As Market Square experiments with open container, a restaurant known just as much for its beer as its chicken has closed for good.
Myrtle's Chicken + Beer at 13 Market Square announced June 27 the restaurant has closed after six years in business and thanked customers for "all the love and support."
"It is with a heavy heart that we have closed our doors for the final time," the restaurant posted to Instagram. "It has been our honor and privilege to have been a part of the Knoxville community."
Myrtle's sat between Soccer Taco and Not Watson's Kitchen + Bar on Market Square, which has been named a temporary Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, or DORA, as part of an open container pilot program allowing customers to take drinks onto the public
plaza and approved sidewalks.
Myrtle's, Knox News previously reported, closed its Kingston Pike location in 2020. The Market Square restaurant closed that same year before reopening in a renovated space, with Glenn Kirtley and his business partners as the new owners.
"Market Square has been a great place for us to do business for a long time, and I don't want to say it was an emotional decision, but it probably was," Kirtley, owner of Soccer Taco and Not Watson's, told Knox News at the time. "We need to do our part to see what we can do to keep that business alive and keep the square vibrant."
This closure leaves two notable vacancies in Market Square after Alice and Appalachia moved from the public plaza to Gay Street earlier this year.
Knox News reporter Joanna Hayes covers restaurants and retail for the business growth and development team. Email: joanna.hayes@knoxnews.com; Instagram: @knoxeat65. Sign up for Joanna's Eat65 email newsletter to get the latest drink and dining news, as well as restaurant recommendations, at knoxnews.com/newsletters.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: A Market Square favorite for chicken and beer has closed after 6 years
