A coffee outpost is now serving snacks, sports drinks and whole-ingredient sandwiches out of the central pavilion at Lakeshore Park, marking the latest completed phase in an ongoing string of upgrades at the 185-acre West Knoxville property. The Camp Honey Coffee stand, run by owners Ryan and Whitney Holliday, is open Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., giving park visitors a food option inside the pavilion itself rather than just at the couple's existing shop across the street.
The addition comes through a collaboration between the Hollidays and the Lakeshore Park Conservancy, according to WATE 6 On Your Side. Ryan and Whitney Holliday identified a gap in healthy food options within the park and are now encouraging visitors to bring their offerings to the picnic tables and pavilion spots scattered across the grounds. The couple also operates Camp Honey Coffee and Provisions at 5819 Lyons View Pike, just across from the park, according to Knox TN Today.
A Master Plan Years in the Making
The pavilion outpost is one piece of a larger set of completed upgrades tied to the park's master plan, which Knoxville City Council approved in October 2020. That plan, designed by landscape architecture firm Nelson Byrd Woltz, has guided development at the park, according to Knox TN Today. Recent additions built out under that framework include pickleball courts, baseball fields, an amphitheater and an adult fitness center, per the station's report.
Lakeshore Park board member John Osbourne said the steady stream of new amenities gives people more reasons to keep coming back. “I just think it gives people a multitude of reasons to come to the park,” Osbourne said, adding that the upgrades will create even more draws for the community, per the same account.
From Asylum Grounds to Knoxville's Busiest Park
Lakeshore Park is owned by the City of Knoxville and sits on land that housed an institution for 127 years, initially called the East Tennessee Hospital for the Insane and later renamed Lakeshore Mental Health Institute, before the psychiatric facility fully closed in 2013, according to the Lakeshore Park Conservancy. The state began leasing 60 acres of the campus to the city back in 1993, which led to the Conservancy's founding in 1996 as a public-private partnership overseeing day-to-day operations. In 2016, The Land Trust for Tennessee worked with the City of Knoxville to place a permanent conservation easement over the property, a legal protection meant to keep the riverfront land as public open space rather than commercial development. A 2013 City of Knoxville budget address described a construction investment. According to the City of Knoxville, a conservation easement for Lakeshore Park was approved in 2016, with the city set to enter into the easement.
The park's central three-story administration building, originally built in 1884 for the hospital, now houses Knoxville Parks and Recreation staff alongside the Conservancy's offices. Lakeshore Park is described as the most utilized public green space in Knoxville, according to Visit Knoxville, and is highly utilized, per WBIR.
Funding a Growing Footprint
Ongoing projects at the park are funded through a mix of private donors and city assistance, with the Conservancy continuing conservation efforts through its Friends of the Park donor initiative, which supports day-to-day operations across the grounds, per WATE's reporting. The Conservancy has reserves set aside for rising maintenance costs, according to WBIR. The nonprofit has raised private donations since its establishment, according to WBIR. According to the City of Knoxville, the Lakeshore Park Conservancy provides operational funding for daily maintenance and capital funding for the park. The city also provides assistance for parks and recreation improvements.
That financial picture arrives alongside a leadership change at the nonprofit. Executive Director Julieanne Foy announced her retirement in February after guiding the Conservancy through the master plan's rollout and the budget's expansion, WBIR reported. Board chair Dee Haslam is now leading the search committee tasked with finding Foy's successor.
The pavilion coffee stand follows other recent additions to the park's amenities, including the woodland-themed Huie Playground, which Hoodline reported opened in May 2024 with a 12-foot embankment slide and boulder scramble donated by Ann and Joe Huie. The park has also had to contend with security concerns tied to its heavy foot traffic; Hoodline previously reported that Knoxville police sought public help in December 2024 after unknown suspects drove a vehicle across the grounds, causing significant turf damage during a spate of vandalism. As new amenities continue to draw crowds to Lakeshore Park, the Conservancy's mix of city backing and private fundraising remains the model keeping the sprawling riverfront property running.
