Scotty’s Hamburgers rolls into Rocky Top with big flavors, small building
Owner Scott Daugherty said the restaurant will operate out of a former Burger Boys restaurant building that was moved to Rocky Top from Knoxville last Friday (May 9).
The 14-by-24-foot building will have a drive-through window for food pickup, and there will also be an adjacent 10-by-10-foot outdoor patio where people can sit down and eat on the site, Daugherty said.
“It’s going to be a Scotty’s, with half-pound hamburgers, along with the original little Scotty burgers, smashburgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, chicken wings, and jumbo chicken tenders,” he said.
“We will also have fresh-cut fries cooked in beef tallow, and will have gluten-free options for everything but the chicken,” Daugherty said. “It’s all going to be fresh food, just like the old-style hamburger joints.”
Mountain Barn Builders moved the 20,000-pound building up Interstate 75 from Knoxville on a trailer, and used a crane to set it on the lot, which is adjoining the Advance Auto property, just east of the auto parts store.
Owner of the 0.61-acre property is Keenland Heights LLC. of Knoxville, which Daugherty said is a company that builds Advance Auto stores.
“We have a five-year lease on the property,” he said. “But we own the building and paid to have it moved to Rocky Top.”
Daugherty said the building is being repainted and upgraded, and “we’re putting new equipment in it.”
He plans a “soft opening” on May 31, and will hold a grand opening “probably in the third week of June,” he said.
To start, operating hours will be 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, but “we may try to keep it open to 5 or 6 p.m. for dinner traffic as people head home from work,” Daugherty said. “In the fall, we plan to add breakfast hours.”
Four to six employees will be hired initially, he added.
Daugherty said he’s never owned a restaurant, but he is the owner and operator of TN Gas LLC. at 1015 N Main St., Rocky Top, which sells propane gas and welding supplies.
