Nick Wyman sitting in his favorite booth at his favorite restaurant, Sunspot. (Allie Campbell/ UTK Student Journalist)

By: Allie Campbell

March 7, 2024 (5:45 p.m.) - Have you ever struggled deciding where to eat for dinner? Nick Wyman never does. He’s eliminated the problem by choosing the same restaurant every day.

With its location on Cumberland Avenue, known to college students as “the strip”, Sunspot is a restaurant seemingly catered to a younger crowd, however that could not be farther from the truth.

Eighty-year-old Nick Wyman goes to Sunspot for dinner every single night around 6 p.m. The main reason why? He doesn’t cook.

“When it comes to dinner time, I’m more dangerous than anything,” Nick Wyman shared.

There are several reasons he chooses Sunspot out of the hundreds of Knoxville restaurant options. Nick has lived in Knoxville for 46 years, allowing him time to try numerous different restaurants. He feels that Sunspot has the best options for his lactose intolerance. He also finds the customers interesting and the staff members “delightful.”

“This is a very interesting place,” Wyman said.

While the restaurant has several regular customers, none come as often as Nick.

“I’ve had him four times this week,” server Paige Trondson said.

But the servers, who call him “Mr. Nick,” aren’t the only ones to have noticed his consistent presence.

“I go almost every Wednesday and every single time he is there,” Rowyn Biddle said.

Most people probably wonder how he doesn’t get bored of the food, but Nick has his meals on a rotating schedule. That day, a Thursday, he was ordering the Salmon bacon BLT, which he also orders on Mondays and sometimes on Saturdays.

The former University of Tennessee librarian is now retired and spends much of his free time in Sunspot, eating and taking in the scenery. When asked if it ever gets boring his response was immediate.

“Here? No.”

For my class, we had to make a 30 second advertisement. I decided to advertise Fan Run Radio.

Knoxville Businesses Fight for Beer Permit in Beer Board City Council Meeting

Beer Board Council leading Feb. 20 Meeting (Allie Campbell/ UTK Student Journalist)

By: Allie Campbell

Feb. 19, 2024 (5 p.m.) - Knoxville businesses join the city council to appeal for a beer permit. East Tennessee’s very own, Make-A-Wish, stopped by the meeting to obtain a permit for their end-of-year fundraising event.

City council, which acts as Knoxville’s beer board regulates beer permits throughout the city. The Beer Board Chairperson, Lauren Rider led her second meeting since filling the position in December of 2023.

Many organizations attend these meetings to request permits for specific events.

“They bring people out of their neighborhoods and into the downtown area,” Rider said of their importance. “Some of these events will end up having thousands of people.”

East Tennessee’s Make-A-Wish was one of these organizations. Festival Executive Producer, Davis Parker, described their event as a “shindig” with live music, food trucks, a Red Bull silent disco, a vintage market, mechanical bull and water sport activities.

All proceeds from the event will go to the East Tennessee Chapter of Make-A-Wish. It will take place around October of this year at World’s Fair Park.

The chairperson also mentioned the International Street Fair, “Rossini” and the Pet parade “Mardi growl.”

“Rossini is really exciting,” Rider shared about one of her favorite Knoxville events, “because the weather does really crazy stuff.”

The event celebrates the International impact on the culture of East Tennessee with constant entertainment and free admission. The two-day event will be held the weekend of April 20, 2024.

The next Beer Board meeting on March 19, 2024 will discuss deferred appeals and new agenda items. Citizens may attend this meeting to stay in tune with life in Knoxville.