Food Works opens in May at the Knitting Mill on Manufacturers Road. Click to enlarge.
photo by Suzanne Walker
Construction is underway to transform 9,000 square feet of the 1922 Knitting Mill building, located on Manufacturers Road, into North Shore area’s newest restaurant, Food Works.
Food Works, “while expansive in design and architecture, will cater to the mass demographic, making it a place to hang out not only on special occasions,” said Operating Partner Scott Adams. Food Works will open at the end of May.
Food Works’ three Operating Partners Scott Adams, Travis Brady and Troy Sutton collectively bring about 50 years experience in the restaurant business to the creation of Food Works, said Mr. Adams.
Formerly the dining room manager at Chattanooga Golf and Country Club, Mr. Adams has helped open six restaurants in Atlanta. Mr. Brady was formerly the bartender at Bonefish Grille and Mr. Sutton has been a chef at the Signal Mountain Country Club, Back Inn Café and other restaurants in Charleston, S.C.
Mr. Adams said he and Mr. Brady spent the last three years looking for the perfect spot to open a restaurant, when they realized that the Knitting Mill building offered an original atmosphere that could never be replicated. The brick architecture, open floor plan, and timeless characteristics produce a “polished retro industrial” design, said Mr. Adams.
Food Works will be two stories with a bridge on the second floor that overlooks the lower dining areas. With four different viewpoints within the restaurant, a guest will want to experience the whole place, he said.
Through the large windows, guests will have a view of the downtown skyline, aquarium and the new pyramid in Renaissance Park. The restaurant will also have a deck to seat 30 to 40 people.
Mr. Brady noted that the restaurant will have three semi-private dining areas upstairs to seat parties of 15, 25 and even 70 or more people.
The owners describe the food as “bold American with a global influence.” Some menu items offered include appetizers varying from calamari to bar-be-que spring rolls, four distinct salads options, an array of pizzas, and a variety of pastas such as lobster stuffed ravioli, Thai peanut noodles and much more. Some of the Food Works specialty entrees will be Jambalaya, Pecan Trout, and Food Works Chicken N’ Steak Pot Pie, just to name a few. Five dessert selections will be available to satisfy a wide range of tastes.
The Food Works bar will offer the “biggest martinis in Chattanooga,” import, draft, craft and domestic beers, and a long list of wines. The bar area will seat about 40 people. Mr. Adams noted that the wine room will be located in the old “brick payroll safe” that was used when the building was a knitting mill.
Food Works will be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. The downstairs dining area will be kept open late at night, said Mr. Adams. The restaurant also has its own parking lot.
Travis Brady, Scott Adams and Troy Sutton are managing partners of the Food Works.
photo by Suzanne Walker