Cookeville News

[smeagolsfree]

I respect that!

[jmtunafish]

I do agree that there's such a cult following of Buc-ees that this monstrosity will siphon business away from existing gas stations as far west as Cookeville and as far east as Harriman, but it will be particularly devastating for gas stations in Crossville.  I think Pilot is probably safe since its Crossville store has a Wendy's and Cinnabon, plus it's also a truck stop which Buc-ees isn't.  But the new Speedway that just opened, and offers nothing special, will probably suffer.

Speaking for Cookeville, I hope this will spur Pilot to do something about its ridiculously cramped and poorly placed store in Cookeville.  They would be wise to build a snazzy new travel center at the newly built Tennessee Avenue exit (3rd picture).  Here's the current Pilot in Cookeville, built in 1985 when there was nothing else around it except KFC, and now which has zero room to expand and creates massive traffic jams.

[donNdonelson2]

Speaking of “sheetz” 

One of the advantages of a stop at Buc-ee’s is that if you need to take a “sheet,” all the toilets are located in fully enclosed small rooms. Excellent ventilation and ample air freshener to prevent your feeling like you’re relieving yourself in an outhouse or portapotty!

[LA_TN]

4 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

If I am driving on the way to some place I am sure not going to stop and buy a grill. Also with 120 gas pumps, the traffic getting in and out will be a pain. I am a get my ass in and out in under 4 minutes including the bathroom break, so these types of places are not my style.

When I drive such as my upcoming NY drive it will be 15 hours on the road max. All I do is stop to pee, gas up and grab food on the fly. Nothing else. My record is from Rapid City SD in 23 hours back to Nashville in one drive. I have my trips planned out and I have my stops planned out. Roadside attractions like these never appealed to me. The closest thing I ever did was Wall Drug Store in SD and that is a place that if you have seen it once you dont have to go back.

Call me me a stick in the mud, but a place like this has no appeal to me from outward appearances. Sort of like Shake Shack... I tried it and dint like it. Way too much hype! When you get older you have seen too much stuff to know the real thing from all the kid stuff crap like this. Now What-A-Burger was different for me. I liked the food, the service, the price. The have been around for years. I used to like McDonalds when I was a kid but now their food is crap. They have changed the ingredients to items that are banned in Europe as have many fast food chains including What A Burger. I do not eat a lot of fast food burgers any longer for that reason. I have gotten way off track, but this explains my mind set. I am very travel focused when I go somewhere and a meticulous planner, down to if I want to pay tolls or not.

Then Buc-ees should offer the 4 minutes stop for gas and restroom break. As others have pointed out, the quality restrooms are a huge draw. How fast can one exit I-40 and return remains to be seen, but it should be quick

But you can also get a meal there (or to go) which saves you an additional stop during your trip

[LA_TN]

1 hour ago, jmtunafish said:

I do agree that there's such a cult following of Buc-ees that this monstrosity will siphon business away from existing gas stations as far west as Cookeville and as far east as Harriman, but it will be particularly devastating for gas stations in Crossville.  I think Pilot is probably safe since its Crossville store has a Wendy's and Cinnabon, plus it's also a truck stop which Buc-ees isn't.  But the new Speedway that just opened, and offers nothing special, will probably suffer.

Speaking for Cookeville, I hope this will spur Pilot to do something about its ridiculously cramped and poorly placed store in Cookeville.  They would be wise to build a snazzy new travel center at the newly built Tennessee Avenue exit (3rd picture).  Here's the current Pilot in Cookeville, built in 1985 when there was nothing else around it except KFC, and now which has zero room to expand and creates massive traffic jams.

