Ancient Lore Village Promises a Magical Experience

Surrounded by the lush and abundant greenery representative of the Appalachian Mountains, Ancient Lore Village's flagship property sits tucked away off a winding mountain road in East Tennessee. Rounding the curve to the resort, visitors are greeted with an idyllic, fantastical vista unlike anything else in the region. Rustic cottages sprout from the hillside like they were planted there, flanked by spacious flagstone walkways and picturesque ponds filled with blue-green water sparkling in the sun. At this distance, the rushing roar of Chapman Highway's daily traffic is inaudible, and there's little to disturb the serene sounds of the surrounding forest.

Breaking the Village's spell of halcyon daydream, the sound of power tools buzzing and grinding drifts sporadically on the breeze, and electric golf carts ferry workers back and forth across the sprawling property. In the late spring of 2021, parts of the property remain under construction as workers bustle to complete the new commercial kitchen commissioned by head chef Simon Hall. A raw gouge in the hillside marks where the new structure is growing, and the scent of turned earth and sawdust lingers in the soft mountain air.

Getting to Know the Venue

Based on characters and locations from owner Tom Boyd's book, Bokee's Trek: Outcasts to Inner Earth, the property contains an assortment of amenities, including a driving range, game yard, meeting space, and dining hall. Coming soon is an outdoor bar, which has been designed in partnership with KaTom Restaurant Supply and will be placed adjacent to the whimsically named Yeti Cave. Featuring a beer tap and boiled peanuts, this area will remain purposely unrefined, with visitors encouraged to toss spent peanut shells on the ground and enjoy cigars in the open-air smoking den.

A low stone wall surrounds the "cave," featuring more of the mortar and rockery that's been hand-laid by Hall and Boyd throughout the property. According to Hall, the wall isn't quite finished, but it's on their list of things to do.

"We were thinking maybe we could do something cool with guests," he muses, considering it another opportunity to keep visitors engaged with the Village. "We would come out here with them, we'd mix a little mortar up, we'd have some stones, and everybody would help build the wall up."

Other upcoming plans include the addition of a small gift shop, where visitors can pick up themed souvenirs as well as peruse offerings from a line of food products developed by Hall himself.

Recreational Activities at the Rural Retreat

Although none of the nearby sleeping rooms have televisions, the Village's multipurpose room does. Located below the dining hall, this area provides a space for any number of activities. Corporate staff can put on presentations, guests can book the space for yoga classes or spa treatments, or members of a wedding party can pregame as they wait for the ceremony to begin.

To facilitate nearly any form of recreation a guest can dream up, Village management keeps a list of local vendors, available upon request to anyone who books the property.

Nearby, visitors can stop by the game yard to enjoy a game of giant Jenga, connect four, or cornhole. If outdoor gaming isn't your style, maybe the floating target in the golf range or the surrounding hiking trails are. Designed to encourage participation from all visitors, the Village hopes to offer something for everyone.

Inspiration for the Village

True to Boyd's book, events at the Village are carefully curated to bring people closer together, create an intimate atmosphere, and foster community.

In Bokee's Trek, the titular character embarks on a journey across many different lands, encountering a diverse cast of characters along the way. In the end, Bokee discovers that we have more to learn from each other than to fear, and that openness and communication are the best antidote for the poison of hostility and misconception that so often plague this world.

Accommodations & Decor

This message of celebrating diversity and overcoming hostilities is also reflected in the village architecture; each sleeping room is unique, yet connected to the other rooms in one singular structure. Designed by DK Levy President and architect Daniel Levy, the dwellings appear to be torn straight from the pages of Tom's book.

Modeled after locations featured in the story, the dwellings include Bokee's Bungalow, Waterfall Villas, Orc Home, Fairy Cottage, Gremlin Den, and Leprechaun Lair. Each dwelling has been carefully decorated in a different theme, designed to reflect one of the characters that Bokee encounters on his trek.

"Nothing is repeated," says Hall. "No light fixture, no flooring, no tile, no finish on the walls, no cabinetry, no knobs, nothing. Everything is completely unique."

Each room features a wood burning fireplace and hand-plastered walls designed to blend with the dwelling's theme. Tiny wooden doors conceal all the power outlets and modern amenities such as microwaves, undercounter refrigerators, and dishwashers are hidden behind rustic cabinetry, preserving the illusion of stepping back in time to the lands of ancient lore.

Smaller electric appliances have been shunned as well. Atop the counter in each room's kitchenette area, old-fashioned teakettles stand alongside bags of Mahalo Coffee specially prepared for steeping. Resembling large teabags, the coffee sachets are also local, created for the resort by a company based out of nearby Powell, Tenn.

Hosting Events at Ancient Lore Village

Ancient Lore Village at Boyd Hollow is home to two different types of events. There are private events, which are reserved by customers and by invitation only – think weddings, family reunions, corporate retreats – and there are Village events, set up and hosted by Village management on days when the property hasn't been reserved.

