KaTom helps Maryville College Reconnect with Maryville History

For more than two centuries, the city of Maryville, Tenn., and Maryville College have shared an extensive history. The small liberal arts school was part of downtown Maryville when it was established in 1819 and for decades after, but since 1870, the institution had existed on the outer part of town. However, in early 2024, that changed with the establishment of the Downtown Center.

Located on East Church Avenue in the heart of Maryville, the Downtown Center is a multi-purpose facility for use by both the college and the city. The building opened in 1941 as J&K Grocery, serving Maryville citizens and Maryville College students until its closure in 1974. Fifty years later, Maryville College officials, seeking ways to reestablish and strengthen the relationship to its namesake city, opted to lease the space to give the school a foothold downtown. College President Dr. Bryan Coker believes the institution and the city are inextricably linked, and that "a stronger downtown means a stronger Maryville College."

A Multipurpose Space

Managed by Director Hannah Perkins, the Downtown Center is a true community hub, serving as a multipurpose space for public and private events. The center's main use is as the center of the college's new Hospitality and Regional Identity major and Fermentation Sciences minor. The building holds two classrooms primarily intended for these courses but open for other classes as available, along with offices for Maryville College faculty. A Maryville College gift shop is planned for the near future, and an outdoor patio offers additional space, as the Downtown Center is available for rent to the public for community and business events.

The center serves as the main location for the Fermentation Sciences minor and is home to a state-of-the art brewing laboratory and tasting room, where students can learn their craft using the latest brewing and fermentation technology. This lab will eventually be available for use by the community as well.

The crown jewel of the Downtown Center, however, is undoubtedly its teaching and demonstration kitchen, designed for Hospitality and Regional Identity courses. Dubbed the "KaTom Teaching Kitchen," it's a collaboration between Maryville College and KaTom Restaurant Supply, two local entities with deep East Tennessee roots, that both parties can be exceedingly proud of.

KaTom & Maryville College: Two East TN Institutions Unite

When it came to choosing a foodservice equipment supplier to outfit the Downtown Center, Maryville College COO John Berry knew what he didn't want: a faceless, impersonal, transactional experience. Luckily, he got a tip from the folks at RT Lodge—a high-end restaurant known for its impeccable cuisine and cozy vibes located right on campus. The team behind RT Lodge worked with KaTom and highly recommended the company.

"Their Executive Chef Trevor Stockton, their leadership, suggested that we reach out to KaTom and figure out a way to make a partnership work," Berry said. "[Stockton] helped design what we wanted to order and how we wanted to outfit the kitchen."

It wasn't simply Chef Stockton's suggestion that made Berry excited about the idea of partnering with KaTom. Embodying Maryville College's focus on community and connection, Berry wanted more than a simple vendor.

"We were planning construction and getting bids for the equipment, and we had multiple bids, but I'd always known of KaTom by name," Berry explained. "I'm a Knoxville native, so I knew of the company, some of the history, and the Bibles, the family … and I talked to our project manager and I said 'Let's see if we can do more than just a transaction with one of these vendors; let's see if we can have a partnership.'

"For me, it was really about: If this is a community-centered, -oriented place, we don't want just someone to sell us equipment and then skip town. We want to have a real partnership with everybody we do business with down here, and KaTom was one of those that was easy to achieve, and we're looking forward to what that means for the future, too."

Just as Berry hoped, KaTom offered a personalized experience, and Berry's interactions with Team KaTom helped form a genuine relationship.

"Of the vendors who bid, I asked our project manager to set up a meeting with—it was [KaTom Vice President of Business Development] Charley Bible at the time—to talk about 'What could a partnership look like?' And he was completely in favor of it. Will Brown, our account executive, and all the team around him, have just been phenomenal," Berry said. "KaTom's partnership was seamless … the attentiveness of the team made that as smooth as can be."

Additionally, Berry believed partnering with KaTom would do more than just provide the college with restaurant equipment; it could assist visitors to the Downtown Center with potential foodservice plans of their own.

"If we're going to have entrepreneurs and community members coming through here, a lot of these people have fermentation or a restaurant in mind for the future, let's get them exposed to that partner, and think of other ways to manifest mutually beneficial partnership there."

Between KaTom's collaboration with RT Lodge and the company's work on the Downtown Center, it seems the partnership between KaTom Restaurant Supply and Maryville College is just beginning.

"Having an account management team and relationship to individuals makes that process a lot easier than just the formal bid process of trying to get random strangers to send you quotes," Berry said. "We have a true partnership at KaTom for that too."

Maryville College is thrilled about their partnership with KaTom, and for Berry, the success of the relationship is hardly a surprise. With nearly 40 years of industry success, KaTom is a local institution, much like Maryville College itself. For Berry, it was an easy decision.

"The long history in the East Tennessee market, all the relationships that the leadership and the company have built over the decades…," Berry said. "I did some homework and saw the growth, financially… a half-a-billion-dollar company, eyeing a billion dollars… To have someone of that caliber for this industry in our backyard? It made complete sense. It was not an if, but when, we could make a partnership work.

"I didn't want to buy some random equipment and then, three years from now, have an issue and have nobody to call. KaTom was established, they were reputable, and have always been involved in the community beyond just the Maryville College partnership here… It was low-hanging fruit for me."