Copper Cellar Family of Restaurants

There is no more essential factor in a successful restaurant than the quality of ingredients used in food preparation. Starting with the best is the only possible way to end up with the best.

Ease, efficiency and enjoyment of the restaurant experience, for both employees and guests, is directly related to the level of respect, support and cooperation among the staff. Any restaurant guest is everybody’s guest; any restaurant responsibility is everybody’s responsibility.

In fall of 1983 we opened the original Calhoun’s for business on Kingston Pike, just past Pellissippi Parkway. Soon after opening, we put our smokers on a trailer and filled a refrigerated semi with ribs and buckets of our signature sauce. Our destination? The National Rib Cook-Off in Cleveland, Ohio.

After a weekend of round-the-clock smoking, cooking, and basting, Calhoun’s left with the grand prize ribbon and the bonafide right to call ours the “Best Ribs in America.”

We haven’t looked back. The now iconic two-story barn, complete with a silo, has become a place where friends and family gather to celebrate what’s good in their lives while they sample some of Tennessee’s best BBQ, ribs, steak, and sandwiches.

The story of Smoky Mountain Brewery (SMB) began like the story of many great beers—with a lot of passion and trial-and-error.

SMB is the oldest craft brewery in East Tennessee. Our Gatlinburg location opened in 1996 when the idea of local microbrews served fresh was, well, unpopular. People would order a Miller Lite or a Budweiser. When we would tell them we only served beer brewed in house, they would get upset.

The U.S. craft beer movement was still in its infancy. Jim Koch, of Sam Adams and Boston Beer Company notoriety, didn’t purchase the Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewery in his hometown of Cincinnati and start scaling up production until 1997. Yet, there we were in the Smoky Mountains, perfecting our own beer recipes and serving a very, very limited menu of sandwiches and wood-fired pizza on paper plates.

We had the upstairs closed and only sat people downstairs for lunch. The beer taps ran into the kitchen, and that’s where we had to pour the beers.

We had no entrees or servers. Our guests had to walk up to the counter and order food. But that setup wasn’t working. Our old wood-fired oven couldn’t keep up with all the pizza orders, and plastic forks and knives just weren’t cutting it (pun intended).

Before long, we had to grow up and invest in silverware and regular plates. And hire servers. And invest in a conveyer pizza oven, which freed up the wood-fired oven. We finally had a place to cook steaks and other full-fledged Italian entrees.

Those early years were crazy, and it’s fun now to remember how the menu evolved. Once we reached the point where we could serve a pizza in 20 minutes, instead of 45, and give our guests the quality of service they deserved, consistently, the restaurant grew in popularity.

And as the craft beer movement picked up steam, we at SMB found ourselves ahead of the curve. We had invested in our own recipes and spent years evolving and perfecting them. The craft craze is one of the main reasons we have been successful.

We decided to open a new location in Pigeon forge in 2004, and when that restaurant took off, we decided to try Turkey Creek in West Knoxville in 2008. With our Maryville location opening a couple of years later in 2011.

SMB still has those four locations in East Tennessee—Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Knoxville (Turkey Creek), and Maryville—and are proud to be part of the Copper Cellar Family of Restaurants.

Chesapeake’s derives much of its authentic Eastern Shore qualities from décor that features genuine nautical antiques and artifacts. Pairing this cozy, seaside ambiance with welcoming service and fresh ingredients has made it the perfect spot for creating memorable moments with the people in your life.

As part of the Copper Cellar Family of Restaurants, Chesapeake’s offers fresh seafood that’s flown in daily, local, handcrafted microbrews, and USDA choice and prime-graded beef. Our commissary supports over 20 restaurants and 4 event facilities across East Tennessee and provides unique access to a federally-inspected butcher shop, bakery, and processing facility.

Whether you come for the food, the drinks, or the atmosphere, you’re in for an unforgettable experience at Chesapeake’s.

The Copper Cellar has earned a reputation for Award-Winning Food and Hospitality. For over forty years, it has been a favorite dining destination for special occasions, Sunday brunches, and social gatherings. It is the place where the food is always delicious, memories are made, and time is savored bite by bite.

It all began with an underground steakhouse in 1975, the original Copper Cellar on Cumberland Avenue. Some called it ‘Knoxville’s Original Steakhouse.’ In 1980, Copper Cellar literally built upon its success by adding an upstairs, street-level grill that modeled after the famous Harry’s in Chicago. For decades, the Copper Cellar has been a favorite gathering place and dining destination.

Our family enters its fourth decade as a Tennessee tradition in Award-Winning Hospitality and Foods from the “Best Ribs” and “Gold Medal” microbrews to Knoxville’s Best Brunch. Each restaurant brand is unique, offering the foods people crave in the place where they want to be … on the river or lakefront, in the city, or watching the game. We feel privileged to serve Tennessee and to earn a place in the hearts, memories, and lifestyle of our customers.

Once upon a time, the Appalachian Mountains were home to the Cherokee. Today, our great Smoky Mountains, a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, may be home to people of all backgrounds, but we still pay special homage to the tribes who came before us. We honor their lasting presence by sticking true to our roots. From our regionally-inspired menu to our friendly service, we want everyone who walks through our doors to feel like part of our tribe.

As Gatlinburg’s premier steakhouse, located in the heart of the Smoky Mountains, Cherokee Grill presents an upscale mountain lodge atmosphere with an exterior built with stone and brick, and an interior accented with granite and walnut.

In Italy, cooking is an art form made with pure passion, inspired by generations of secret family recipes handed down as a rite of passage. Such was the inspiration for Chef Frank Aloise with a culinary palate infused with Sicilian-Italian family heritage. Now, this heritage serves as the inspiration for the new Cappuccino’s. Our culinary team invites your family and friends to share that joy. Come join us, and fall in love again with the pleasure of eating well.

Originally opened in 1977, we proudly present the new Cappuccino’s, a place where food is celebrated with a fresh take on Italian flavors. To enjoy Italian food is to taste the rich blends of culture, history and seasoning that define the distinctive flavor profiles of regions of Italy. It is to appreciate the abundance of local, fresh foods from East Tennessee and combine that with best seasonings and ingredients from around the world.

Only the Best – Friends, Family, & Food.

Welcome to the Copper Cellar Family of Restaurant's newest concept, Corner16! Corner16 is a casual style restaurant for the whole family. Now serving lunch, brunch, and dinner… Come find your happy place here and don’t forget your appetite!

Your special event deserves to be as unique as you. Birthdays, weddings, reunions, corporate events… these are the moments we live for. We take special pride in our ability to turn your dream into a reality for these occasions.