Reporting from the Quiet Places: a Look Back at 2025
Roosters. Oysters. Awards. Hunger.
Food as a verb thanks
for sponsoring this series
In 2025, Bryan Slayton found full freedom after 36 years.
Calliope was named one of the top 50 restaurants in the US.
Mac's Kitchen & Bar closed. Then, began reopening.
After 20 years, Circle S Farm's Letty Smith and her plough horse sisters Jane and Judy sold their last CSA box.
In response to the absence of fresh food in many Chattanooga zip codes, one mom launched a food co-op.
In response to the SNAP crisis, two working moms began serving warm, home-cooked dinners to hungry families.
And one afternoon in the summer sun, we stood together, ankle deep in a hidden creek on Walden's Ridge and held one of the last and tiniest, most precious and vulnerable fish on the planet.
When we look back at the more-than-100 Food as a Verb stories published in 2025, most fall under one category:
They're quiet.
They run against the stream of Loud Megaphone Media whose job is agitation and unrest.
Yes, Chattanooga saw several big headlines this year, each worthy of a standing ovation or urgent attention.
* Easy Bistro & Bar celebrated 20 years, making this restaurant a firmament in our culinary landscape, immeasurable in so many ways to our identity and industry.
* The Chattanooga Area Food Bank faced its biggest crisis. It marked the second straight year of unparalleled need for the Food Bank.
The need is greater than ever. The lines are growing. The county mayor cut funding, then restored it. The federal government cut funding, and didn't. (Longer story told here.)
Meanwhile, three devoted Food Bank employees continued to work their magic, managing the logistical wonderworks of securing thousands of pounds of food every week.
* The Tennessee Farmland Preservation Act passed, thanks to a large response from our community and others.
Tennessee governor Bill Lee noted the emergency in his State of the State: 10 acres of farmland are lost every hour in the Volunteer State.
When will our local elected officials make farmland loss an outspoken priority?
* And, holy smokes, the Michelin Guide to the South.
Throughout 2025, a horde of anonymous, ordinary-looking inspectors descended on Chattanooga and Sewanee. Who knows how many. Or how often. They ate meal after meal; when they were done, tallied up their notes and released the South's first-ever Michelin Guide.
Six regional restaurants, including three owned by the Niels, were on the list.
Yet, for most of our stories, we took our cameras and notepads elsewhere, other places without headlines, where most folks weren't looking.
We went into the quiet places.
We witnessed oyster mushroom sporing in the winter sun.
Witnessed a killing floor in Meigs County and walked the beautiful farm store next door, where life-and-death are merged together through one family's vision.
Near the banks of the Tennessee River, we moved fencing with Dave Waters on his Meigs County farm.
Long before opening hours, we poured Dynamo drafts with Clay Gentry, the godfather of local brewing, and his brother Rob, who opened Big River Grille, which changed the Third Place identity of our city.
We became good friends with the marvelous Damon Bartos, whose urban farm at The Beth is demonstrating in real-time what urban farms can do: serving the community while also serving the top restaurants in town.
(Perhaps The Beth's farm is the thread that runs through much of this, from the food crisis to our Michelin restaurants. Damon's got his hands in both.)
One block away, we walked the inner shell of Cocoa Cafe, the vision of Councilwoman Raquetta Dotley, who said so wisely:
"This is how we build communities."
Our friends at Tucker Build are partners in this renovation.
At Rosemary and Thyme Creamery, we milked sheep ... or tried to.
"It takes a while to learn," Hannah Walker said with a grin.
There on her north Georgia farm, the fabulous Rachael Porter shot this video and Sarah took this photo of a day that felt like a nursery rhyme.
We made new friends:
Silas Luster and his beautiful Bohemian Village on Glass Street.
Christopher Knowles and the wildly creative Monospace experience.
Matt Warren — some gush he's one of the best brewers in the US — who brews at Hutton & Smith, which also celebrated its 10th anniversary.
And Randall Tomlinson, a cattle farmer-philosopher looking for land and a community that elevates, respects agriculture.
We walked Marion County fields together, his herd of South Pol nearby.
There, Randall told us a line we'll never forget.
"I can't afford the food I create."
Earlier this fall, we threw our own birthday party at Cherry St. Tavern, began a new form of community called The Table, which included amaro parties with Raven Humphrey, Mindful Spice with Chef Sujata Singh and our own Asado with Panoram Asados.
So, we can party.
But, we can cry, too.
With Dani Garcia as she made her so tender Tres Leches cake.
Digging up the forgotten history on a Black Chattanooga man shot in the back by a white man at a midnight diner in 1964.
And saying goodbye as our children go to college.
"When you hold something else, it ends up holding you, too."
Then, as the winter cold began to roll in, we walked onto the Ivy Academy campus in Soddy Daisy, where teachers were offering a most remarkable lesson:
Students were slaughtering and processing Ivy roosters for stocks, broths and the winter cupboard.
Over our shoulders, we see the intention behind these stories.
We did this for us.
We also did this for you.
For the community we so deeply crave.
For the laughter that feels so good.
For the stillness.
The beauty.
The generosity.
And quiet friendship that heals so much.
Story ideas, questions, feedback? Interested in partnering with us? Email: david@foodasaverb.com
This story is 100% human generated; no AI chatbot was used in the creation of this content.
food as a verb thanks our sustaining partner:
food as a verb thanks our story sponsor:
Easy Bistro & Bar
In 2025, Bryan Slayton found full freedom after 36 years.
