Guten Appetit!
Knoxville’s European fast-food options have finally expanded beyond “french” fries and “italian” pizza since GruJo’s German Fast Food moved into North Knoxville. Don’t misinterpret the name. It’s not “german” fast-food (picture “mexican” fast-food ala Taco Bell); instead it’s “German fast-food.”
The restaurant is founded by TJ Jones, a former member of the U.S. army, and Julia Jones, a former resident of Germany. They met in Heidelberg, Germany in 2005 and came back to Knoxville as a married couple.
Although Julia loved the area, she felt that something was missing. It took a pregnancy craving for the fast-food of her homeland to lead Julia to the answer.
This fast-food consists of moderately priced, high quality sandwiches or diner-like entrees. The signature meat, döner, is roasted as a large kebab behind the counter. Slices of this lamb roast is shaved off for döner sandwiches, wraps or boxes.
I ordered a döner kebab sandwich made with a handmade pide bread and my dinner companion ordered a döner wrap. Each came with tomato, cucumber, onions, lettuce, red and white cabbage, and your choice of sauce. I chose a tzatziki sauce and my partner chose the jaeger sauce, a traditional German mushroom gravy.
Although our meals had the same basic components, the sauce made all the difference. While my sandwich had a fresh, tangy flavor, my companion’s wrap had a savory, rich taste. Despite quality of our selections, our meals didn’t skimp on quantity to make up the difference.
Both of us opted for to-go boxes halfway through the meal, and settled back to enjoy the atmosphere of the small restaurant. Although there were minimal decorations, those chosen were intriguing with a story of their own.
A map of Germany hung on the back wall filled with pins scattered across the country but clustered in certain cities. A manager told us how any patron of the restaurant who has traveled to Germany or has formally lived there will mark their favorite location with another pin on the map.
Beside the map hung a cork board titled “Das Boot” which was almost filled with Polaroid shots of smiling customers holding empty two-liter boot-shaped beer glasses. Yes, a fast-food restaurant that has beer on tap.
Today GruJo’s operates in a small location on Emory Road, and the only problem I can see in their future is requiring more parking for the flood of new customers once the rest of Knoxville discovers their secret.
However, that problem may be alleviated by the fact that GruJo’s delivers. So if you can’t make the trek out to North Knoxville for a döner kebab sandwich (although I did and certainly will do again), then GruJo’s will come to you.
