The 10th Annual Metro Pulse Readers' Poll
Goods & Services
New Business:
Pulèo's
Runners-Up: Preservation Pub, P. F. Chang's
Hospital:
UT Medical Center
Runners-Up: Saint Mary's, Baptist
Shoe Store:
Just 4 Feet
Runners-Up: Off Broadway, Rack Room
Thrift Store:
Planet X-Change
Runners-Up: Goodwill, Amvets
Furniture:
Rooms to Go
Runners-Up: Brown Squirrel, Fowler's
Best Hair Salon:
Salon Visage
One thing that sets Salon Visage apart from other local salons is specialization. With 31 cutters and 19 colorists in its employ, Visage allows its hands-on personnel to concentrate on the specialty which suits them best. According to General Manager Marty Howard, S.V. is also distinguished by its adherence to the Japanese philosophy of "kaizen," or constant improvement. In addition to hosting in-store clinics with acknowledged experts from the world of beauty, Salon Visage sends its employees to at least one outside continuing education course every year—last year saw Visage stylists visit the Vidal Sassoon Academy in Santa Monica. What does that mean for customers? It means curls and colors so cutting-edge that MP readers have made Salon Visage a regular winner of this category.
Runners-Up: Ross the Boss, Belleza
Computer Store:
Best Buy
Runners-Up: Comp USA, Gateway
Bookstore:
Borders
Runner-Up: Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million
Used Bookstore:
McKay's
Runners-Up: Book Eddy
Best Record Store:
Disc Exchange
They're just a good, big, record store: lots of new and lots of used, with more bluegrass, jazz, alternative rock, and music of local interest than you'll find in any mall. One sign of a good record store is a stable staff of folks, some of them musicians themselves, who know what they're talking about. If they don't have it, they can get it. There are two locations: one not far from downtown on Chapman Highway—it seems to be the favorite of local hipsters—and another slightly more buttoned-down incarnation of the same thing on Kingston Pike.
Runner-Up: Cat's
Liquor Store:
McScrooge's
Runners-Up: Bob's, Ashe's
Pet Store:
Petsmart
Runners-Up: Pass Pets, Pet Supplies
Electronics:
Best Buy
Runners-Up: Circuit City, Radio Shack
Health Food:
Nature's Pantry
Runners-Up: Knoxville Food Cooperative, General Nutrition Centers
Fitness:
Court South
Runners-Up: Rush, Fort Sanders
Alternative Fitness:
Rush
Runners-Up: Court South, Well By Nature
Sporting Goods:
Dick's
Runners-Up: Wynns, Blue Ridge Mountain Sports
Gift Store:
Earth to Old City
Runners-Up: Green Earth, Andrew Morton
Antiques:
Jackson Ave.
Runners-Up: Westwood, Blair House
Pawn Shop:
Atomic Pawn
Runners-Up: Charlie's Super Pawn, Value Pawn
Men's Clothing:
Men's Wearhouse
Runners-Up: Structure, Dillards
Women's Clothing:
Express WorldBrand
Runners-Up: Dillards, Proffitt's
Casual Clothing:
Planet X-change
Runners-Up: Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch
Dry Cleaners: Prestige
Runners-Up: Executive, King
Garden Supply:
Mayo's
Runners-Up: Lowe's, Home Depot
Florist:
Crouch's
Runners-Up: Petree's, Cedar Bluff
Jewelry:
Markman's
Runners-Up: Jared's, Kay's
Day Spa:
Spa Visage
Runners-Up: Belleza, Bella Spazio
Best Grocery:
Fresh Market
The first thing that hits you is the aroma, a mixture of spices, blossoms, sweets, and coffee, a combination singularly pleasing to the human olfactory sense. The first sight you'll see is likely the variety of freshly cut flowers in bouquets and bunches, ready for purchase at need, but an inviting tableau even if you're not in search of a posy. Simultaneously, you'll note the unobtrusive music—classical, elegant, and unrushed, as the shopping experience itself should be, and the free java samples, a treat for the taste buds to be sure. Then it's on to fondle the produce, getting your tactile fill of vegetable variety (though I myself prefer to run my fingers lovingly over all the items in the worthy beer selection). What? Buy stuff? Yes, fresh meat, fish, poultry, cheese, baked goods, deli foods, specialty items—it's all there. But at the Fresh Market, you're not just there to get groceries and go; you're there to savor the experience.
Runner-Up: Gourmet Market
Tobacco:
Leaf and Ale
Runners-Up: Smokin' Joe, Up In Smoke
Massage:
Spa Visage
Runners-Up: Bella Spazio, Belleza
Travel:
AAA
Runners-Up: World Travel, Carlson Wagonlit
Best Tattoos:
Saint Tattoo
There's a paucity of tattoos here at the Metro Pulse office. Which is a shame, really, since we are an alternative weekly, and you'd think that body art and piercings and the like would be the order of the day at a place that bills itself as such. But if all of us were to suddenly opt for colors, we'd surely march in lockstep down to Saint Tattoo at 1020 North Broadway, with our hipper-than-hip publisher Joe Sullivan leading the way. The hands-down winner of this category, Saint wears its credentials on its brightly-inked sleeve.
Runners-Up: Tye-Dye Tattoo, Mythical Markings
Bike Shop:
Bike Zoo
Runners-Up: Greenlee, Cedar Bluff Cycles
Tanning Salon:
Raley's
Runners-Up: Court South, Havana
Eyewear Shop:
Lens Crafters
Runners-Up: Pearle Vision, Dr. Bizer's
Golf Course:
Three Ridges
Runners-Up: Holston Hills, Dead Horse, Willow Creek
Bowling Alley:
Family Bowl
Runners-Up: Western Plaza, Fountain Lanes
April 24, 2002 * Vol. 13, No. 17
© 2003 Metro Pulse
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