On Monday night, we packed out Spice Trail; it was our third straight sell-out dinner as part of The Table.

It began with small bites and a little mindfulness practice to settle our busy days (and minds.)

We ate slowly and gratefully, savoring the present-moment-goodness.

Then, a big-hearted, oh-so-good dinner and drinks followed. We laughed, loudly and among friends and strangers.

Chef Sujata Singh, Oscar Cobon and their team were fabulous.

And, Spice Trail is located - yep - right off MLK Boulevard, a few blocks from Main Street, just down from Calliope.

This brings up our main question of the day:

When was the last time you ate within a block or two of the Tennessee Aquarium?

More on that in a moment.

Speaking of Calliope, on Monday, August 11, Raven Humphrey is hosting a very special evening. She'll teach us about amaro - the Italian digestif - that's also her favorite. History, personal stories, different pours and accompany plates, all led by Raven.

Tickets can be found here.

Not a member of The Table?

Join us and engage with our farmers, restaurants and chefs in new and meaningful ways. We just released our August line-up that also includes:

• A Farm Tour at The Beth

Come join us as we tour the abundant urban farm in Alton Park. Our recent story was a big favorite for many of you. Come meet Damon and Lillian in-person!

Tickets are free and available here.

• Even feel intimidated about farmers' market shopping? Not sure what to buy or from whom?

I'm offering a half-hour tour to help.

On Wednesday, August 6, we'll meet at 3.30 pm for an informal information tour of the Main Street Farmers' Market before it actually opens at 4 pm.

You'll learn who's selling what produce, how to buy it, how to navigate the market, especially if you've never been.

Tickets are free and can be found here.

• On Thursday, August 28, we're offering a very powerful new speaker series event with two local leaders: Amanda Niel and Raven Humphrey.

They'll speak about their experiences as women in the male-heavy restaurant industry.

"Women in the Industry: A Conversation with Amanda Niel and Raven Humphrey" is part of our Little Coyote Speaker Series and begins at 4.30 pm.

This afternoon's going to be powerful.

Tickets are free and available here.

Finally, back to our main question:

When was the last time you ate dinner downtown? As in: downtown, near the Aquarium?

Back in the early 2000s, we - and probably you - did all the time. Within one or two blocks of the Aquarium, there was an abundance of locally-owned, high-quality restaurants.

Big River Grille, the OG for local breweries.

Easy Bistro.

Blue Plate. Hennen's. And our favorite: 212 Market.

Today, they're all gone, either shifted locations or closed permanently, the former a result of the migration across the river  or towards the south: Main Street, MLK Boulevard, South Broad,  West End, the coming riverfront development.

But the latter?

Days ago, another announcement: after years, Sticky Fingers was closing its Broad Street location.

Sticky Fingers opened in 1992; it, too, was a downtown icon and original, its presence adding to those early years of our city's growing sense of identity shift: something's happening here, something's changing about downtown Chattanooga.

Last month, Taco Mac closed, as well.

"The general consensus is that downtown is dying," Ashlee Geier, Sticky Fingers's chief operating officer, told the Times Free Press.

I was speaking about this with a friend, who described the dynamics well: as the focus of downtown shifted heavily towards tourism - hotels are everywhere, and the most capitalistic thing you can do with land is put up a parking lot - our downtown shifted from residential to transitory. Folks came in on Friday and left Sunday.

Then, the pandemic hit. Tourism halted. Without downtown residents within walking distance, those restaurants were hit hard.

A genuine and effective food scene can't be sustained by tourism alone; homeowners, renters, condo-owners must live near restaurants - chef-owned, chef-led - that are attractive and - big one here - easy to get to. (On a Saturday night, would you rather park downtown near the Aquarium or near Calliope and Spice Trail?)

For now, that dynamic has shifted: Easy's at the West End, Main Street and MLK Boulevard are hopping, South Broad and the new Riverfront Development, even Dodds Avenue - with Mac's Kitchen and Bar opening soon there - is getting attention.

Most of all: none of this matters without us.

We vote with our wallet and presence. The present-and-future of our city's restaurant scene is ours to influence.

Hope you all have a most wonderful week. We'll see you Sunday!

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.

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