Will Martin felt a certain kinship when he first met Burt Kordamiri, who opened Italian Pizza Pub in Johnson City in the 1980s.
Kordamiri reminded Martin of his father-in-law John Arrowood, who died in January 2020. There were similarities in their mannerisms, and they were both meticulous businessmen.
âThey started out at very similar times in their lives, ran great businesses, built great brands,â Martin said.
Will and his wife Stacy opened the Johnson City location of Peggy Ann Bakery just down the road from the Italian Pizza Pub in September 2019.
Stacyâs grandparents, Bill and Peggy Ann Arrowood, started the bakery in 1982. Responsibilities eventually passed to their son John and his wife Imogene. Now, the family business is expanding into a new kind of dough.
Earlier this month, Johnson City commissioners approved a $30.5 million contract to makeover a section of West Walnut Street.
Itâs a big project, and the price tag seems especially hefty when Washington County is hinting at the possibility of a property tax increase, but the city has been planning this corridorâs revitalization for years.
An important link between East Tennessee State University and the cityâs downtown core, private business activity has already picked up on the portion of West Walnut between University Parkway and Buffalo Street.
Of course, pillars like the Shamrock Beverage & Tobacco Shop and the Firehouse Restaurant have been there for decades, but just in the last couple of years, theyâve been joined by Peggy Ann Bakery, Bebettes and Timber. The Model Mill, for so long a blight on the block, has been rehabilitated and repopulated with new, thriving businesses like Crumb Bakeshop, and next door, a craft brewery was recently purchased and rea