The center, located on the top floor of the former J&K Building, includes two large classrooms, a teaching/demonstration kitchen, a brewing laboratory and tasting room, faculty and staff offices, and area for a future spirit store. An outdoor patio, added during the renovation, provides additional venue space for events.
Location and Parking
Address: 118 E. Church Ave., Maryville, TN 37804
Parking Information
For your convenience, there are several free parking options in Downtown Maryville. We recommend using the Downtown Center’s lower parking lot, accessible via a left turn on Court Street before Tri-Hop Brewery. Alternative parking options include Founder’s Lot (across from Dandy Lions Gifts), the City of Maryville Municipal Parking Garage, or the upper-level lot across from the Downtown Center on Court Street. Limited accessible parking is available at the front of the Center; please use one of the parking garages if accessible parking is not required.
The History of the Downtown Center Building
Walker Johnson and his wife Gussie Lee Kidd formally opened the J&K Super Store at the corner of Church and Cusick streets on April 17, 1941. With the motto “More Groceries for Less,” J&K stores operated in Rockford and Alcoa, but the downtown Maryville location was most convenient for MC faculty, staff and student shoppers. The store’s advertisements ran frequently in the College yearbook and campus newspaper until 1974, when the business closed. With the opening of the Downtown Center 50 years later, the historic J&K Super Store building again deals in foods and beverage, but this time as a part of two academic programs!
Renting the Downtown Center
The Maryville College Downtown Center is available to rent for classes, meetings, conferences, and parties. Please complete the Rental Inquiry Form with contact information and details of your event, and a Maryville College staff member will respond with availability and prices.
