deep thoughts on business by a studio art major

I used to work at Regas.

With all due respect, I can't say I was necessarily "behind" the establishment, not in the way that I'm "behind" working at LaCosta in Market Square. I realize writing about Regas may be a touchy subject. I know how important it has been to Knoxville. It's been here since the early 1900s, 1917 to be exact? ( I know I was supposed to have memorized that.) My grandparents love the place and took me there when I was a student at UT. And Bill Regas, well, he's one of the kindest men I've ever met.

So I was a hostess, and, as all low-on-the-totem-pole employees do while they're windexing front door windows, I'd dream up ways to make the place better, finishing the sentence, "If I owned this place, I'd ___________"

Every Knoxvillian knows Regas has seen its fair share of problems over the years, closing for a short stint a few years ago and struggling to maintain its rank as one of Knoxville's most popular restaurants. Presently, I don't hear much about the place at all. When I worked there, their problem seemed clear to me, but who am I to know anything about business? Or do I? It doesn't seem difficult to spot a successful place when I see one. (obvious example: The Tomato Head)

This may be an oversimplification, but I think Regas holds so tightly to their past success that they can't make the proper adjustments to compete with newer restaurants. With good intention, they aim to please the people that have been going there since the place opened but tend to forget about the twenty and thirty year olds that makes up such a large part of Knoxville.

I'm pretty sure my parents and grandparents ate there when they were attending UT, but no one I know ate there while I was a student a few years ago. When and why did it lose its appeal to the younger crowd?

Everyone higher up blamed Regas's problems on its location at the intersection of Depot and Gay Street and the construction of I-40. Of course, I agree, it is not in the best area, but the more I look around Knoxville, I tend to disagree with the motto 'Location! Location! Location!' I think if a place has a good enough appeal, people will come. (Oh, yes, people will come, Ray.) A few examples? Sassy Ann's, Senor Taco, Tennessee Valley Bike Shop, Savelli's, Harby's Pizza, Chandler's, Three Rivers Market. (Feel free to add more examples via the comment option) Then there are those businesses in great locations whose lives are just a vapor (The Cube and every other business in the Bermuda Triangle on Cumberland and Seventeenth)

I've heard recently from my friend who still works at Regas that it seems to be doing fine. I'm really not trying to knock the place, but I think a lot about the life and death of businesses and what works and doesn't work in Knoxville. I almost think if someone were to sit down and think about it, they may find a pretty strong formula new establishments could follow to survive in Knoxville. (Or maybe they'd find it's completely random)

I wonder if maybe in a few years Regas will come back in style like big sunglasses or gold jewelry. Maybe the hipster will one day say, "Let's ride our bikes to Regas for some cheese from the cheese cart and a couple of shrimp cocktails. I've gotta see that sweet poster of Dave Thomas again."

I, for one, would absolutely love to see that happen.