October 8, 2020 Alumni-Owned Dead End BBQ Chosen for TV Series

If you thought you saw TV cameras and hubbub at Knoxville’s Dead End BBQ recently, you did. Those TV cameras were from the Foodable Network in town for three days to shoot a story about how the small, homegrown and mouth-wateringly delicious restaurant is not just surviving the COVID-19 pandemic but also thriving during this time.

The iconic restaurant is owned by the similarly iconic George Ewart, who in addition to being a successful restauranteur is also a football coach for West High School’s feeder middle schools, and, oh yes, an architect with a degree from the UT College of Architecture and Design who owns his own architecture firm. Plus he’s a good guy.

For three days in early October, the Foodable crew descended on the restaurant on Sutherland Avenue, interviewed Ewart, his employees, his customers, Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, even UT Chancellor Donde Plowman, who is known to support our local businesses, then left town with full stomachs and likely even fuller coolers.

The 30-minute show is part of a series called The Comeback that the network is producing with Amazon Prime and will feature restaurants of all cuisines from across America. Ewart says he was contacted by the producers during the summer. “They said we kept coming up in [internet] searches and showing up on social media, so they called me,” Ewart said with his trademark humility.

Two days after a 40-minute interview on the phone, Ewart said he was told the restaurant had been chosen. He was sworn to secrecy about the plans until the crew showed up in Knoxville on Oct. 1.

The show featuring Dead End BBQ will air in January on Amazon Prime. That gives you plenty of time to experience the flavors and legendary customer service that make George Ewart’s Dead End BBQ one of Knoxville’s tastiest gems.

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