It can be difficult to find local businesses that you know are affirming and supportive. In and around Knoxville, there are several LGBTQ-owned and LGTBQ-friendly businesses that are intentional about making customers feel safe and comfortable. Selling everything from coffee to bath and body products to secondhand clothing, here are six LGBTQ-affirming businesses in the Knoxville area to try out during LGBTQ History Month and at all times of the year.
South Press Coffee
Located at 3615 Chapman Highway, South Press Coffee is known for being trans-owned and queer-friendly. Owner and curator Joslynn Fish has made it her mission to make the coffee shop a safe place for those who have been marginalized.
South Press is locally sourced, eco friendly and provides customers with games, books and music to make their time in the shop pleasant and fun. The shop sells the typical coffee shop items like drip coffee and lattes, but it also boasts a variety of unique syrup flavors that are likely to put you in the fall spirit including butterscotch, cinnamon bun and toasted marshmallow.
If you have been looking for a place to grab a latte and relax with a good book in a comfortable, LGBTQ-affirming place this fall, consider driving over to South Press.
Yum Yum’s Patisserie
This pop-up pastry shop is Knoxville’s “first and only Black, female and LGBTQ-owned bakery.” Yum Yum’s Patisserie sells a variety of pastries and desserts including classic croissants, danishes, donuts, fritters and more.
In addition to being minority-owned, LGBTQ-friendly and European-inspired, Yum Yum’s Patisserie uses ingredients from several local sources. You can find treats from the Yum Yum’s Patisserie at a Wine & Dessert Night hosted at Intrepid Nitro Coffee and Tea Bar or at a pop-up shop. You can also order pastries, merch and treat boxes through their website.
For pop-up shop dates, times and locations, follow Yum Yum’s Patisserie on Instagram or go to their website.
Smoky Mountain Wax & Company
Looking for a place to get a candle that smells like duck farts? Look no further. Smoky Mountain Wax & Company requires a bit longer of a drive, but this LGBTQ and female-owned candle company offers creative candle scents, wax melts and lotions as well as LGBTQ-affirming hats, aprons and decor.
Established in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Smoky Mountain Wax & Company features original scents catered toward East Tennesseans like “Autumn in the Smokies,” “Cowboy Boots” and “Cozy Cabin.”
You can aromatize your apartment with a Smoky Mountain Wax & Company soy candle, wax melt or air freshener, or you can give yourself a nice fragrance with their herbal soaps and lotions.
Greater Goods
If you’re an avid thrifter, Greater Goods might be your new favorite place to shop. This LGBTQ-owned thrift store is Knoxville’s only “pay by the pound” secondhand store, and the store’s name is indicative of its mission to serve “the greater good.”
Greater Goods opened in June 2023 and is located on Kingston Pike. One pound of clothing from the store costs $2.99, and the store’s bins feature name brands like Harley Davidson and Chaco. By shopping at Greater Goods, customers are supporting the Cancer Support Community East Tennessee as profits are shared with the organization.
Greater Goods is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m, and you can find the store on Instagram @greatergoodsthrift.
Hey Bear Cafe
Hey Bear Cafe is a fan favorite of boba drinkers, and it has been serving Knoxville bubble tea for four years. As is evident on its Instagram account, the cafe is known for being supportive of Knoxville’s LGBTQ community. In June, Hey Bear Cafe celebrated Pride Month by serving a special rainbow drink aptly named Pride Punch.
Hey Bear Cafe features a food truck park behind the store with benches and picnic tables for customers to hang out at. Various food trucks and pop-up shops set up outside for normal evenings as well as for special events like live music performances and karaoke nights.
This month, the boba store is hosting a Halloween Artisan Market with pumpkin painting, axe throwing and other family-friendly activities. To keep up with what is going on at Hey Bear Cafe each week, visit the cafe’s Instagram where it posts weekly food truck and event schedules.
The Bath Lab
Do you prefer online shopping over in-person shopping? Do you enjoy warm baths after long days? Then, this Knoxville-based, LGBTQ-owned bath product company might be for you.
The Bath Lab is an online store that covers all of your bathing needs from bath salts to bath bombs to body butter. The Bath Lab is currently selling Halloween-themed bath bombs shaped like ghosts and zombies to bring a spooky ambiance to your next self-care night.
The business holds pop-ups at other local stores, including Hey Bear Cafe and South Press Coffee, and you can stay up to date on pop-up shop dates on The Bath Lab’s Instagram.
