Davis Poole
Contributing Writer
Driving down the U.S. Highway-41 and through Monteagle, looking out the window at the many signs and advertisements, you may notice one sign in particular: a giant acoustic guitar next to a marquee board, pointing you towards The Smoke House Patio Grill and advertising live music every Friday and Saturday night.
That sign is only where the fun begins. Walk in on any Friday or Saturday after 6:30 PM, and you’ll find yourself in a charming building and hear that night’s musicians playing a folk or bluegrass tune while Mandy, on of the warm and inviting hostesses, shows you to your seat, maybe one of their modest candlelit tables right next to the stage.
The Grill has enjoyed a steady local following, but most of its customers are still tourists or travelers. “Not a lot of Sewanee students come by,” said Mandy. “Just a few upperclassmen in fraternities every now and then.”
What later became The Smoke House Patio Grill was first opened in 1960 by Jim Oliver, native of Pelham, Tennessee, as a drive-in diner operating on I-41 between Chattanooga and Nashville. In 1975, he opened a proper restaurant down the street from the old drive-in, this time with a menu made from his own family recipes. In time, cabins and The Smoke House Lodge rose up around the restaurant, offering a place to stay and enough to eat for any weary travelers on the Dixie Highway. Tour buses as far as Chicago and Miami stopped for meals at the restaurant, and in both 1988 and 1989, The Smoke House received national recognition. The restaurant was included on a list of the 500 Best Restaurants in the United States.
The Smoke House sign outside, photo credit by Davis Poole
In 2021, the restaurant was completely destroyed in a late-night fire. According to a Marion County History database, Monteagle’s local landmark, as well as several of the tourism spots around it, were incinerated, leaving only the Lodge and a question neighbors were asking: what would happen to the legacy of the great Smoke House?
Within three months, Oliver’s son opened up a successor in its place, turning what one of his musicians called a “picnic shed” into a restaurant comparable to his father’s, and with the same, albeit slightly shorter, homestyle menu and complete with locally-sourced live music. On a candlelit wooden table, one may enjoy delicious (and quite cheap!) pub grub while also enjoying the tunes of a local singer-songwriter, both up-and-coming and established.
Turning away slightly from the homegrown format of the original restaurant, The Smoke House Patio Grill is most passionate about its live music. The sign on the side of the road pointing towards the Grill is in the shape of a giant acoustic guitar, and every light in the restaurant itself that doesn’t light the kitchen or come from a candle is pointing to the stage, the aesthetic centerpiece of the eatery.
Only one or two musicians highlight the stage at once. It’s a smaller stage, not big enough for a whole band, nor is the restaurant equipped for that many performers. This decision to only have duos of guitarists or one person alone speaks to the country-style, smalltown establishment Jim Oliver created sixty years ago, and as the choice of music—tranquil country classics and bluegrass tunes mixed in with a few originals (of the same musical structure) of the musicians.
Inside the Smoke House, photo credit by Davis Poole
These musicians can be well-known, straight from Music City, or small, local musicians, which is where guitarist Nick Horner says the Grill puts their emphasis on.
One of these smaller musicians, Nashvillian guitarist and filmmaker Todd Elgin currently lives near the restaurant. He got his start at the Grill during the restaurant’s former open-mic night, where he brought his guitar and a friend, and they played various Southern melodies, original and popular. Playing at the Grill since 2021, and later a member of their official house band (The Fried Pie Players) on Friday nights, Elgin says the Grill is “one of, if not the best venue [he’s] ever played in.”
He appreciates the service’s kindness and sound as a musician “There’s a professional sound man so I don’t have to [set up equipment] myself,” he said. “And they let you play whatever you want!”
Despite the restaurant’s reboot from a nationally renowned stop on I-41 to a relatively unknown little grill, its future is bright and its food, music and service are as good as ever.
The emcee and professional sound technician of the restaurant, Randy Finchum, can be contacted at his website at randyfinchum.com, where local bands or even Sewanee students could get in touch and see themselves perform on the restaurant’s stage.