Best Shoe Store
Just for Feet
Runners Up: Off Broadway, Rack Room
Best Thrift Store
Planet XChange
Runners Up: Goodwill, Amvets
Best Furniture Store
Rooms to Go
Runners Up: Fowler's, Knoxville Wholesale
Best Hair Salon
Salon Visage
Runners Up: Ross the Boss, Belleza
Best Computer Store
CompUSA
Runners Up: Best Buy, Gateway
Best New Books
Borders
Runners Up: Barnes & Noble, Books a Million
Best Used Books
McKay Used Books & CDs
Runner Up: Book Eddy
Best CD/Record Store
Disc Exchange
Runners Up: Cats, Best Buy
Best Gift Store
Earth to Old City
Few businesses in town have a more literal name than Earth to Old City. Gathering artwork, jewelry, and odds and ends from the many corners of the globe (OK, the globe doesn't have corners, but if it did, they would be represented here), the store is reliably eclectic and engaging. There is also, of course, the lush, atmospheric photography of co-owners Scott and Bernadette West. And a fine frame shop in the back. It's hard to say how much longer Earth to Old City will actually be in the Old City—the Wests have acquired numerous buildings on Market Square, and hope to relocate there in the not-too-distant future. But wherever they call home, it'll always be worth a visit.
Runners Up: Andrew Morton, Green Earth Emporium
Best Liquor Store
Bob's Package Store
Runners Up: Ashe's, McScrooge's
Best Pet Store
PetSmart
Runners Up: Pet Supplies Plus, Super Petz
Best Electronics Store
Best Buy
Runners Up: Circuit City, Radio Shack
Best Health Food Store
Nature's Pantry
Runners Up: GNC, Knoxville Food Co-op
Best Antiques Store
Jackson Avenue Antiques
Runners Up: Westwood Antiques, Kingston Pike Antique Mall
Best Massage/Best Day Spa
Spa Visage
Sometimes, you just need to get away from it all—if only just for an hour or two. Some folks like to head off into the wilderness, some into a book, and some dive headlong into pampering. This West Knox day spa extraordinaire is a recharge for your weary batteries. Whether you only have time for an hour-long integrated massage or can spend your day hopping from pedicure to light lunch to facial to new hair do, Spa Visage is the perfect place to indulge.
Runners Up: (Massage) Bella Spazio, Jeff Harrill; (Spa) Madison, Belleza
Best Men's Clothing Store
Men's Wearhouse
Runners Up: M.S. McClellan, Dillards
Best Women's Clothing Store
Proffitts
Runners Up: Kristi, Express
Best Casual Clothing Store
Old Navy
Runners Up: Planet XChange, Gap
Best Tobacco Specialty Shop:
Smoky's Pipes & Tobaccos
Montvue Center, an unassuming strip mall of shops just west of West Town Mall, has been the home for almost 20 years of Smoky's Pipes & Tobaccos. Smoky's was around before cigar smoking became trendy, and no doubt it'll be here long after the trend flickers out. Boasting the largest selection of imported cigars and custom-blended tobaccos in East Tennessee, a walk-in humidor, a selection of over 200 hundred pipes, and a pipe-repair shop, Smoky's just keeps plugging along.
Runners Up: Leaf and Ale, Smokin Joes
Best Sporting Goods Store
Dick's Sporting Goods
Runners Up: Wynn's, River Sports
Best Dry Cleaners
Prestige
Runners Up: Crown, Executive
Best Florist
Crouch
Runners Up: Petree's, Flower Market
Best Jeweler
Markman's
Runners Up: Jared, Pardon's
Best Fitness Club/Best New Business
The Rush
Every year the Best of Knoxville poll brings at least one nail-biting, chest-thumping, barrel-rolling battle for supremacy. The 2002 Clash of the Titans award goes to The Rush and Court South, whose patrons duked it out in a flurry of balloting that had our vote-counting capuchins working overtime. It was a classic confrontation between the big new kid on the block and the reigning champ—as far as we can remember, the locally owned Court South has won the Fitness Club category every year since we started this poll. The campaigning was fierce, but in the end, the new kid prevailed. The surge also carried the club, with its two locations, to an easy victory as "Best New Business." Congratulations to The Rush, which seems to be establishing itself for the long haul. And well-played by all contenders—we like a good throwdown. We look forward to the rematch.
Runners Up: (Fitness Club) Court South, Fort Sanders; (New Business) Cha Cha
Best Gourmet Grocery Store
Fresh Market
Runners Up: Kroger, Gourmet Market
Best Travel Agency
AAA
Runners Up: All Ways Travel, World Travel
April 25, 2002 * Vol. 12, No. 17
© 2002 Metro Pulse
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