Chocolate lovers rejoice. Bradley’s Gift & Home, 141 N. Peters Road, is adding a second location in Farragut Town Center, 138 Biddle Farms Blvd., with plans to open in July. “We want to bring a little sweetness to our hometown,” said Joy Hamlett, co-owner with her husband, Bradley “Brad” Hamlett, both of Farragut. “We were hoping it would be spring, but at this point it looks like it’s going to be summer,” she added. “It’s been quite a process. “We’re so excited.” Having been in business for almost 30 years, “We’ve kind of been on a long journey,” Joy said, noting the business was started by her husband and his father, Jim Hamlett. The original store opened in 1995 at the former Thrifty Nickel location near Pellissippi Parkway and across from Fort Sanders West. “It was a very poor location at the time,” Joy recalled. “In 2000, they were struggling, deciding whether to close or move, and at the last minute they found a location, North Peters Road, which was across the street from our current location. “They moved in next door to where I was working at the time,” she added. “That’s how (Brad) and I met … we got married in 2002.”
Read MoreFarragut High School legend Donald Dodgen, current school athletic director, is almost 15 years removed from a “remarkable 38-year coaching career (that) stands as a testament to his dedication, leadership and influence on student-athletes at the high school and college levels,” a Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association press release stated. This governing body of state high school athletics recently elected Dodgen — with almost 60 years of excellence as a player, coach and AD — into its Hall of Fame, which was announced Wednesday, Feb. 5. Dodgen and seven other new Hall of Fame members will be inducted at the annual TSSAA Luncheon in the Student Union Building at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Monday, April 7. A High School All-American 6-foot-5 scoring machine as a basketball superstar at Gatlinburg-Pittman High (Class of 1969), “Coach Dodgen played at Tennessee Wesleyan, where his talent on the court helped propel him into the spotlight as both a player and coach,” the release stated. “His achievements were honored with inductions into multiple halls of fame, including the Tennessee Wesleyan Hall of Fame (as both player and coach), Gatlinburg-Pittman … Farragut High School Hall of Fame (as a coach and administrator) and the KIL Coaches Association Hall of Fame. “With a career that spans multiple schools and sports, he has had an enduring impact on both the athletic programs and the communities he served,” it further stated. “His legacy as a basketball coach, athletic director and mentor has made him one of the most respected figures in Tennessee high school athletics.”
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