Are you a 'Scruffy Stuff' fan? Listen for the inside scoop on downtown Knoxville news

Ryan Wilusz, Knoxville News Sentinel
·7 min read

Carole Baskin of "Tiger King," Bianca Belair of WWE and breakthrough musician Briston Maroney.

What do they all have in common? They have been guests on "The Scruffy Stuff" podcast, along with Tennessee Smokies owner Randy Boyd and Bonnaroo co-founder Ashley Capps, just to name a few.

Knox News always has been the source for downtown Knoxville news. Since March 2020, "The Scruffy Stuff" has been the source for expert analysis on the hottest downtown topics.

This year, that analysis went deeper than ever before, with special guests and local journalists joining the show to share their takes on what's happening in the city and what it means for Knoxville's future.

Simply put: If you're not listening, you're missing out.

The good news is we have you covered as the year winds down with some of our best episodes from 2022, which explore topics ranging from the tumultuous first year at Marble City Market to the best and worst of downtown business logos and building architecture.

Downtown reporter Ryan Wilusz, left, speaks with downtown businessman Scott West about plans to expand his family's empire of nightlife establishments from Market Square to Blackstock Avenue, where The International and The Concourse music venues used to operate. The Wests' massive redevelopment, whose signature piece has been pitched as a "Moonsphere," would be called LunaVerse and would include art installations and entertainment throughout the 3.5-acre property.

The occasional narrative podcast places the listener in the story − to dance vicariously at Silent Discos, to cringe at the excess noise coming from vehicles on Gay Street and to explore Durham, North Carolina, to understand how a similar multiuse baseball stadium might work in Knoxville.

These narrative episodes, along with some of our most intriguing discussions, are available below or by searching for "The Scruffy Stuff" on your favorite podcast streaming platform. It's free!

Downtown reporter Ryan Wilusz hosts the show with Brenna McDermott, growth and development editor at Knox News, and new episodes are released each Monday.

What can Knoxville expect from a downtown stadium?

No single story dominated downtown headlines in 2022 quite like plans for a new multiuse stadium, set to open in time for the Tennessee Smokies' minor league baseball season in 2025.

If you haven't been paying attention, don't worry. We'll get you up to speed on this project, which will be in the news for years to come.

Knox News has been the place to follow the process, from seeing updated renderings to understanding the complicated funding strategy, while "The Scruffy Stuff" has provided deep analysis of the issues and interviews with stakeholders.

We first analyzed whether a Smokies stadium just east of the Old City still made sense for downtown Knoxville in August, as the construction industry proved unpredictable and the estimated cost for the project began to rise.

Team owner Randy Boyd joined the show shortly after, sharing what has been happening behind the scenes to bring the project to life.

Doug Kirchhofer, president of the Tennessee Smokies, joins team owner Randy Boyd on "The Scruffy Stuff" podcast to discuss what's happening behind the scenes to bring a new multiuse stadium to life just east of the Old City in downtown Knoxville. The conversation, recorded downtown Aug. 29, quickly became one of the podcast's most successful episodes of the year.

Knox News and "The Scruffy Stuff" then traveled to Durham, North Carolina, where a similar stadium has been shaping the city's downtown since 1995. We came back with six stories, multiple videos, robust galleries and two podcast episodes.

The first was a narrative episode, which lets listeners hear from team, city and community leaders in Durham about how the project became a community asset and encouraged economic development. The second episode features downtown reporter Ryan Wilusz and visual journalist Calvin Mattheis sharing their takeaways from what they learned during their visit.

Is downtown Knoxville living worth the cost?

Downtown Knoxville is one of the hottest spots to live in East Tennessee, but it's also one of the most difficult. Occupancy rates are through the roof, so finding a place can be hard enough.

Then there are the hidden costs of parking, transportation and generally changing your lifestyle from suburban to urban. "The Scruffy Stuff" took a look at the costs and the types of people who could most enjoy downtown dwelling.

After listening to his episode, read all about the most in-demand downtown Knoxville apartments at knoxnews.com.

What are the unspoken rules of downtown Knoxville?

Downtown Knoxville, like any city, has a lot of rules. There are rules about littering, rules about panhandling and rules about noise (more on this in a bit).

But there are some rules not on the books − unspoken guidelines followed by downtown residents and frequent visitors aimed to make navigating downtown an easier experience for everyone.

Do you know how to get into Market Square bars faster and cut down lines? What about the red light some people believe is OK to run through, or appropriate sidewalk etiquette?

Becca Wright, higher education reporter for Knox News, joined downtown reporter Ryan Wilusz on "The Scruffy Stuff" to get you in the loop when it comes to these downtown rules.

How are Cumberland Avenue and UT changing?

