J.C. Holdway

J.C. Holdway Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from J.C. Holdway, American restaurant, 501 Union Avenue, Knoxville, TN.

Wood-Fired Southern Cuisine by Chef Joseph Lenn
James Beard Award Winner | New York Times 50 Best Restaurants | MICHELIN Guide 2025
Dinner from 5:00 PM in the historic Daylight Building, Knoxville, TN.

There may not be a more familiar American lunch than peanut butter and jelly. 🇺🇸As a 5th-generation Tennessean and the c...
07/04/2026

There may not be a more familiar American lunch than peanut butter and jelly. 🇺🇸

As a 5th-generation Tennessean and the child of educators, Chef Joseph Lenn grew up with PB&J the way so many kids do: packed for school, practical, and made with care.

On the menu now, that memory becomes a peanut butter and jelly tart with blueberry jam and toast ice cream. The ice cream is made with toast because the bread was always part of the point. 🥜🫐🍞🍦

It is nostalgic without being literal, and just unusual enough to make a familiar flavor feel new again.

We are closed today for the 4th of July, as the country marks its 250th birthday. We will reopen Tuesday for dinner service as usual. Happy Fourth. 🇺🇸

thoughtfully crafted. rooted in season. southern at heart.

Our menu is updated daily and posted online.

The financier is a small cake with a practical past.Before it became a pâtisserie classic, it was known as a visitandine...
06/28/2026

The financier is a small cake with a practical past.

Before it became a pâtisserie classic, it was known as a visitandine, a tender almond cake with lightly crisp edges. Later, in Paris, it became the financier, said to be shaped like a small gold bar and made for people working near the financial district who needed something rich, neat, and easy to eat by hand.

Chef Sarah Steffan first learned to make financiers during her internship in France. It was one of the earliest desserts in her pastry education, and it has stayed with her since. Over time, her gluten-free almond financier has become a staple on our dessert menu, a guest favorite, and one of Chef Joseph Lenn’s favorite desserts of hers.

This version brings it home through a Southern Appalachian lens. Think of it as a more composed take on blackberry cobbler: warm almond cake, fresh summer blackberries, and vanilla gelato melting alongside. The technique is French. The reference point is Southern. As the fruit changes, the financier changes with it.

thoughtfully crafted. rooted in season. southern at heart.

Our menu is updated daily and posted online.

Summer rarely sits still on our menu.Chili Roasted Cauliflower ~ Charred Green Beans ~ Crispy Garlic ~ Benne Seeds ~ Cil...
06/23/2026

Summer rarely sits still on our menu.

Chili Roasted Cauliflower ~ Charred Green Beans ~ Crispy Garlic ~ Benne Seeds ~ Cilantro ~ Pickled Fennel

The chile and char bring warmth, while the fennel keeps the plate bright and the garlic adds crunch.

It may be here for only a few days. That is part of cooking through a season when the farms bring us something new nearly every day.

thoughtfully crafted. rooted in season. southern at heart.

Our menu is updated daily and posted online.



Summer is right around the corner, and corn butter is how we know. 🌽Early tomatoes, sweet corn, and wild mushrooms are b...
06/19/2026

Summer is right around the corner, and corn butter is how we know. 🌽

Early tomatoes, sweet corn, and wild mushrooms are beginning to arrive from some of our favorite farmers. We bring them together with basil pistou and campanelle, Italian for “little bells.” Its ruffled edges are especially good at holding our signature corn butter sauce.

We love this time of year, when the farms begin to shape the menu week by week. It is one of the best times of year to eat out, and this dish is our way of welcoming it.

thoughtfully crafted. rooted in season. southern at heart.

Our menu is updated daily and posted online.

Our 46 oz Black Hawk Farms Reserve Label American Wagyu Tomahawk Ribeye comes from a Western Kentucky farm built around ...
06/06/2026

Our 46 oz Black Hawk Farms Reserve Label American Wagyu Tomahawk Ribeye comes from a Western Kentucky farm built around a slower, more carefully controlled way of raising beef.

Black Hawk Farms keeps the process close: calves begin on open pasture, then are finished for 500+ days on a diet built around homegrown corn, roughage, and minerals. Their approach is designed to develop marbling over time rather than speed the finishing process.

The cattle are American Wagyu: full-blood Wagyu bulls crossed with a predominantly Black Angus herd. Black Hawk also works with Tajima Wagyu genetics, known for marbling, which fits their slower finishing process.

The grade matters, too. This is Black Hawk Farms Reserve Label American Wagyu, graded BMS 7+. BMS speaks to the marbling within the beef — the fine intramuscular fat that gives Wagyu its tenderness, rich flavor, and buttery texture. At 7+, this Tomahawk Ribeye is selected for visible, abundant marbling that melts into the steak as it cooks, giving each bite a soft, savory richness without needing much explanation once it reaches the table.

The bone gets noticed first.
The farm, cattle, and grade explain the rest.

thoughtfully crafted. rooted in season. southern at heart.

Our menu is updated daily and posted online.

