KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It was still sunny at Happy Holler in Knoxville and a little past noon the sounds of construction were sounding loud and clear as if they were announcing themselves to the world.
"Right behind us you can see this is YeeHaw brewery," said Chris Christopoulos, the owner of Christopoulos & Kennedy Construction. "They are a regional brewer and what we're putting out here is a beer garden."
But the smell of the freshly cut tomatoes alongside pepperoni and bright red marinara sauce were all dancing in between those loud sounds. As if an opaque veil traveled through the hot pizza oven, steam brought all the flavors straight to people's senses.
Happy Holler resident Megan Venable arrived at the Hard Knox pizza place at around noon. While she usually went for lunch at a different place, this time she was ready to try a new place that had just opened up.
"Our local restaurant used to be Central Flats and Taps. That was always our go-to," Venable said. "But things started growing out further and further down at Happy Holler. It's really exciting to have some more great restaurants to choose from."
Not only more restaurants, but also breweries and retail stores were under construction with signs that were announcing their future arrival. More and more businesses were gathering in the area.
One of them, Benefield Righters Architecture Planning, moved to Happy Holler after 22 years of being in downtown Knoxville. They saw the potential and decided to make a change.
"There are a lot of businesses that are moving in - large and small - but we're seeing a lot of buildings being rehabilitated and brought back to life, which is the part that really excites us," said Amy Sherrill, principal architect of Benefield Righters.
Over the past few years, the city of Knoxville has been working to improve the area and make it more accessible to Knoxvillians. They've added sidewalks and have allowed developers to use buildings for commercial and residential purposes.
The goal was not only to bring in more economic affluence but to create a community where both entrepreneurs and residents would feel more comfortable, according to the City of Knoxville.
"We're seeing a diversity of buildings, something like Axial technologies is an existing building that came on to provide office space," Sherrill said. "But we're also seeing quite a bit of mixed-use with apartments and condos, and then a lot of retail, new restaurants, services like salons and barber shops. It's really exciting."
Still, there have been many locals who view this area as their "go-to" for a casual quick drink.
C.J. Ogle, who is the owner of Citizen Advertising, said he and his dad used to go to North Central for a beer. He explained how this place is special for the locals who live there.
"There's some really cool, unique different things," Ogle said. "You're not going to get cookie-cutter chain stores here. And that's what I think a lot of people like. You're gonna get unique mom-and-pop businesses that have unique, interesting sort of material things."
As Ogle made a stop in the middle of the day to get a slice of pizza from Hard Knox, his eyes lit up when he spoke about Happy Holler. It was obvious how he felt good about this place.
One thing is certain — there are some new places opening up soon for locals to look forward to.