Knoxville shopping neighborhood: Bearden
Comments
STORY TOOLS
More Shopping
Share and Enjoy
Like the rest of West Knoxville, Bearden is known for its shopping. If you’re coming from the east, on Interstate 40 or Kingston Pike, you’ll find that Bearden unofficially begins Knoxville’s western shopping district. Almost as soon as you pass the churches and massive homes in the Sequoyah Hills neighborhood, you’ll come across The Shops at Western Plaza, near where Lyons View Pike juts its way onto Kingston Pike. From there Bearden stretches west past Deane Hill and Papermill Drive, over to Bearden Hill, after which lies West Hills.
Bearden shopping has a classier feel to it than does the retail in other parts of West Knoxville. Bearden is home to several quaint, upscale, suburban-looking strip malls that practically demand a closer look. The shopping centers that have names like Homberg Place and Colony Place and Mercedes Place, and look like the places people shop who live in those “Best 10 Suburbs in America” articles.
The shopping in Bearden is varied. There are chain stores, of course. But there are also plenty of boutiques, specialty stores and galleries. Many of the stores are local and chic, giving the area a young-professionals-shop-here quality.
Antique stores are plentiful in Bearden. There are stores like Bearden Antique Mall and others. Some of them you’ll have to venture a little north or south of Kingston Pike to find. Inside you’ll come across who knows what: maybe some vintage signs or a pipe or a globe or some dishes and silverware. Maybe musty old sofas or thick hardback books with faded covers. Maybe a doll that looks like it belongs in a creepy ghost story. Maybe stamps or records or old magazines. But if you’re a collector or enjoy spending an afternoon searching for interesting finds, you’ll do well in Bearden.
The rest of the shopping is as diverse as are Knoxville’s residents. You’ll find small bookstores that don’t have coffee shops inside them, at which you can spend hours perusing. You’ll come across upscale clothing stores with cute outfits your friends will be envious of. You’ll discover galleries with decorative arts and crafts. You’ll uncover stores selling cupcakes and stationary and toys and organic health food groceries and shoes and supplies for making your own jewelry. You’ll find snowboarding equipment and incense and “vintiques.” If it’s cute and charming and unusual, you’ll come across it in Bearden.
Bearden is also home to several stores that Knoxvillians have come to love. McKay Used Books & CDs is here, for example, just off Papermill Drive. McKay is a giant warehouse of a bookstore, selling used books, CDs, DVDs, video games and more.
Next door to McKay is a Campbell’s Pool and Spa, from which you can purchase a swimming pool or a hot tub.
Hungry shoppers will also appreciate the food in Bearden. There are bistros, places to get sushi and local favorites like The Orangery and Naples Italian Restaurant. So don’t buy too many cupcakes at a bakery — save room for something as wonderful as the shopping in Bearden.
© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
Want to use this article? Click here for options!
RSSPlease download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player, or enable JavaScript for your browser to view the video player.
Comments
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.