One of Chef Lenn’s favorite signs of spring has always been peas. Each year, he looks forward to bringing this salad bac...
05/18/2026

One of Chef Lenn’s favorite signs of spring has always been peas. Each year, he looks forward to bringing this salad back. This season, peas from Chef’s Harvest Farm brought the dish back into focus and reminded him why it has stayed with him for so long.

This salad started 17 years ago while Chef Lenn was working at Blackberry Farm. The cheesemaker there was making a fresh sheep’s milk cheese called brebis, and Chef Lenn wanted to create a dish that played on peas and ricotta. The first version was simple: peas, mint, preserved lemon, shaved radish, and fresh cheese.

Over the years, the salad has evolved. Chef Lenn has charred peas over the fire, used burrata, added Benton’s country ham, and continued to refine it with each season. At its core, though, it is still the same salad he created all those years ago.

Ingredients may change, but the roots of a dish matter. This one has been part of Chef Lenn’s spring story for 17 years.

thoughtfully crafted. rooted in season. southern at heart.

To the class of 2026 🍊Our dining room is fully committed for UT Graduation Weekend (Thursday–Saturday), but our bar will...
05/13/2026

To the class of 2026 🍊

Our dining room is fully committed for UT Graduation Weekend (Thursday–Saturday), but our bar will be open nightly for walk-ins and serving our full à la carte dinner menu.

If you are celebrating downtown and hoping to stop by, bar seating is first come, first served beginning at 5:00 PM each evening.

Also pictured: Georgie, one of our lead hosts, graduating from UT after almost 3 years with our team at J.C. Holdway. We are incredibly proud of her and excited to celebrate alongside several other members of our team graduating this weekend as well, including Connor, Avery, and Grace 🧡

Congratulations to the class of 2026

Vols RockyTop

Happy Mother’s Day from J.C. Holdway 🤍Before the restaurant, before the wood fire, and long before Chef Joseph Lenn ever...
05/10/2026

Happy Mother’s Day from J.C. Holdway 🤍

Before the restaurant, before the wood fire, and long before Chef Joseph Lenn ever cooked professionally, he learned to cook beside his mother, Emily, in her kitchen here in East Tennessee.

🏡 Joseph was born and raised in Knoxville, and Emily is a fourth-generation Tennesseean who spent her career as an elementary school math teacher and later principal. At home, though, she was teaching something entirely different — how food can bring people together and make people feel cared for.

🍳 One of the recipes Joseph remembers most is her hoe cakes. Years ago, Emily would make hoe cakes with the children in her classroom and share them together afterward. It became one of the many recipes and traditions she passed down to Joseph growing up, alongside a love for Southern cooking rooted in family, generosity, and gathering around the table.

🌽 The second photo is Joseph’s version of those hoe cakes with trout roe — a dish he has continued refining for nearly 25 years. While the presentation and technique have evolved over time, the heart of it still traces back to Emily’s kitchen and generations of Tennessee cooking before it.

Today we are thinking about the mothers and grandmothers who taught us our first recipes, fed our families, welcomed people into their homes, and shaped the way we gather around food.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of them 🧡

Fully booked. Fully poured.Tonight, we host the Clos Solène Wine Dinner, an intimate, ticketed experience featuring a fi...
05/07/2026

Fully booked. Fully poured.

Tonight, we host the Clos Solène Wine Dinner, an intimate, ticketed experience featuring a five-course menu by Chef Joseph Lenn paired with wines from Clos Solène.

Guillaume Fabre, owner and winemaker of the Paso Robles estate, will present each wine throughout the evening and share the story behind the winery and its Rhône-inspired approach.

Our dining room, bar, and patio will be closed to the public for the evening.

We will reopen for regular dinner service tomorrow.

Interested in future events? Join our email list to stay informed.

Every spring, Chef Lenn steps away from the kitchen and into the forest with his team for one of the most meaningful day...
04/27/2026

Every spring, Chef Lenn steps away from the kitchen and into the forest with his team for one of the most meaningful days of the year, our annual Ramp Hunt.

What began as a lesson passed down from Allan Benton has become something more over time. It is now a day centered on mentorship, connection, and building the kind of team that defines who we are.

The hike in is long, the terrain is not easy, and the work is shared. Together, the team forages wild ramps, learning not just how to harvest them, but how to do so responsibly. Each bulb is treated with care, with roots replanted to preserve the land for years to come.

By the river, the work turns into something celebratory. Ramps are cleaned, a fire is built, and a simple meal comes together with potatoes, ramps, and Benton’s Bacon cooked over open flame.

These are the days that shape our kitchen. The trust built on the trail carries into the line. The respect for ingredients carries onto every plate.

Ramps will be featured on the menu this week.

🍳 Le Creuset Cookware
🐖 Benton’s Bacon

Address

501 Union Avenue
Knoxville, TN
37902

Opening Hours

Tuesday 5pm - 9pm
Wednesday 5pm - 9pm
Thursday 5pm - 9pm
Friday 5pm - 10pm
Saturday 5pm - 10pm
Sunday 5pm - 10pm

Telephone

+18653129050

Website

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