Local Vendors
BENEFIT YOUR LIFE
Benefit Your Life is a gluten free market and bakery dedicated to helping people feel their best by providing them with a selection of top quality gluten free products and delicious baked goods. Their products are free from gluten, artificial colors, and harmful preservatives. This local market is continually seeking out and offering products that are free of other allergens as well, including dairy, soy, and corn. All their products are researched (and taste tested) carefully to make sure they’re supplying customers with the highest quality, best tasting, and most nutritious gluten free options available.
BERRY HILL BEES
Berry Hill Bees is a small, sustainable apiary in the Solway area of Knoxville where their bees have lots of undisturbed forest to forage. Owners Geff and Debbie Ivey have kept bees using organic practices since 2014. They are proud of the light, flavorful honey their bees produce and hope you like it too! The honey is 100% pure and natural, just like the bees intended it. We offer honey in one and two pound jars at Three Rivers.
Bold Rock Hard Cider
Started in the hills of Nelson County, VA, Bold Rock Hard Cider was born from the idea to produce craft cider from the bounty of apples being grown in nearby orchards. Native Southerner John Washburn joined forces with Brian Shanks, of New Zealand, to create Bold Rock. Their dedicated cider makers crush and craft locally picked apples to create their variety of crisp and refreshing hard cider styles. Bold Rock is the nation’s largest independently-owned cider company.
Crooked Road Farm
Crooked Road Farm is proud to raise the best tasting and most local eggs in Knoxville! Farmed just minutes from downtown in South Knox County, Crooked Road Farm eggs continue to set the standard for high quality and affordable price.
Culinary Creashunz
The hot sauces Shane West makes are a tribute to his grandmother Alice West, who grew her own variety of Pequin peppers up until her death in 1995. Shane West began growing the same variety from seed stock saved by his uncles and continues to perpetuate the variety through careful cultivation and seed saving. Culinary Creashunz is based in Oak Ridge, TN.
Cruze Farm Dairy
We’re proud to say that Three Rivers Market (then called the Knoxville Community Food Co-op) was the first retailer to carry Cruze Farm milk, produced and bottled right here in Knoxville, TN. Cruze Farm is in a conservation easement to ensure that it will remain “a farm forever.” Cruze Farm Dairy patriarch Earl Cruze was featured in a video by Joe York – which can be viewed here.
English Mountain Spring Water
English Mountain Spring Water comes from a spring beneath, you guessed it, English Mountain outside of Dandridge, TN. EMSW won “Best Tasting Water” at the 1999 Berkley Springs International Water Tasting Competition. The land that houses the English Mountain Spring is colloquially called “the promise land.”
Everything mushrooms
Bob Hess and his dedicated crew at Everything Mushrooms spend most of their time raising mushroom spawn in their South Knoxville showroom/urban laboratory. There they inoculate a variety of substrates including straw, coffee grounds, wood plugs, and grains with the mushroom spawn and watch as the mushroom mycelium slowly take hold. Their customers use these substrates to grow their own mushrooms. We stock their dried gourmet mushrooms and kombucha starters. You can also find their great shiitake logs in our produce department.
Fat Bottom Brewery
Fat Bottom Brewery owner Ben Bredesen honed his expertise in the art and science of beer making through countless hours slaving over vats of steaming grains …and by sharing and tasting the results of many experimental brews. Fat Bottom comes to Three Rivers from neighboring Nashville, TN.
Flour Head Bakery
Flour Head Bakery is a sprout of the Tomato Head, a Knoxville restaurant that was described by the New York Times as “the nexus for all things hip and happening in town.” Known for cooking delicious foods from scratch, this same dedication to quality ingredients and artisan craft is evident in Flour Head’s many products. Flour Head Bakery expresses this commitment by preparing all of their baked goods with unbromated and unbleached King Arthur Flour.
Foothills Brewing
From Winston-Salem, NC, Foothills Brewing believes fresh beer is always the best beer. They strive to not only make beer with top quality ingredients and time-honored methods, but to have it in your hands for you to enjoy within days of it leaving our brewery. Get it fresh here at the co-op!
the golden roast
The Golden Roast coffee house & Roastery has become a daily necessity for local coffee fans, a place for students and faculty of the University of Tennessee to escape to a comfortable place to meet friends and colleagues to study, socialize, read a book and have a great cup of coffee and espresso. The Golden Roast has offered its guests the best locally roasted coffee in the area for the past twenty years, complimented with pastries, soups, salads, pitas and snacks as well as books that its patrons can read to enjoy their visit.
Highland brewing company
Brewing since 1994, Highland Brewing Company focuses heavily on sustainable business practices and supporting the local community. In October 2006, they began operations in their larger, more efficient brewery in east Asheville.
