Elkmont Station to open in Farragut Crossing
Cozy, upscale Elkmont Station will fill the final storefront in Farragut Crossing later this year, offering “crafty food and drink” at the corner of Kingston Pike and South Campbell Station Road.
Executive Chef Aaron Ward, who has worked with developer Kirby Smith on 15 other single-concept restaurants including Scrambled Jakes in Rocky Hill, said Elkmont Station, snuggled between Starbucks and Pure Barre, will be ‘the first and only of its kind” when it opens at end of May or early June.
The timing will depend mostly on anticipated equipment arrival. “Just like everyone else, we are at the mercy of the shippers on some items,” Ward said.
In the meantime, “We are working on the actual food concepts but expect the main focus to be tapas-type food, featuring small plates and small food,” he said.
“It will likely have a small menu, too — likely just one page — with dinner options we will cycle and also change with the seasons,” Ward added. “We are also planning to likely offer just a one page.
Ward said owners are dealing with some confinement of space within the restaurant itself.
“It is a very small space, but that will only add to its uniqueness,” he said. “We are planning for it all to be open, utilizing outdoors, with outdoor dining as well as bar and kitchen seating.”
The Gatlinburg native said the name itself “ties into the Wonderland Hotel in Elkmont (from the ’30s), that people visited by rail from West Knoxville.”
Charlie Ward (no relation) will be the Elkmont Station chef, running the day-to-day operations while Sadie Daniels has been tapped as general manager.
