Knickerbockers! And Here’s Why..

There’s a great little restaurant in Cowan, Tenn., that you really need to check out when you’re in Franklin County. Why? Well, first there’s the name – Knickerbockers – what is that? If you ask owners Russell & Sherri Sells, they’ll tell you it was named for a character on Barney, (remember the purple dinosaur from PBS?). Or perhaps for a train by the same name, which would be fitting, because Cowan IS a railroad town, complete with a Depot museum. But Knickerbockers also evokes a sense of an old-time soda fountain, and you will find that here. Serving lemonades, old-fashion sweets and old-timey treats, shakes, ice cream and even Phosphates!

The Sells hail from restaurant backgrounds. Russell’s family owned Granny Fish’s over between Tullahoma and Shelbyville, and Sherri has similar experience from her home town of Fayetteville. The 1930s deco building in Cowan called out to them, and when you go through the old screen door and squeaky glass & wood door, you’ll understand why. It feels like small town home! For such a small place, there’s an extensive menu, ranging from soups and chili to a wide variety of sandwiches, including their signature Reuben. Says Sherri, “We make our slow roasted beef for our Reuben every night, it isn’t from a package.” That makes an obvious difference in taste, and is a frequent sell-out! Several days you can get a plate lunch from 11-2, with BBQ and roast beef often on the menu. Sherri says, leave room for the Knickerbocker Special, which is “banana nut bread topped with bananas, caramel, fudge, and ice cream, with a cherry on top”!

Days and hours are 11-7 on all but Tuesday, with close at 5 on Sundays, but since this is a family business, hours and days may vary a little. Meals start at around $6, but there’s lots for less or a little more! Say you saw it in The Busy Bee, and at the least you’ll get a smile and thank you. Come on over and check out Knickerbocker’s in Cowan!