Our story
Here since '91
- 1991Old City Java opens on South Central Street.
- 2007Longtime regular Shaun Parrish and his wife, Meg, buy the shop.
- 2022The doors reopen for dine-in with new window seating.
- TodayStill local, still independent, open every day.
Old City Java has been pouring coffee in Knoxville's Old City for more than three decades. That makes it the city's original coffeeshop, and plenty of the people in line today first came in as students.
Shaun Parrish was one of them. He started coming here in 1991, and in 2007 he and Meg bought the place. They later opened Wild Love Bakehouse, which is where the pastries in our case come from.
The crowd is a mix of neighbors, UT faculty, musicians and people visiting town. A good coffee shop puts all of them at the same counter, and that is still the point.