In the spirit of fostering community, Village-sponsored events are typically limited to about 30 to 40 people, although the venue can accommodate several times that many. Keeping gatherings small and intimate encourages visitors to bond over their shared experience, meeting with and learning about people they may not otherwise get to know.

According to Hall, the ultimate goal is to get people relaxed, engaged, and entertained, encouraging them to open up to each other and enjoy being together.

"My job is to create events to bring people to Ancient Lore Village, in which they can stay the night, they can have an experience, they can eat great food, they can have great drinks, and they can enjoy being unplugged in a really relaxed atmosphere that's quirky and different and cool," he explains.

So far, Hall has plans to host a pig roast and fire spinners, feature an outdoor movie night for families, organize a rosé all day party, and put on a show with members of the local Knoxville Opera.

Attending Events

All Village-hosted events are open to the public – meaning anyone who buys a ticket, of course – and are advertised on the venue's website several days or weeks in advance. Tickets are sold online and anyone can buy them, until they're sold out.

As far as private events, it's up to the hosts how many people they wish to include.

"If a wedding wants to be here and they want to have 200 people then that's their dream, I'll make that come alive," says Hall.

To reserve the Village for a private event, visitors will likely need to schedule it at least a month in advance, as open weekends are quickly filled with activities and gatherings designed to draw in locals and keep the property filled with guests.

The Food of Ancient Lore

Taking a quick look on the venue's website, it's easy to see the food is often the star of the show at Village events. Featuring an ever-changing lineup of dishes, the menu is customized for each occasion, underscoring the quirky, distinctive experience the venue aims to provide.

Menu Ingredients & Development

Following an "ingredient-driven philosophy," the retreat boasts a constantly changing menu, curated by Hall for each event.

"It's not like you're at the Four Seasons with a prix fixe menu in front of you, that's the same prix fixe menu at every Four Seasons that week. Nothing has to be repeated here," he says.

According to Hall, the menu is influenced strongly by local agriculture, featuring ingredients grown and harvested in the region. He often attends the local farmers market on Saturday mornings to connect with local producers and obtain seasonal ingredients for the following week's menu. Grainger County tomatoes, Cruze Farms milk, and local eggs will likely make frequent appearances in dishes at the resort, alongside produce such as asparagus, beans, and squash from neighboring Walland, Tenn.

When planning food for a private event, however, he welcomes input from guests. Typically, this process begins with a discussion of the client's preferences, from which he builds an initial menu. After that, it's simply a matter of making adjustments according to the client's likes and dislikes until everyone's happy.

"My goal as a chef isn't to give people what I want, my goal is to make them happy," he says, describing the back-and-forth collaboration entailed when creating a menu for private events. "I call that the ping-pong game."

Hall tries to keep dishes simple, fresh, and creative, reflecting the Appalachian cuisine the region is known for as well as the entire rural retreat's theme of ancient lore. In accordance with the retreat's whimsical nature, featured menu items often sprout from a special journal that he uses to takes down notes after dreaming up new concoctions in his sleep.

Working with the Current Setup

As management wait for the new commercial kitchen to be finished, they make do with a food truck, paneled in wood-patterned vinyl to blend in with the surrounding forest.

Although the truck seems cramped, Hall says they've had as many as three cooks working at once in the small mobile kitchen. Some creative solutions make this possible; a customized cutting board that fits across the truck's built-in three-well sink creates a second prep area, and an outdoor dishwashing sink can be hooked up directly to the nearby water supply, eliminating the need for frequent water tank refills as the teams works.

Still, Hall looks forward to the completion of the new commercial kitchen and outdoor kitchenette, lamenting the lack of storage space in the current setup.

Coming Soon: A Brand New Facility

Designed in conjunction with KaTom's Nick Taylor, the outdoor kitchen will include a three-compartment sink, hand sink, fridges, beer coolers, a large outdoor grill, and a smoker. According to Hall, the adjacent fire pit draws people to the area, making it a popular spot to sit and watch the sky's changing colors as night falls.

Near the dining hall and flex space, construction of the new commercial kitchen forges ahead. Designed to share a footprint with the venue's laundry facilities, the main kitchen will be enclosed and partially underground, featuring a line of windows along the top edge of the rear-facing wall to let in sunlight as food is cooked. The back half of the room will include a walk-in freezer and fridge, while a dish area and work tables will be installed nearby. The commercial ovens and range will cover another wall, and of course ample storage space is incorporated into the kitchen's design.

Village Delivery Service

Since the property is so spread out, delivering food and beverages to the various gathering spots presents a bit of a challenge. Having an outdoor kitchen as well as the food truck and main commercial kitchen provides multiple food production points throughout the venue. Once construction is finished, Hall plans to keep the food truck active, using it as an auxiliary kitchen for upcoming events taking place at a distance from the main kitchen.

Other plans for dining service include transporting finished dishes from place to place via golf carts, storing food in Cambro food carriers to keep it hot and fresh as it travels from stovetop to table top.

Navigating the Path to Success: Forks in the Road

In contrast to the property's relaxed, easygoing atmosphere, the journey to achieve the team's objectives in the real world hasn't always been so tranquil.

