Myrtle's Chicken & Beer has gone dark on Market Square, with the owners announcing Monday that the downtown Knoxville spot is closed for good after roughly six years in business. The sudden shutdown sidelines the restaurant's staff and erases a familiar fried chicken, beer and late-night option from one of the city's busiest public squares.
According to a statement cited by WBIR, the Market Square location is closing permanently, affecting both front-of-house and kitchen employees. WBIR reports that the move brought an immediate halt to service at the address and notes the owners did not give a specific business reason for walking away from the high-profile downtown space.
The downtown site, listed on the brand's official page as 13 Market Square, was known for fried chicken plates, tomato pie and a rotating beer lineup featured on the restaurant's online menu, according to Myrtle's Chicken & Beer. The Market Square storefront had been one of the most visible expressions of the brand. In their statement, the owners did not clarify whether any other Myrtle's locations in the region will continue operating.
Market Square's shifting restaurant lineup
The closure lands as downtown Knoxville tries to keep its restaurant mix fresh while also boosting nighttime energy around the square. City officials recently rolled out a pilot City of Knoxville Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area in parts of downtown, a test program supporters hope will drive more foot traffic and help restaurants hang on to evening customers. Whether that experiment will slow the churn for independent operators is still an open question.
Myrtle's has already weathered contraction in the Knoxville area. A previous Kingston Pike location shut down in an earlier reshuffling of the brand's footprint, as documented by WVLT. Taken together, the closures highlight how uneven the restaurant business can be, even for names that once seemed firmly planted.
The owners have not yet shared details on what will happen to Market Square staff or on the future of the lease at 13 Market Square, and WBIR notes it plans to update its report if more information emerges. For regulars who counted on a basket of chicken and a beer on the square, the locked doors are another sign that downtown Knoxville's restaurant map keeps shifting.
