What are the opening hours?

Tuesday 5pm - 9pm Wednesday 5pm - 9pm Thursday 5pm - 9pm Friday 5pm - 10pm Saturday 5pm - 10pm Sunday 5pm - 10pm

J.C. Holdway

Name: J.C. Holdway
Address: 501 Union Avenue, Knoxville, TN, 37902, US
Telephone: +18653129050
Price range: $$$

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Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from J.C. Holdway, American restaurant, 501 Union Avenue, Knoxville, TN.

Wood-Fired Southern Cuisine by Chef Joseph Lenn
James Beard Award Winner | New York Times 50 Best Restaurants | MICHELIN Guide 2025
Dinner from 5:00 PM in the historic Daylight Building, Knoxville, TN.

10/07/2026

It’s Basic Witch season. 🎃🖤

Our new fall cocktail brings together roasted pumpkin-infused vodka, Borghetti coffee liqueur, and Amaro Averna, topped with whipped pumpkin.

A little autumn magic from our bar.

09/24/2026

Cornbread counts as Friday plans.

We’re opening additional reservations for this Friday, September 25, in the dining room, at the chef’s counter, in the lounge, and on the covered patio.

Reservations go live tomorrow, Thursday, September 24, at noon ET on Resy.

If you don’t see your preferred time, add yourself to the NOTIFY list on Resy to be alerted when a table opens up.

And a reminder: the bar welcomes walk-ins.

📷: Jared Worsham

09/17/2026

Today, Chef Joseph Lenn turns 50. This week, the restaurant he built turned 10. One year ago today, we learned that we had been named to The New York Times’ Restaurant List 2025. 🎂🔥

This photo captures Chef with the print edition of the list, quietly taking in a moment none of us will forget. Naturally, because restaurant life has a sense of humor, a maintenance issue in the historic Daylight Building required us to close the same day we learned the news. The celebration had to wait.

This week, The New York Times released The Restaurant List 2026, and we were thrilled to see Tennessee represented by Junior and Cauponor, both in Nashville. Congratulations to their teams! We remember what that moment felt like, and we are cheering for you.👏

That recognition began an extraordinary year. We were named a MICHELIN Recommended restaurant in the inaugural 2025 MICHELIN Guide American South. Chef Lenn was named a 2026 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Chef, and we were named one of USA TODAY’s 2026 Restaurants of the Year.

Anyone who knows Chef Lenn knows this is an uncomfortable amount of attention for one post. He would redirect every honor to the team, and he would be right. Every recognition reflects the people who have built this restaurant with him, one service at a time.🤍

At 50, what comes next? More cooking, more learning, more nights at the fire, and the same care for the people on both sides of the kitchen door.

Happy birthday, Chef. 🥂

09/15/2026

Pâté is not for everyone. Chef Joseph Lenn knows that. But for those who love it, this anniversary return has been a long time coming. ✨

Joseph had been making chicken liver pâté for years when he fine-tuned this version at Blackberry Farm in 2013. What makes it distinctly his is Benton’s bacon fat, which adds a subtle layer of smoke and roots the dish in East Tennessee.

When J.C. Holdway opened in 2016, the pâté came with him, taking its place on Uncle Joe’s Charcuterie Party Plate.

Ten years later, Joseph decided it was time to bring it back.

Chicken liver pâté with figs, arugula, cornichons, sourdough, and basil vinaigrette. Rich, smoky, bright, and sharp in all the right places.

For the pâté people, this one has history. 🥂

09/07/2026

Make A Phone Call. 📞🍸

Our premium martini experience has a name with more than one story behind it.

“Uncle Joe” Holdway was Chef Joseph Lenn’s great-uncle and the man for whom J.C. Holdway is named. An Army veteran and University of Tennessee graduate, he spent his career as an accountant in the telephone business with AT&T and South Central Bell.

He also loved a good martini.

Standing 6’4”, Uncle Joe was hard to miss. He dined out for nearly every meal and returned faithfully to the restaurants that treated him well and delivered the consistency he valued. Family and friends could count on a joke and a guaranteed good time.

So when we created our premium martini experience, the name came naturally.

“Make A Phone Call” nods to Uncle Joe’s career in the telephone business and winks at an old excuse. If someone asked where you had slipped away to, you were simply making a phone call. Perhaps it ran a little long. Perhaps there was a martini involved. 😉

As we approach our 10th anniversary on September 13, we’re looking back at the people and stories that shaped us from the beginning. Uncle Joe’s belief in loyalty, consistency, and the pleasure of being well cared for remains at the heart of what we hope every visit feels like.

Cheers to Uncle Joe. Join us in raising a glass to him. 🍸

08/30/2026

Tennessee pink marble. Sometimes even the plate has a past. ♻️

Before it held hushpuppies, this serving piece was part of an old window slab at The Pembroke, the historic building Chef Joseph Lenn calls home. Built in 1929 as the New Sprankle Building, The Pembroke served as TVA’s original headquarters beginning in 1933. Directly across Union Avenue stands the Daylight Building, home of J.C. Holdway.

The stone belongs to an even older local story. East Tennessee marble helped earn Knoxville its name as the Marble City.