That Cinnabon (and Wendy's) is a popular place for me, lol, and I think I'm a regular customer at that Sam's Gas! Agree on the Pilot - that destroys traffic there

As for the other Crossville gas stations and the impact, there are a few, like the Speedway, that will be impacted. But with the volume of I-40, I think it will be a welcome relief when it opens

[KJHburg]

I am a huge Bucee's fan having visited most of their Texas locations and can not wait for the new one to open along I-40 in Crossville.  Not only are their huge restrooms the draw but the quality of quick food and the store at 50,000 sq ft is the size of most grocery stores.   This is the Cypress TX store and not even their largest! 

Here are some photos from inside and out the store on Hwy 290 NW of Houston from last October.  You can bet I will stop at this new one maybe for gas (as they are always competitive but for sure for the restroom and a quick bite)  They are awesome and somewhat hard to describe to people who have not been to one but you will soon find out.  I can taste that Jalapeno Cheddar popcorn now! I usually have to buy something for someone who requests it too. 

Edited June 12, 2021 by KJHburg

[tragenvol]

Picked up some beaver nuggets only a couple of weeks ago...family member Jonses for them.

 

[tragenvol]

On 6/12/2021 at 11:30 AM, KJHburg said:

I am a huge Bucee's fan having visited most of their Texas locations and can not wait for the new one to open along I-40 in Crossville. 

Not sure if posted on Knoxville board, but soon you'll have a Buc-ees even closer to NC.  Buc-ees will build the largest convenience store in the world in Sevierville at 74K sf surpassing the New Braunfels, TX store at 66K sf.  This iteration of Buc-ees will have 120 gas pumps.

I get Sevierville; I don't get Crossville now that there will be a store just down the road.  Why not Lebanon with the I40 and I840 traffic?  Even Cookeville with I40 and Hwy 111 traffic.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining that there will be a Buc-ees only thirty minutes up the mountain, but I don't get it.   This sort of expansion into Tennessee must mean that the Nashville MSA isn't long for a store.

[KJHburg]

Yes I did hear about this new Sevierville store which will be the largest of Bucee's that will be 2 stops from NC to Nashville at Bucees.  The Sevierville store will get business that never comes on I-40 to Nashville the I-81 traffic coming down from the northeast and just the general traffic going to Great Smoky Mtns National Park too (which is a lot)   Still a lot of traffic between Knoxville and Nashville on I-40 for Crossville location too.  They have them 2 hours apart all over Texas.   Don't worry I will be spotting at both locations! 

[jmtunafish]

The Putnam County Commission voted last night to sell the county fairgrounds to Nashville shopping center developer Baker Storey McDonald.  Last year the fairgrounds property appraised for $10.1 million, and the sales price is $12.42 million.  Not bad.  The property is 41.4 acres.  The county bought 187 acres last year on the new Tennessee Avenue (between Cookeville and Baxter) and will use the proceeds from this sale to finance the construction of a snazzy new fairgrounds and expo center.  It won't be as large as Wilson County's expo center in Lebanon, but that's the model they're going after.

The current fairground is outlined in green.  I outlined in blue the new Publix/Academy Sports/Ross shopping center that was built a couple of years ago to show just how much can be built at the fairgrounds.  The city will also have to make some serious street improvements to accommodate what is hoped will be another large regional shopping center.

If Baker Storey McDonald doesn't have retailers lined up within a certain period of time (I think 6 months?) then the deal is voided.  Baker Storey McDonald is also developing a shopping center in the northeast part of town that will be anchored by a ritzy Food City.  They seem pretty bullish on Cookeville.

Personally, I'm very optimistic about this.  I can't imagine that Baker Storey McDonald would've committed this kind of money for this amount of land if they didn't have some serious plans for it.

[jmtunafish]

The Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce President was on the radio last week and when asked about the potential shopping center at the current fairgrounds said she's had to sign several (she stressed the word several) letters of non disclosure from retailers who are ready to build.  So, hopefully, it won't be long before we know what stores will be coming to Cookeville.  Before becoming president of the local chamber, Amy was the Assistant Director of Rural and Community Development with the Tennessee Department of Economic Development, so she's no stranger to these types of things.

