03/10/2026
✅️".. downtown saw 22 new business openings and six business ownership changes, with these new businesses adding 97 jobs to downtown."
By ALLISON WINTERS
[email protected]
"Downtown Kingsport continues to grow and change, with this past year being no different.
Robin Cleary, senior director for the Downtown Kingsport Association, shared some of the highlights from 2025 and spoke to what the community can expect in the coming months.
She said downtown saw 22 new business openings and six business ownership changes, with these new businesses adding 97 jobs to downtown.
Galaxy Pizza & Arcade, Southern Craft BBQ, Momma D’s and Ole Crow Tavern opened their doors downtown in 2025, along with added entertainment options such as Kingsport’s first cat cafe (Boops & Beans Cat Cafe) and Expedition Untamed.
The BANQ venue reopened under new management at the corner of Broad and East Center streets downtown, and the $20 million Main Street Rebuild Project marked its official completion last year.
“2025 was another impactful year for Downtown Kingsport, setting the stage for even greater progress in 2026,” Cleary said in a previous statement to the Times News. “Major investments like the Kingsport Mill redevelopment, Brickyard Village, DKA’s own Downtown Improvement Grants, the recent State Theatre announcement and the completed Main Street Rebuild project are reshaping our downtown, while continued growth in food and beverage — including five new openings and one expansion in the past 13 months — signals strong confidence in the district’s future.”
Demolition has started at the Dobyns-Taylor Warehouse, which is expected to open as a 60-room boutique hotel. Prior reporting by the Times News states the hotel/restaurant part of the project is required to be operational by March 31, 2027.
Cleary said downtown business growth “remained steady” in 2025 compared to 2024, which brought 20 new businesses (44 jobs), and 2023 with 24 new businesses (79 jobs). She said the job increase came from two “sizable” restaurants opening downtown.
DKA said it hosted 30 festivals, events, holidays markets and special shopping experiences in 2025, bringing an estimated 50,000 visitors to downtown.
Facade grants
DKA was awarded a $300,000 Downtown Improvement Grant from the state of Tennessee last year, which funded 11 facade improvement projects. The document states more than $770,000 will be invested in downtown from completed projects.
The Times News previously reported the grant is through a reimbursable program, requiring a 25% match on behalf of the grantee.
Downtown Kingsport DIG grant recipients announced in July 2025 were the following:
McKinney Building, 129 E. New St./322 Commerce St. (awarded $50,000 of $155,072 total project cost)
Casey Squared LLC, 801 E. Center St. (awarded $50,000 of $130,000 total project cost)
Hudson’s General Store, 147 Broad St. (awarded $50,000 of $250,000 total project cost)
Hicks Block Building, 152-158 Broad St. (awarded $37,462.50 of $49,950 total project cost)
RMM Holdings GP, 244 E. Main St. (awarded $50,000 of $129,532.50 total project cost)
SC Kingsport LLC, 242 E. Main St. (awarded $31,332.53 or $41,776.70 total project cost)
H. Lynn Shoemaker, 223 Broad St. (awarded $3,168 of $4,224 total project cost)
High Voltage, 101 Cherokee St. (awarded $1,500 of $2,000 total project cost)
King’s Sport Axe House, 101 Cherokee St., Suite 20 (awarded $907.20 of $1,209.60 total project cost)
Picsee Studio, 101 E. Cherokee St., Suite 10 (awarded $1,377 of $1,836 total project cost)
Studio 116, 116 W. Main St. (awarded $1,331.25 of $1,775 total project cost)
It was announced earlier in February that Galaxy Pizza & Arcade was one of seven Tennessee small businesses to be selected for a $10,000 Main Street America grant.
A previous release states that the grant will be used to fund interior improvements and expand the restaurant’s arcade.
For more information about DKA, visit downtownkingsport org."
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