Lakeview Farm
Jerry Baird likes to say, “If it doesn’t come from Mother Earth, it doesn’t go on my farm.” Jerry started growing naturally nearly 20 years ago after seeing how many synthetic pesticides and fertilizers were going into tomato cultivation. In 2010 his farm was Certified Organic. Additionally Jerry made a tremendous gift to the future when he committed his estate to the University of Tennessee’s Institute of Agriculture for the benefit of the Jerry Baird Organic Horticulture Research and Education Program. If you run into Jerry Baird in our store and you’ve got a minute, ask him about his days as a drag racer in Campbell County. Find Jerry’s stone-ground cornmeal, grown on his farm and ground by Jerry, in our grocery department!
LUSTY MONK
Lusty Monk is a family-owned, quality-conscious company, devoted to the idea that condiments should never be boring. According to this condiment centered company, in medieval Europe, there was a widespread belief that mustard was an aphrodisiac. As a result, some monks were forbidden to eat mustard, lest they fall prey to carnal desires. Other monasteries embraced mustard making and turned it into an art form. This Asheville, NC company salute these “lusty monks,” and in that grand tradition, handcraft their mustard in small batches, with all-natural ingredients that would make even their monastic predecessors proud.
Magpies Bakery
“All butter, all the time” goes the popular motto of Magpies Bakery. Owner Peg Hambright and Magpie’s crew have been keeping Knoxville happy with delicious celebration -cakes, pies, cupcakes, and cookies since 2004. We’re lucky to live just down the street from their shop and even luckier to stock their products in our grab-and-go-cooler. They say on some of their t-shirts, “Cupcakes make people happy”, but we know it’s Magpies that makes people happy.
Mitchell Family Farm
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John Mitchell’s family has been living along the banks of the Holston River so long that the crook of the river in which their farm lies is known as Mitchell Bend. A seventh generation farmer, John raises his cattle on open pasture and supplements their diet with corn from his own fields. You can buy bags of this corn here at the store and use it for squirrel feeding!
Mountain Fresh Water
Ray Morris was running a natural foods store in Campbellsville, KY when he noticed that one of his deliveries of distilled water tasted funny. When he called the distributor they told him frankly, “It’s not distilled. It’s city water that’s been softened. We’re allowed to use it until our distiller is back on line.” That experience prompted him to take matters into his own hands and he bought a distiller for the store. That water was very popular and difficult to keep stocked. Morris learned about the properties of reverse osmosis filtration and decided to try it. The response was so overwhelming he wondered if other health food stores would be interested. They were. That was thirty years ago. Today you can find Mountain Fresh water in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Indiana, and Ohio with plans for expansion into North Carolina and Georgia.
Muddy Pond Sorghum
Muddy Pond Sorghum Mill is owned and operated by the Guenther family and is located midway between Nashville and Knoxville in the hills of Putnam County, TN. They make sorghum with a mule or horse-driven cane mill and a wood-fired steam locomotive boiler and have three generations of Guenthers involved in the work.
Olde Virden’s Red Hot Sprinkle
Chris and Allyson Virden set out to create an all natural, gluten free blend of five different dehydrated chili peppers. Their goal was to bring to market a product that would add heat but also add a distinct flavor to your favorite dish. Olde Virden’s Red Hot Sprinkle is great on pizza, eggs, pimento cheese sandwich, or any other dish you can imagine. They have even been known to use it in fudge! Olde Virden’s is made in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and aims to use the most locally sourced peppers they can find.
Reclaiming Your Roots
Reclaiming Your Roots came out of owner Rachel Milford’s own healing journey. A chronic, debilitating illness forced her to take control of her body and life and become her own healer. As Rachel found her own path to wellness, and began to teach classes, Reclaiming Your Roots was born. Based here in Knoxville, TN, Reclaiming Your Roots works to empower individuals to heal themselves and reclaim their health through addressing the root causes of illness. Here at the store we carry several of Rachel’s locally made, healing herbal tea blends and both of her wellness salves.
ROOTS
Roots is a manufacturer and purveyor of fine hummus and dips, operating out of Asheville, NC since 2006. They use over 70% organic ingredients and source them locally whenever possible. Roots produces, packages, and ships everything they make out of Asheville’s River Arts District, and support Certified Living Wages for their staff. Community involvement is a daily process for Roots, and they ensure their local status as “The Microbrew of Hummus” not only by crafting artisanal food for the masses from the best possible recipes out there, but also by feeding and bolstering the good people and businesses which support them.
ROOTS AND BRANCHES
Clark Mitchell, is bringing his many years of restaurant experience to the mountains of North Carolina in his Asheville based bakery. began his health food career on the boardwalk of Belmar, NJ, where he created, owned and operated Be Green Organic Juice Bar & Cafe. He then moved to the city of Asbury Park where he opened the Twisted Tree Cafe. It was at the Twisted Tree that he really started to create his own spin on baking. Clark came up with unique and healthy ways to make his baked goods appeal to everyone. Roots and Branches, his newest endeavor, is a bakery specializing in artisan crackers using only the highest quality ingredients.
rosecomb apiaries
Rosecomb Apiaries honey is collected by Michael Wilson’s bees in the East Tennessee Valley and on the Cumberland Plateau. (Anderson and Morgan Counties in Tennessee). This raw, natural, Tennessee Honey is produced by their bees from plants in our area using sustainable beekeeping practices.