In related news, the Putnam County Commission last night was presented with preliminary plans for the new fairgrounds which will be about 4 times the size of the current fairgrounds.  Some of the highlights:

• Parking will increase from 900 to 3,500.
• The midway will double in size.
• There will be an expo center larger than the Hyder-Burks Pavilion (the ag pavilion at TTU) and able to host concerts.
• The livestock / equestrian pavilion will also be larger than Hyder-Burks.
• There will be a 2,800 seat amphitheater.
• There will be an RV campground.
• A separate rodeo ground with 750 seats will be included.
• The outdoor arena will have 7,500 covered seats which is more than double the current arena.

Edited July 20, 2021 by jmtunafish

[Bos2Nash]

4 hours ago, jmtunafish said:

The Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce President was on the radio last week and when asked about the potential shopping center at the current fairgrounds said she's had to sign several (she stressed the word several) letters of non disclosure from retailers who are ready to build.  So, hopefully, it won't be long before we know what stores will be coming to Cookeville.  Before becoming president of the local chamber, Amy was the Assistant Director of Rural and Community Development with the Tennessee Department of Economic Development, so she's no stranger to these types of things.

In related news, the Putnam County Commission last night was presented with preliminary plans for the new fairgrounds which will be about 4 times the size of the current fairgrounds.  Some of the highlights:

• Parking will increase from 900 to 5,000.
• The midway will double in size.
• There will be an expo center larger than the Hyder-Burks Pavilion (the ag pavilion at TTU) and able to host concerts.
• The livestock / equestrian pavilion will also be larger than Hyder-Burks.
• There will be a 2,800 seat amphitheater.
• There will be an RV campground.
• A separate rodeo ground with 750 seats will be included.
• The outdoor arena will have 7,500 covered seats which is more than double the current arena.

This looks and sounds awesome! The only compliant I have is that giant parking lot right along Tennessee Boulevard. I know the area isn't allll that urban, but the parking could've at least moved more towards the back and the structures closer to the road.

[jmtunafish]

A few updates for development projects in Cookeville.

The new police HQ is nearing completion.  It'll be the first time that the Cookeville Police Department has its own home.  Right now they're in the basement of the performing arts center.

 

The new Hilton Home2Suites is starting to rise on Jefferson Ave.

 

A shopping center on 10th Street anchored by Food City.

Tragenvol found this YouTube video of the construction site from a couple of weeks ago.

 

Work has started on the $150 million Portobello tile factory.  It's located adjacent to I-40 at Exit 280.

 

The exterior brick is almost finished on a mixed-use building going up in the heart of Cookeville's WestSide where many of the more popular local eateries and breweries are located.  No idea what's going in at the street level.

The storage units in the picture below are being torn down for a small parking lot.

 

Finally, the old Wilson sporting goods factory downtown has been razed, and the property is no longer for sale.  In addition, the former building supply company next door is in the process of relocating just outside of town which is leading to all kinds of speculation of what's happening.  This is 7-8 acres in the heart of downtown, so rumors are flying.

Edited October 2, 2021 by jmtunafish

[LA_TN]

9 hours ago, jmtunafish said:

A shopping center on 10th Street anchored by Food City.

Tragenvol found this YouTube video of the construction site from a couple of weeks ago.

 

What about the 111 frontage? This raises a lot of questions. Is that property separate? What about access? Do you have any knowledge or thoughts about that?

[jmtunafish]

14 hours ago, LA_TN said:

What about the 111 frontage? This raises a lot of questions. Is that property separate? What about access? Do you have any knowledge or thoughts about that?

That 17 acres that fronts 111 isn't part of this, and I don't know why not.  A new traffic light will go in on the far eastern side of this shopping center with a new road built on the eastern edge, so I wonder if the owner of those other 17 acres has something else in mind.  There's a pretty substantial slope in those 17 acres so who knows what could be done.  Personally, I'd love to see it developed into some higher density but nice housing.  