We saved the window slab and asked a specialty tile maker to cut and finish it for the table. We reuse and repurpose whenever we can, especially when a material carries a story worth preserving.

🌽 On it sit Chef Lenn’s hushpuppies, a signature dish that has been on the J.C. Holdway menu since the day we opened.

Chef Lenn has been making hushpuppies for more than 25 years, nearly as long as he has been cooking professionally. A 5th-generation Tennessean, Joseph grew up cooking cornmeal dishes beside his mother, including her hoe cakes. He carried those memories and flavors with him, gradually refining the hushpuppies into the version we serve today.

They are not an anniversary comeback. They have been here from the beginning.

🔥 Starting Tuesday, September 1, our 10th-anniversary celebration comes to the table. Across 10 dinner services, Tuesday through Saturday, September 1 through 12, the hushpuppies will remain among the snack options on Chef’s Classics.

Then comes the surprise. Each of the five courses will also feature an anniversary addition: one of Joseph’s most-requested dishes from years past, returning for these 10 special services.

Every table, at either of our nightly seatings, may choose after arrival between the anniversary Chef’s Classics and our à la carte menu. If Chef’s Classics is selected, it must be enjoyed by the entire table.

Which old favorite of Joseph’s would you most like to see return? ✨

08/23/2026

Close to home, and essential to everything we do. 🌱🍄

Each year, our team steps outside the restaurant to spend time with the people behind the ingredients that shape our cooking. This year, our annual staff field trip took us to two farms in our backyard in Powell, Tennessee: Chef’s Harvest and Extraterrestrial Fungi.

At Mike Russo (Chef Mikey), Mike Russo, known to us as Chef Mikey, showed us how thoughtful planning and extraordinary use of space allow one acre to supply multiple restaurants. His cucumbers have been on our menu all summer, and seeing where they grow gave our team an even deeper appreciation for the care behind them.

Our relationship with Josiah at ET Fungi 👽🍄 began at the farmers market. While working as a forklift operator at Costco, he turned a passion for growing mushrooms into a business during the pandemic. What began small has grown into a warehouse operation producing high-quality specialty mushrooms for restaurants throughout our area.

Great ingredients are the cornerstone of great cooking. We are grateful to Mike and Josiah for opening their farms to our team, sharing their knowledge, and showing us where so much of our work begins.

08/02/2026

Ten years at the fire. 🔥

This September, J.C. Holdway celebrates a decade at the historic Daylight Building in downtown Knoxville. To mark the occasion, Chef Joseph Lenn will present a special 10th-anniversary edition of Chef’s Classics across the ten dinner services leading up to our anniversary.

From September 1 through 12, Tuesday to Saturday, this five-course prix fixe dinner will celebrate the dishes, ingredients, and live-fire cooking that have shaped our first decade. The menu will not be published in advance and will be revealed at the table each evening.

Our regular à la carte menu will also be available throughout the celebration. No advance choice is required. Your table may decide after arrival. If selected, Chef’s Classics must be enjoyed by the entire table.

Reservations for opening night on September 1 open on Monday, August 3, at noon. Each remaining date will open at noon, 30 calendar days in advance.

To the guests, farmers, makers, and team members who have gathered around our tables and fire over these ten years: thank you. We cannot wait to celebrate with you.

⚡ Tables are limited. Secure your seats on Resy.

LiveFireCooki

07/22/2026

Two years in a row. Worth opening something special. 🥂

J.C. Holdway has earned W**e Spectator’s 2026 Award of Excellence for the second consecutive year.

This honor belongs to the entire team behind every thoughtful bottle, pairing, and pour. Our W**e Director, Andrew Woodland, has been part of J.C. Holdway for the past two years. He brings deep knowledge, an educator’s instinct, and plenty of personality. On Andrew, Andrew makes w**e and restaurant etiquette approachable, useful, and fun.

Here’s to our team, our guests, and another year of very good pours.

W**e Spectator Magazine (21+ to follow)

07/04/2026

There may not be a more familiar American lunch than peanut butter and jelly. 🇺🇸

As a 5th-generation Tennessean and the child of educators, Chef Joseph Lenn grew up with PB&J the way so many kids do: packed for school, practical, and made with care.

On the menu now, that memory becomes a peanut butter and jelly tart with blueberry jam and toast ice cream. The ice cream is made with toast because the bread was always part of the point. 🥜🫐🍞🍦

It is nostalgic without being literal, and just unusual enough to make a familiar flavor feel new again.

We are closed today for the 4th of July, as the country marks its 250th birthday. We will reopen Tuesday for dinner service as usual. Happy Fourth. 🇺🇸

thoughtfully crafted. rooted in season. southern at heart.

Our menu is updated daily and posted online.

Address

501 Union Avenue
Knoxville, TN
37902

Opening Hours

Tuesday	5pm - 9pm
Wednesday	5pm - 9pm
Thursday	5pm - 9pm
Friday	5pm - 10pm
Saturday	5pm - 10pm
Sunday	5pm - 10pm

Telephone

+18653129050

Website

https://www.jcholdway.com/

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