Calliope was named one of the top 50 restaurants in the US.
Mac's Kitchen & Bar closed. Then, began reopening.
After 20 years, Circle S Farm's Letty Smith and her plough horse sisters Jane and Judy sold their last CSA box.
In response to the absence of fresh food in many Chattanooga zip codes, one mom launched a food co-op.
In response to the SNAP crisis, two working moms began serving warm, home-cooked dinners to hungry families.
And one afternoon in the summer sun, we stood together, ankle deep in a hidden creek on Walden's Ridge and held one of the last and tiniest, most precious and vulnerable fish on the planet.
When we look back at the more-than-100 Food as a Verb stories published in 2025, most fall under one category:
They're quiet.
They run against the stream of Loud Megaphone Media whose job is agitation and unrest.
Yes, Chattanooga saw several big headlines this year, each worthy of a standing ovation or urgent attention.
* Easy Bistro & Bar celebrated 20 years, making this restaurant a firmament in our culinary landscape, immeasurable in so many ways to our identity and industry.
* The Chattanooga Area Food Bank faced its biggest crisis. It marked the second straight year of unparalleled need for the Food Bank.
The need is greater than ever. The lines are growing. The county mayor cut funding, then restored it. The federal government cut funding, and didn't. (Longer story told here.)
Meanwhile, three devoted Food Bank employees continued to work their magic, managing the logistical wonderworks of securing thousands of pounds of food every week.
* The Tennessee Farmland Preservation Act passed, thanks to a large response from our community and others.
Tennessee governor Bill Lee noted the emergency in his State of the State: 10 acres of farmland are lost every hour in the Volunteer State.
When will our local elected officials make farmland loss an outspoken priority?
* And, holy smokes, the Michelin Guide to the South.
Throughout 2025, a horde of anonymous, ordinary-looking inspectors descended on Chattanooga and Sewanee. Who knows how many. Or how often. They ate meal after meal; when they were done, tallied up their notes and released the South's first-ever Michelin Guide.
Six regional restaurants, including three owned by the Niels, were on the list.
Yet, for most of our stories, we took our cameras and notepads elsewhere, other places without headlines, where most folks weren't looking.
We went into the quiet places.
We witnessed oyster mushroom sporing in the winter sun.
Witnessed a killing floor in Meigs County and walked the beautiful farm store next door, where life-and-death are merged together through one family's vision.
Near the banks of the Tennessee River, we moved fencing with Dave Waters on his Meigs County farm.
Long before opening hours, we poured Dynamo drafts with Clay Gentry, the godfather of local brewing, and his brother Rob, who opened Big River Grille, which changed the Third Place identity of our city.
We became good friends with the marvelous Damon Bartos, whose urban farm at The Beth is demonstrating in real-time what urban farms can do: serving the community while also serving the top restaurants in town.
(Perhaps The Beth's farm is the thread that runs through much of this, from the food crisis to our Michelin restaurants. Damon's got his hands in both.)
One block away, we walked the inner shell of Cocoa Cafe, the vision of Councilwoman Raquetta Dotley, who said so wisely:
"This is how we build communities."
Our friends at Tucker Build are partners in this renovation.
At Rosemary and Thyme Creamery, we milked sheep ... or tried to.
"It takes a while to learn," Hannah Walker said with a grin.
There on her north Georgia farm, the fabulous Rachael Porter shot this video and Sarah took this photo of a day that felt like a nursery rhyme.
We made new friends:
Silas Luster and his beautiful Bohemian Village on Glass Street.
Christopher Knowles and the wildly creative Monospace experience.
Matt Warren — some gush he's one of the best brewers in the US — who brews at Hutton & Smith, which also celebrated its 10th anniversary.
And Randall Tomlinson, a cattle farmer-philosopher looking for land and a community that elevates, respects agriculture.
We walked Marion County fields together, his herd of South Pol nearby.
There, Randall told us a line we'll never forget.
"I can't afford the food I create."
Earlier this fall, we threw our own birthday party at Cherry St. Tavern, began a new form of community called The Table, which included amaro parties with Raven Humphrey, Mindful Spice with Chef Sujata Singh and our own Asado with Panoram Asados.
So, we can party.
But, we can cry, too.
With Dani Garcia as she made her so tender Tres Leches cake.
Digging up the forgotten history on a Black Chattanooga man shot in the back by a white man at a midnight diner in 1964.
And saying goodbye as our children go to college.
"When you hold something else, it ends up holding you, too."
Then, as the winter cold began to roll in, we walked onto the Ivy Academy campus in Soddy Daisy, where teachers were offering a most remarkable lesson:
Students were slaughtering and processing Ivy roosters for stocks, broths and the winter cupboard.
Over our shoulders, we see the intention behind these stories.
We did this for us.
We also did this for you.
For the community we so deeply crave.
For the laughter that feels so good.
For the stillness.
The beauty.
The generosity.
And quiet friendship that heals so much.
Story ideas, questions, feedback? Interested in partnering with us? Email: david@foodasaverb.com
This story is 100% human generated; no AI chatbot was used in the creation of this content.
Food as a verb thanks our story sponsor:
Food as a Verb Thanks our sustaining partner:
Food as a verb thanks our story sponsor:
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