Edited October 3, 2021 by jmtunafish

[LA_TN]

I love this information on demand service! Thanks!

The slope/hill is a main reason why I asked about that. It seems like the light they mark as proposed would be the only access to the site fronting 111 - and that site plan seems to predict that as the future

Agree with your thoughts on high density residential, but I would be ok with more retail there, and it may very well be both, down the road

Food City should do well there. I almost expect Starbucks to be included, as well

[smeagolsfree]

I am kind of surprised that Food City is coming this far West.

[jmtunafish]

7 hours ago, LA_TN said:

I love this information on demand service! Thanks!

The slope/hill is a main reason why I asked about that. It seems like the light they mark as proposed would be the only access to the site fronting 111 - and that site plan seems to predict that as the future

Agree with your thoughts on high density residential, but I would be ok with more retail there, and it may very well be both, down the road

Food City should do well there. I almost expect Starbucks to be included, as well

Yes, the president of Food City assured local leaders that this will be an "upscale" Food City (I never knew that was a thing) with a Starbucks, a brick oven pizzeria, a sushi bar, café, and a fancier deli than the typical Food City.  I don't know if you could tell from the video, but this is a pretty nice part of town (in spite of the Walmart across Hwy 111) with some upscale neighborhoods.  Hopefully, this will be nicer than the run-of-the-mill Food City stores I saw when I lived in Knoxville.

I'm really curious what the outparcels will be.  It looks like one of them is laid out like a fast food joint with a drive-thru lane.  More restaurants are definitely needed in this part of town.

 

7 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

I am kind of surprised that Food City is coming this far West.

I'm sure this won't be their only store in Middle Tennessee.  I wouldn't be surprised if Food City kept expanding westward into the Nashville area.  Already there are rumors that Food City is going to build a 2nd store in the Cookeville area in a housing/commercial development in Baxter.  I bet it won't be long before they announce a location in Lebanon.

[LA_TN]

7 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

I am kind of surprised that Food City is coming this far West.

They're coming for us! lol But it is a bit interesting to see they've made it to Cookeville

[MLBrumby]

First Food City in cookeville? They’re ok.. their bakery sucks… deli is fair to middling… prices are food and they carry a lot of old brands I cannot get elsewhere like Kay’s ice cream, Terry’s pork rinds, kerns pies and mint moon pies, among many others that Publix doesn’t have. 

[jmtunafish]

In other news, Raising Cane's announced they're going to build a restaurant in Cookeville on "restaurant row" by Olive Garden.  And Penn Station is going in an expansion of an existing shopping center on Willow.  I don't know what else is going in; the 20,000 sq ft "proposed retail" is intriguing.  Rumors were flying a few years ago that Sprouts was coming to town, but that never materialized.  Sprouts does have some smaller stores in the 20k sq ft range.

[LA_TN]

2 minutes ago, jmtunafish said:

Yes, the president of Food City assured local leaders that this will be an "upscale" Food City (I never knew that was a thing) with a Starbucks, a brick oven pizzeria, a sushi bar, café, and a fancier deli than the typical Food City.  I don't know if you could tell from the video, but this is a pretty nice part of town (in spite of the Walmart across Hwy 111) with some upscale neighborhoods.  Hopefully, this will be nicer than the run-of-the-mill Food City stores I saw when I lived in Knoxville.

I'm really curious what the outparcels will be.  It looks like one of them is laid out like a fast food joint with a drive-thru lane.  More restaurants are definitely needed in this part of town.

 

I'm sure this won't be their only store in Middle Tennessee.  I wouldn't be surprised if Food City kept expanding westward into the Nashville area.  Already there are rumors that Food City is going to build a 2nd store in the Cookeville area in a housing/commercial development in Baxter.  I bet it won't be long before they announce a location in Lebanon.

