for Eastern Michigan University where he got a scholarship to play basketball. He played briefly in the NBA, then moved to the European League where he spent his playing time in Greece, returning to East Tennessee during the off season.
He felt the entrepreneurial itch early, however, starting his K-Town Krack spice company “out of my college dorm room.” The company has gained traction in recent years and now, James says, “We’re in over 30,000 stores, with Publix, Food City, Food Lion, just to name a few.” He said they are also used by Aramark in Neyland Stadium. He modestly added, “We’re still growing,” explaining that they kind of exploded during the pandemic and are now found on Amazon and other outlets. That spice on the French fries at Neyland Stadium? That’s it…