Tellico Grains Bakery
It was a long and winding road that led Anissa and Stuart Shull to the beautiful mountains of southeastern Tennessee. In 2002, they purchased a dilapidated 95-year old brick building in downtown Tellico Plains, TN, and completely renovated it to suit the needs of their dream bakery and home above. With the help of one carpenter and a few brave friends and family members (that they will be forever grateful to) a wood-fired brick oven was built and the foundation to their successful bakery was laid in place.
three bears coffee co.
Founded by Jeff Scheafnocker, Three Bears Coffee Company came about through a life-long love of coffee paired with an increasing concern for people and places both near and far. This eco-conscious coffee company was founded on the knowledge that farmers work hard for a living, particularly in the coffee bean industry. These coffee producing regions of the world are fragile both socially and ecologically and are often exploited. Three Bears Coffee intends to reward those who care by channeling economic resources to the farmers and importers who create and value sustainable systems within the industry. This local coffee company is considered a micro-roasting operation, which means the batches are small allowing for the utmost concern for quality. The coffees sourced are some of the best and most unique in the world and the roasting process honors that.
The Tomato Head
The Tomato Head began as the Flying Tomato in August of 1990 in Knoxville. Originally slated to be a French bistro, the legacy of a pizza oven from the former tenants changed the tone of the restaurant. Enlisting the help of several experienced friends, Mahasti Vafaie, owner and driving creative force, crafted a menu that relied on the freshest vegetables, produce, and herbs. Along the way, she and her original staff of four discovered that the adage ‘if you want something done right, do it yourself’ holds true and decided that whenever possible they would be responsible for every detail of the dining experience. Shoppers all over town rejoiced when the Tomato Head started retailing their popular pesto, vegan pesto, and hummus.
Twin Oaks Tofu
Twin Oaks Tofu originates in Louisa, VA, a worker-owned cooperative offering extra-firm, locally made tofu. Twin Oaks Community Foods is proud to make good food in a sustainable, eco-friendly way. They use NON-GMO local soybeans, fresh artisanal well water (no fluoride or chlorides), organically-grown herbs and seasonings, and eco-friendly methods of production.
VEGAN VALLEY
Greg and Sam Highland are an East Tennessee husband and wife duo striving to use only the best ingredients they can find for their cheeze sauces and spreads. Greg’s background in restaurants and Sam’s in Nutrition and Food Science makes them a perfect team to create a product that tastes great and is healthy for you! Greg was in love with Mexican food and sought to utilize his flavor profiling to find the perfect cheese dip alternative. He began his search for the perfect vegan “cheese” dip. After searching and trying every vegan cheese dip on the market, the pair decided that they could do better. Vegan Valley is the concept born out of the love of great tasting food with no preservatives!
VIENNA COFFEE company
The goal of this Maryville, TN based coffee company is to supply the very best, freshest specialty coffees available to coffee lovers throughout east Tennessee and the southeast. Vienna Coffee Company buys only the highest quality, 100% Arabica “specialty” grade green coffee beans directly from importers in New York, Miami and New Orleans. This highest quality green coffee can only be produced by hand picking ripe coffee cherries and careful processing and drying of the coffee “seeds”. After selecting the individual bean origin countries and estates, they blend and roast the beans right in Maryville in small batches of no greater than 33 pounds per batch. Their blends are designed with a specific taste profile in mind and have been sampled extensively to determine what customers are likely to prefer. They can also custom blend and private label new coffees to address the specific tastes of a client.
Wildwood Bee Co.
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Wildwood Bee Company honey is locally produced, raw and unfiltered. Wildwood’s owner, Bill Dillard, owns and operates apiaries at three locations in Roane, Sevier and Blount counties. He is a state certified master beekeeper, and his bees and apiaries are registered and inspected annually by the state apiarist. Types available from Three Rivers Market include Light Wildflower Honey, Dark Wildflower Honey, Creamed Natural Honey, Creamed Cinnamon Honey, Creamed Ginger Honey, and Comb Honey.
Wiseacre Brewing
Wiseacre Brewing is a brewery committed to top quality, uniquely flavorful beer that appeals to passionate and progressive people through education and good times. Brothers Davin and Kellan Bartosch dreamed up Wiseacre many moons ago and have been on an extensive quest procuring top-notch experience from around the globe to deliver the best brewery possible in their groovy hometown of Memphis, TN.
Yee-Haw Brewing Company
From Johnson City, TN, Yee-Haw Brewing Company make bold and flavorful, but easy to drink beers. They offer year round options like Pilsner, Pale Ale, Eighty shilling Scottish Ale and Dunkel dark lager, along with a seasonal choice too. They want to make the best beer you’ve ever tasted, grow the community around them and have a good time doing it.