If you attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in the '80s, '90s or even the early 2000s, today's campus is borderline unrecognizable.

If you attended in the '70s, then lucky you. You were around for the Cumberland Avenue streaking craze, which "The Scruffy Stuff" talked about during one episode this year.

But most of this year's UT coverage on the podcast was about the growth of campus, including a proposal to build a pedestrian bridge connecting Thompson-Boling Arena to the southern banks of the Tennessee River.

"The Scruffy Stuff" examined how this idea could transform campus life and city life, as well as how the success of Tennessee's football program could encourage downtown growth.

Though the original photograph has disappeared from the News-Sentinel archive, a clipping from the paper's March 3, 1974, edition shows photographer Mickey Creager's image of a streaker engaging in the latest college craze. The paper reported the young man - carrying a Fourth of July type sparkler and wearing only a hat, tie, sunglasses and shoes - jogged down the middle of Cumberland Avenue to the delight of some 350 spectators who cheered him on.

But our biggest analysis came in September, as we discussed the changing face of Cumberland Avenue, set to welcome more than 850 apartment units as part of a record-breaking real estate deal.

What will this mean for parking, traffic and local businesses? Listen to find out!

Best/worst downtown Knoxville buildings and logos

Some downtown buildings are pretty, and some are pretty ugly.

I hope their designers don't take this as a jab. Some structures were great for their era but just couldn't withstand the test of time − buildings like Hotel Knoxville, which thankfully is preparing for a makeover as it transitions to apartments.

"The Scruffy Stuff" published back-to-back episodes on both sides. The first looked at beautifully renovated historic structures and charming new builds residents should be proud of. The second looked at buildings that fit the dictionary definition of scruffy: unkempt, shabby and worn.

The podcast took a similar approach with downtown business logos, picking the best from multiple categories, along with logos that need some work.

What's the future of food halls in Knoxville?

Marble City Market opened in November 2021, becoming Knoxville's first food hall. The business's first year was defined, in many ways, by turnover and internal drama shared by departing vendors.

Knox News and "The Scruffy Stuff" were there every step of the way, documenting both the positive and negative, including the announcement that the people behind SmashCity Knoxville have taken over management.

While the podcast published episodes ahead of the opening in 2021, our first food hall episode of 2022 examined whether the food hall has lived up to the hype that it could extend downtown's boundaries.

Paul and Ashley Moody, the new managers, later became the subject of one episode examining what needs to improve under their leadership. The couple then joined the show to share their plans.

Ashley and Paul Moody pose for a photo at Marble City Market on Aug. 2, shortly after it was announced the couple behind SmashCity Knoxville would be taking over management responsibilities from Hospitality HQ at Knoxville's first food hall. The Moodys later joined "The Scruffy Stuff" podcast to discuss how operations would be different under their leadership as the food hall attempts to bounce back from a tumultuous first year in business.

"The Scruffy Stuff" also visited the site of Kern's Bakery food hall in 2022 to learn how the business will be different than Marble City Market when it opens just south of downtown Knoxville.

Check back regularly at knoxnews.com for updates on both food halls.

How can you make the most of the music scene?

"The Scruffy Stuff" closed out 2021 by looking at which artists could put Knoxville music on the map by talking with Garrett Thomson and Kent Oglesby of Born & Raised Productions.

Our focus on music continued in 2022 with a podcast recorded at Big Ears Festival, where "The Scruffy Stuff" caught up with concertgoers from all over the world about why they chose to come to this major Knoxville event.

Festival founder Ashley Capps joined prior to the event to share how locals can make the most of the festival weekend, while Bonnaroo, co-founded by Capps, was the subject of a podcast sharing what was different on "the Farm" in 2022.

Building on their recognition in Knox News' "Black in Business" project, Good Guy Collective joined the podcast to talk about how The Concourse has become a new home for hip-hop in Knoxville.

Plus, Thomson and Oglesby returned to the show for a narrative episode of "The Scruffy Stuff" examining why their Silent Disco business is making so much noise in Knoxville.

Can downtown Knoxville cut down on noise?

Silent Disco, however, has not been making as much noise as vehicles on Gay Street.

"The Scruffy Stuff" published another narrative episode focused on new noise technology looking to crack down on excessive revving.

We spoke with longtime downtown dwellers, as well as a city representative leading the project, to understand how the technology works and how noise pollution disrupts downtown life.

Ryan Wilusz, downtown reporter and urban explorer for Knox News, can be reached at 865-317-5138 or by email at ryan.wilusz@knoxnews.com. Follow Ryan's work on Instagram @KnoxScruff, and sign up for the free, weekly Urban Knoxville newsletter. Unlock premium perks and support strong local journalism at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Top downtown Knoxville news on 'The Scruffy Stuff' podcast in 2022