The Red Fork: New Erwin restaurant touts full-service bar, outdoor patio

ERWIN, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Red Fork in Erwin, Tennessee is the first business in the town to feature a full-service bar, serving cocktails along with beer and wine. The restaurant gets its namesake from a nearby series of waterfalls: Red Fork Falls in Unicoi County.

Shane O’Hare is one of six partners who founded and opened The Red Fork, located at 105 S Main Avenue, and he said they hosted the business’s soft opening over the weekend during the inaugural Trails and Tunes Festival.

“We take on a lot of the attributes that the county highlights, such as walking trails and rivers,” he said on Monday. “And so the owners saw an opportunity to incorporate that into the theme of the restaurant. We will be serving, in a way, upscale Appalachian food was the way that one of our partners described it.”

O’Hare said the Trails and Tunes Festival was a great way to get a feel for downtown Erwin’s customers.

“And so that was an opportunity for us to test the waters. And really we had our socks knocked off. People were just so complimentary of the food, even though it was a limited menu. There was rave about the food that was served, as well as the opportunity to get whatever kind of adult beverage they wanted.”

Town leaders and neighboring business owners also stopped by to welcome The Red Fork to the area. One of those visitors was Erwin Alderman Michael Baker, who owns and operates Union Street Taproom just down the road with his wife.

“It was really nice to actually be able to walk around the corner from my establishment, have a cocktail with my dinner in our community,” Baker said. “You know, this is something that the town said that they wanted to have in 2014 and it’s finally come to fruition.”

In 2014, the Town of Erwin voted to allow businesses to serve liquor by the drink.

O’Hare told News Channel 11 that despite some rough waters in the past regarding serving alcohol in the town , the process of receiving alcohol permits for The Red Fork was straightforward.

“Kudos to the aldermen, to the mayor, as well as the city recorder and the city inspector,” O’Hare said. “They were very helpful in helping us attain what we needed for the restaurant, and then also very helpful in the process for applying for us. And really it was just a matter of providing the information that was required on the document. And from there, we move[d] forward.”

The Red Fork will not be impacted by the cap on off-site beer permits, because they only serve on premise.

Alderman Baker said the town is excited to see entrepreneurs investing in Erwin and they welcome further growth.

“I would encourage anybody to come from the region to downtown Erwin and experience it,” Baker said. “Now that we have a sit down restaurant with a full bar, there’s several different shops and dining opportunities, a tap room, art galleries. There’s lots of things to do in downtown Erwin, just not at festivals. So this is a perfect place to come on a Friday afternoon or whatever to experience another small community with our region.”

Alex Peterson, the owner of Groovy Smoothie in downtown Erwin also went to the soft opening of The Red Fork.

“During the Trails and Tunes festival, we couldn’t wait to stop by and congratulate our friends and neighbors on the new opening,” Peterson told News Channel 11. “For months we’ve watched numerous people from our window going in and out of the building, working hard for opening day. We’re so excited for the new extension being added to our town. Highly recommend the outdoor seating. Cant wait for the full menu.”

The grand opening will be May 21st. They’ll open with their full menu serving a variety of foods. O’Hare said they will have meats, vegetarian dishes, and gluten free options as well.

More information on The Red Fork restaurant can be found on the business’s social media.

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