I've seen a couple of Food City that was nice, but I would have to live in an area with one before I could do any comparison to Publix or Kroger. I don't recall seeing a brick oven pizza, but have seen Starbucks and sushi in Food City

Yes, hope for some restaurants better than fast food, but not sure if Chick-fil-A or, example, Red Robin works there yet. But that could be the alternative to Interstate Drive in the future 

[MLBrumby]

We have food city and Publix but no Kroger. FC is good at what they do … and I’d put them about where Kroger is … maybe a notch above because their regional brands substitute for a lot of the Kroger generic labels. They have Deitz  and Watson meats in the deli which are fine.. not as good as boars head but better than the Kroger deli. FC produce us like Kroger produce, but not as good or fresh as Publix. FC prices are in line with Kroger which are better than Publix. I expect FC will do well in Cookeville. 

[jmtunafish]

1 minute ago, MLBrumby said:

We have food city and Publix but no Kroger. FC is good at what they do … and I’d put them about where Kroger is … maybe a notch above because their regional brands substitute for a lot of the Kroger generic labels. They have Deitz  and Watson meats in the deli which are fine.. not as good as boars head but better than the Kroger deli. FC produce us like Kroger produce, but not as good or fresh as Publix. FC prices are in line with Kroger which are better than Publix. I expect FC will do well in Cookeville. 

I have to admit that, after living in Knoxville and trying Food City, I was not excited to hear that Food City was coming to Cookeville.  Other than the nostalgic products you mentioned earlier (especially Kay's ice cream) I was never that impressed with Food City.  Kroger does do a decent job of having upscale stores when backed into a corner by competition from Publix, but Food City just seemed very mediocre no matter what kind of neighborhood they were in.  I hope they'll at least do something with the exterior of this store to make it look better than the typical FC.

Speaking of Kroger, word on the street is that Kroger is going to finally build a fancier store in Cookeville, where the fairgrounds are currently located.  Their existing Cookeville store, while fairly large (70k sq ft) just can't compete with Publix and, I guess, this new Food City.  Also, supposedly Home Depot will be another anchor in the new shopping center replacing the fairgrounds. 

Back to Food City:  at the groundbreaking of the Cookeville Food City, here's what President and CEO Steve Smith said:

“Cookeville is a progressive city,” Smith acknowledged. “One that has growth and good infrastructure and good leadership, but also, we see a lot of opportunities here, not just for one store to develop but for other stores in other communities around here. 

“So, it’s a normal progression of our growth to move a little bit to the west. We hope to look at other towns and other communities that we think could support a supermarket of this type, and we look forward to growing,” he said.

https://www.ucbjournal.com/food-city-breaks-ground-for-new-cookeville-location/

Sure sounds like they plan on opening more stores in the area.

[jmtunafish]

And here's what the Food City official announcement says about their Cookeville store:

The location will include a full-service bakery and deli, featuring in-store fresh baked goods, hot foods and a large café seating area, fireplace, hickory smoker, pizza oven, fresh food bar with a variety of soup, salad and fruit selections and full-service catering and event planning.  Full-service meat and seafood departments will offer pre-marinated and seasoned oven ready products, plus a complete selection of top-quality meats, including Certified Angus Beef and fresh sushi.  In-house butchers will be available to hand cut steaks and fresh meat to order.  Expanded grocery and produce departments will offer a complete selection of gourmet, international and specialty items.  The Food City Floral Boutique will be staffed with a designer seven days per week, offering a full assortment of fresh-cut floral arrangements, bouquets, gift items and more. 

For added convenience, the location will include a Starbucks café, offering a wide assortment of blended hot and cold coffees and beverages and GoCart curbside pick-up allowing customers to shop on-line at foodcity.com and pick-up their order at the store without leaving their vehicle.  A Food City Pharmacy will also be included, equipped with a drive-thru and consultation room...

https://www.foodcity.com/community/news/562/

Edited October 4, 2021 by jmtunafish