"This land was the Boyd family's land, so it wasn't a question of whether or not we were going to build it here," says Hall, explaining that the shift from the original themed resort idea to a rural retreat was, in part, to sidestep local backlash and obtain the necessary permissions to complete the Village's construction.

In the end, perhaps the change was for the best – from the very start, Village management strove to create something special and different from what other local resorts had to offer.

"The end goal was not just to build a wedding venue, or another venue that Knoxville has," said Hall. "We always wanted sleeping accommodations, we always wanted a great food and beverage program, we always wanted some type of entertainment. And we wanted to do all that based off of the values that come from Tom's book."

Being that those values are centered so strongly around friendship and community, abandoning the prospect of developing yet another bland overnight resort in favor of creating a rural fantasy retreat seems as natural as the grasses that grow from the roof of Bokee's Bungalow.

Ancient Lore in the Time of Coronavirus

Another unexpected roadblock that arose during construction was dealing with the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, and what that might mean for the hospitality and foodservice industries moving forward.

Again, Village management looked at this as an opportunity to evolve instead of a limitation of their growth. In addition to incorporating supplementary handwashing stations and creating the outdoor dining space at the Nest patio, management considered the type of events they'd like to host moving forward.

"It made us think more about how we want to be. Who we want to be," says Hall. "It just brings us all back to being intimate, and unique… That feeling you get when you go into somebody's home for dinner, is what I would like to achieve."

Budgetary Restrictions During Construction

Staying within the Village's budget was also crucial. According to Hall, succeeding at the Boyd Hollow property was vital to enabling the development of a second location, and third, and so on. Designing the new kitchen space and selecting equipment was a balancing act between fulfilling a laundry list of requirements and allocating funds for the many other aspects of development.

"Everything's based around a budget," says Hall. "Being a small business, you have to have a budget, you have to be smart with your budget, and that plays a huge role in buying equipment."

According to him, the reps at KaTom Restaurant Supply were more than happy to make that work. He describes the responsive, back-and-forth communication during development, how KaTom reps notified him of special pricing opportunities and listened to his feedback during budget discussions. After receiving the initial bid, Hall was able to go on the company's website and compare products and prices to see if there were any changes he'd like to make.

"I could go right online and see, 'Hey, I like this item at this price better.' And just change it out. And it was done."

Ancient Lore Village & KaTom Restaurant Supply

One area that definitely wasn't a source of friction, according to Hall, was figuring out what supplies and equipment were needed to outfit the organization and get it off the ground.

From providing a checklist of items that most hotels need to get started, to working within the venue's budget, to scheduling frequent on-site visits, KaTom staff collaborated with Village management every step of the way. If requested items weren't available right away, KaTom supplemented them with other items that were equivalent or better.

"Using KaTom was, for me, never not an option," says Hall. "What the employees did at KaTom is beyond what any other supplier would be willing to do."

A Match Made in Legend

He cites the support he received from the KaTom team as the biggest determining factor in the decision to work with them on this project. According to Hall, KaTom reps called regularly to check in with him, brought physical samples for him to look at, helped him plan future orders, and even took him to the Chef Supplies showroom in Kodak, Tenn.

"The showroom is unbelievable. I got taken up there and I felt like a king walking around that showroom. I loved the rainbow KitchenAid mixers, and the $5,000 coffee machine that gave me a cup of coffee... I can't buy that one right now, but I will one day."

At one point, a rep even drove all the way from Nashville, bringing along every single catalogue item Hall had wanted to see – enabling him to quickly sort through items, make selections, and get back to working on other tasks.

"Within 30 minutes I had everything chosen, done, out the door," he says. "It was great. It was easy."

In addition to commercial kitchen equipment, KaTom also supplied glassware, dinnerware, and flatware for the Village, as well as other small items and various appliances necessary to outfit the sleeping rooms for guest accommodation. Offering a wide range of options on the website, as well as in the showroom, KaTom made it simple to select various accent pieces for each themed dwelling.

A Personal Touch

But according to Hall, that wasn't what made the company stand out to him when choosing a supplier. Despite the company's significant growth and expansion in recent years, he believes it's retained the people, the service, and the personal touch that makes it special. And he would know – over the years, Hall has worked with KaTom on a number of other projects, giving him ample opportunity to get to know the team.

"Even though KaTom is like this huge company, it's still independently owned and I know the people that run it," he said, describing the personable approach taken by everyone from sales reps to company execs. "It still feels like family. It's nice."

Looking Toward the Future: Ancient Lore in the Modern Day

As construction is finalized and the property settles into operation, Ancient Lore Village intends to hire 12 to 15 full-time employees as well as additional seasonal staff, creating much-needed job opportunities in the South Knoxville area. Once this Village is up and running and fully staffed, it'll be time to move on to developing the next location.

In total, Village management plan to build six more retreats, eyeing Chattanooga as the next city to get a taste of ancient lore. And, of course, those plans for expanding the Ancient Lore Village enterprise throughout the Southeast include an ongoing partnership with KaTom Restaurant Supply.