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Weekend edition October 22, 2021 | Kailyn Lamb

Ole Smoky Distillery receives award recognizing growth and other Knoxville business changes

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a roundup of business news from throughout the Knoxville region. If you have some business news that you would like to be included in Teknovation Weekend, please email us at news@teknovation.biz.)

Business Growth

Ole Smoky Distillery, headquartered in Gatlinburg, recently announced it was a recipient of the “Impact Blue Chip Award,” according to a news release. The award is given out by M. Shanken Communications, publisher of magazines such as Wine Spectator, Impact, Market Watch, and more.

Each year, Impact recognizes businesses in the alcohol industry that have performed well in the long term. Brands much show at least 10 consecutive years of volume growth or have an average compound growth of at least 0.5 percent from 2011 to 2020. There needs to have been positive growth in at least eight of those 10 years. Brands also must have maintained gross margins of at least $25 million last year.

“‘Impact Blue Chip Award’ winners are often called the ‘Stars of the Industry’, and this recognition confirms that Ole Smoky is one of the strongest brands in the spirits industry,” said Robert Hall, CEO, Ole Smoky Distillery, in the news release. “This is the first time Ole Smoky has been named to this elite group–which is even more satisfying as we celebrate our 11th anniversary.”

Winners of the “Impact Blue Chip Award” will be featured in the December issue of Market Watch.

Openings and Closings

The Inside of Knoxville blog recently posted about a few business changes, two downtown and one in North Knox.

  • CJs Closet recently held a ribbon cutting and grand opening at its location in North Knox. The store is a women’s clothing boutique. Read more from Inside of Knoxville here.
  • Vienna Coffee recently closed its downtown location in the Regas Building. “We have been blessed to serve our customers and the community for nearly four years,” the company wrote on its Facebook page. “We thank God for the new friends we made, and the meaningful conversations had in our beautiful space in the Regas building. It will all be missed.”
  • The Bloomers Company closed its downtown floral shop. While the company is not permanently closing, it is combining with the Crouch Florist location on Amherst Road. Crouch and Bloomers combined two years ago, according to a Facebook post from the latter. “As many of you know, we joined with Crouch Florist two years ago, and we were able to broaden our horizon and expand our clientele,” the Facebook post said. “We will miss you downtown Knoxville, but fear not! We are only a hop, skip, and jump away!” Read more about the closures in this Inside of Knoxville post.

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