Anyone who’s already dined at Café 4 on Market Square will tell you that the food alone is worth the trip to downtown Knoxville. But along with the adjacent entertainment venue The Square Room, the 4 Market Square restaurant offers its guests more than just a good meal. With an ongoing calendar of events as well as daily food and drink specials, both locations are creating value for customers at a time when value is greatly appreciated.
“In this economy, people want their money to go further,” says Café 4 co-owner Lori Klonaris. “There’s always something interesting happening here. We’re a great place to go if you’re looking for something more than just going out to eat.”

Exhibit A is the new Blues, Brews and Bar-b-que event, which takes place every Tuesday at 4 Market Square. The fun gets underway at 4 pm, and a different local blues band takes The Square Room stage from 7 to 9. Guests, meanwhile, can order from the Café 4 menu or dive into the restaurant’s selection of home-style barbecue, including pork ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork, roasted chicken and more.

Patrons can enjoy their meal in The Square Room itself or in Café 4’s dining room or patio, where the music is piped in from the music hall. Café 4 diners can even watch the bands in action through the windows separating the two venues. Throughout the evening, Café 4 offers its diverse selection of high-end draft beers, which are half price during Blues, Brews and Bar-b-que.
“People are really responding to this event,” says Klonaris. “It’s a nice thing for downtown, and it’s fun because you’re basically getting a free concert while you eat. The atmosphere is very upbeat. You feel like you’re at a festival.”

Every third Wednesday of the month, Café 4 hosts a wine tasting and piano bar. For $20, guests get to taste five different wines against the musical backdrop of live piano music. Presented in cooperation with local wine distributors and the Wine Society of Knoxville, each event has its own theme, based on a particular variety of wine.
And beginning October 7, The Square Room presents Sound Off, a battle-of-the-bands competition that will pit 25 local bands/musicians against each other over the course of five monthly preliminary rounds. Every first Wednesday, five bands will go head-to-head, with the winner advancing to the final Sound Off round in March.
Celebrity judges will choose the overall winner, which will receive studio recording time, a produced EP, up to $500 in musical gear and a booking at The Square Room.
“We’ll be celebrating local bands and giving them a chance to break out,” says Klonaris.