AJ Dave, a born and raised Knoxvillian, has spent years around the downtown and greater Knoxville area.
But like many Scruffy City natives, Dave never knew there was a hotel on Market Square.
At least, not until six years ago.
“A lot of people, even Knoxville residents, walk downtown and see the building and say, ‘Oh, it’s a hotel. I’ve never noticed a hotel here,'” Dave said. “Even though this has been a hotel since the early ’80s.”
Dave, who discovered the Oliver Hotel when he was invited to a party in one of the rooms, now works as guest services manager.
Located at 1 Market Square, the square’s oldest building and street address, the Oliver Hotel is Knoxville’s only boutique hotel. The staff of this unique establishment focus on customer comfort and ease through southern hospitality, Dave said.
“The majority of the reviews (on TripAdvisor) talk about how good the service was as far as just the fact that we’re courteous,” Dave said. “We make it a point to try and not say no to anything.”
The hotel also capitalizes on Knoxville’s history and culture by injecting historical quirks and idiosyncrasies throughout its interior and exterior. Whether it’s the original, locally made furniture or the artwork, the Oliver Hotel reeks of history and character.
Built in 1876 as the Peter Kern Bakery, a confectionary opened by Confederate soldier Peter Kern after the Civil War, the Market Square landmark has withstood decades of historical events in Knoxville. Not only was it the personal bakery of Kern, who served a brief term as Knoxville’s mayor in the 1890s, it also later became The Blakely House, a hotel that housed VIP guests for the 1982 World’s Fair, and finally the St. Oliver Hotel, which established the hotel’s current style.
Current owners, Ethan Orley and Philip Welker – who are planning similar boutique hotels in Atlanta and Nashville – bought the property in 2010 for $1.53 million.
The B&A Associates team invested another $1.5 million in renovations, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel’s article “Kern building on Market Square sold,” published Oct. 20, 2010. Orley told the News Sentinel their idea is to “hopefully remake an old classic downtown and kind of remarket a property that for a long time has been a real secret.”
Their efforts have succeeded in bringing in A-list clientele, as well as local businesses and artists.The hotel has hosted guests like musical groups Earth, Wind & Fire, Hall & Oates, comedian Daniel Tosh, actors Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson, and “Eat Pray Love” author Elizabeth Gilbert.
Most celebrities stay in the Oliver Suite, which features high ceilings, a chandelier and scenic views overlooking the south side of Market Square. The Oliver Suite is also often called the honeymoon suite for its popularity among newlyweds.
Standard rooms, king suites and Market Suites, which also have views of Market Square and include a dining area, are also available. All in all, the hotel features 28 rooms. Prices follow fluctuating market rates, but typical costs can range anywhere from $150 to $450 per night, Dave said.
The rooms, located on the building’s second and third floors, feature interior design by Cortney Bishop Design, a firm based in Charleston, South Carolina and furniture by John Linsday of New Breed Furniture.
The plan was to create a vintage, prohibition feel through the hotel’s design, even though Deano Leve, the Oliver’s concierge, said he has heard visitors describe the décor as “manly and masculine.”
The “manly and masculine” interior design is most notable in the Peter Kern Library, located just off the lobby or, as others may know, off the alley way.
Named after the German born candy entrepreneur who opened Kern Bakery in the same space more than a hundred years ago, the Library is virtually invisible to guests from the hotel’s lobby because of a sliding door that conceals the entrance.
The entrance from the alley is through a door, fit with a peephole to boot, below a round red light. The modern-day speakeasy is “a well-kept secret,” Leve said, and often the subject of rumor.
“It’s a fun thing where everyone is telling each other, ‘Oh have you heard about the bar?’ and then that gets stretched out to ‘Oh I heard it’s in the basement and there’s a secret door,’” Leve said, laughing. “You wouldn’t expect that right behind that wall, there’s a bar that’s pretty popping during the night.
”Drinks at the Library are named after fictional characters, such as the “Holden Caulfield” or “Atticus Finch,” and organized by country of origin — American, English and Russian literature, to name a few. The menus are disguised as World Book encyclopedias.
Hanging above the mahogany bar, a replica of Kern’s stern-looking mayoral portrait keeps constant watch on the business people, concert-goers and occasional celebrity to visit the watering hole. Kern, who died in Knoxville 107 years ago today and is buried at Old Grey Cemetery, is credited with first developing Market Square into an important commercial area.
Today, the Oliver Hotel continues the legacy of Kern and 1 Market Square.
“We are not your corporation or your typical cookie-cutter hotel where it’s the same thing everywhere you go to,” Dave said. “We’re different.”
