As Cumberland Avenue transforms, Panera restaurant joins an ever-growing dust heap

In recent days, Panera and several other buildings on the south side of Cumberland Avenue have been torn down by Chicago-based owner Core Spaces.

The firm continues its work along Cumberland on multiple structures for private student housing to serve the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Last year, several roughly century-old houses on the lower part of the 1900 block by Lake Avenue were also razed.

As the changes continue for Cumberland Avenue – or the Strip as it has been affectionately nicknamed – the Shopper News researched what was on that block over the last half century or more.

The 1960s

The 1965 Knoxville city directory on file at the McClung Historical Collection reveals that the block catered to the automobile. Located on the stretch were Bill and Bud’s Pure service station where Taco Bell now is and the Cumberland Phillips gas station where Panera later would be.

Across Cumberland Avenue from this block were such businesses as Karnes drug store, Montell’s women’s clothing shop, Don Wylie Hardware, and the Toddle House restaurant, among others.

The Last Lap Tavern and more

By 1975 that south side of the 1900 block had changed slightly. An Ed’s Union 76 station was at 1900 Cumberland Ave., and the C&S laundry and dry cleaners was at 1910. Also, the Last Lap Tavern ? when the legal drinking age was 18 ? was at 1912, while the unique England recording studio was at 2000 adjoining Mountcastle Street on the east side. In the rear of the latter building was Warren’s audiovisual sound services business.

Taco Bell: the 1980s and 1990s

By 1985, Taco Bell had arrived at 1900 Cumberland and is still there, as it is the lone structure on that block not torn down in recent days. The C&S Laundry was still at 1910, although it shared space with the University Club bar. The Last Lap Tavern was also at 1912, while the former music studio space at 2000 was still keeping the music theme, but it was by then home to Cat’s Records and Tapes.

Besides Taco Bell, also on the south side of the 1900 block of Cumberland by 1995 were the creatively named nightclub the Library at 1910, while the Last Lap Tavern was still going strong at 1912. At the 2000 address by then was Bud’s Sports Café. Star Vol quarterback Peyton Manning was in school at this time, but we don’t know if he frequented any of these places amid his busy schedule.

Buffalo Wild Wings: the 2000s

By 2005, Buffalo Wild Wings had moved into the 1910 and 1912 Cumberland Ave. addresses just west of Taco Bell, while Panera was now at 2000 next to Mountcastle Street. Some other checks reveal that Best Italian Café and Pizzeria had been located at that 2000 address for a brief period in the late 1990s. Further research would be required to see if the Panera building dated back to the Best Italian or Bud’s, or if it was new or remodeled construction.

The 2015 city directory said that the only business on that block other than Taco Bell and Panera was Whiskey Dix bar where Buffalo Wild Wings had been.

Panera was popular

Regarding Panera, an online News Sentinel story from 2000 said that siblings Dan Cooke and Becky Cooke Smith from Cleveland, Tennessee, had received the franchise rights for the eatery in Knoxville and Asheville, North Carolina. The Bearden Panera in the Mercedes Place shopping center had been the first in Knoxville to open ? on Nov. 27, 1999. The ones on Cumberland Avenue and North Peters Road opened around mid-2000.

Then-News Sentinel food editor Louise Durman was impressed with the new Panera at the time, writing, “The aroma of yeast products fills the air, and the bakery cases showcase beautiful products, making it impossible to leave without a bagel, a roll, or a loaf of bread.”

The Cumberland Avenue Panera was somewhat unusual in that parking was limited – diners had to find a free or metered space sometimes a block or two away – but it had a vibrant university-focused atmosphere. Students, UT faculty and staff and even Fort Sanders and downtown area workers would gather there to eat.

Among those spotted there over the past 15 years or so were such noted Knoxville residents as the late football coach Johnny Majors, former UT president Joe DiPietro, the late athletic director Mike Hamilton, and Vicky Fulmer, wife of former football coach Phil Fulmer.

As the pandemic hit and construction on the Strip geared up in recent years, Panera on Cumberland went to pickup service only for a period. In more recent months, it became a site for catering only.

But the pleasant memories of it as a full-service Panera still linger like the aroma of freshly baked breads.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Panera goes, Taco Bell stays as Cumberland Ave in Knoxville transforms