Is Chattanooga the perfect Southern city in which to hold a small or midsize meeting? After a few days of experiencing its sense of history, commitment to sustainability, down-home cuisine with a modern twist, vibrant riverfront and dazzling array of attractions close to first-rate hotels, that was certainly my impression.
On a recent fam tour, the fitting introduction to the city was dinner at its most iconic hotel: the Chattanooga Choo Choo (www.choochoo.com), where a converted railroad station houses a magnificent domed lobby and guests get to sleep in vintage train cars. While the hotel’s Station House restaurant serves up tasty Southern-style fare, its menu stars are the singing servers, a remarkably talented crew who channel everyone from Elvis to Tina Turner from a stage high above the restaurant floor.
On the next day, it was the stunning riverfront Tennessee Aquarium (www.tnaqua.org) that took center stage. With separate wings devoted to river and ocean life, the aquarium regaled our group with up-close views of giant catfish, river otters, penguins, sharks, jellyfish and a garden of exotic, free-flying butterflies.
Our experience continued in the afternoon with a cruise on the aquarium’s 70-passenger River Gorge Explorer, where naturalists discussed not only the native plants and birds found along the Tennessee River, but its pivotal role in Civil War history as well. Groups can charter the sleek vessel for catered events and cruises with either a historic or nature theme.
More riverfront attractions were showcased that evening, starting with a visit to the Hunter Museum of American Art (www.huntermuseum.org), resplendent from a recent expansion that added space for its art collection, which extends from the Colonial to the post-modern era, and event spaces with panoramic river views. From there, we wandered through the nearby Bluff View Arts District (www.bluffviewdistrict.com), a charming enclave of secluded courtyards, art galleries, cafes and a sculpture garden. The Arts District operates a variety of indoor and outdoor event venues, which include the sculpture garden and private dining rooms high above the river.
The next day I discovered that Chattanooga is home to an eclectic assortment of small museums, ranging from the surprisingly engrossing International Towing & Recovery Museum (www.internationaltowingmuseum.org), where antique towing vehicles are exhibited, to the Houston Museum of Decorative Glass (www.thehoustonmuseum.com), where a personal collection of delicate glass and ceramic antique items are displayed in a Victorian house.
Offering spacious event areas and exhibits on the city’s African America heritage is the Bessie Smith Cultural Center (www.bessiesmithcc.org), named for the blues legend who hailed from Chattanooga. The museum reveals that baseball great Willie Mays and actor Samuel L. Jackson also have local connections.
Chattanooga also boasts some of the nation’s most spectacular oddities of nature, including Ruby Falls (www.rubyfalls.com), where we traversed through a winding maze of underground caverns to emerge at the site of a thundering 145-foot waterfall splashing down at the back of a huge lighted cavern. The attraction also offers a zipline through the surrounding forest and several event spaces—both above and below ground.
Then it was on to Rock City Gardens (www.seerockcity.com) for a walk through massive rock formations and gardens dotted with gnome statues to an overlook atop Lookout Mountain, where the views extend through seven states. Rock City’s Group Pavilion, which has big windows framing the gardens and valley, accommodates up to 200 people.
While I expected to find good barbecue, fried green tomatoes and other traditional Southern fare, I discovered that Chattanooga is also on the leading edge of some innovative food trends. A local organization, Gaining Ground (www.gainingground.org), lends support to area farmers and purveyors and makes other efforts to encourage sustainable cuisine. The city is home to numerous artisanal food shops, including Niedlov’s Breadworks (www.niedlovs.com), where we learned the technique behind the bakery’s naturally leavened whole wheat bread, and Link 41 (www.linkfortyone.com), where we sampled spicy, hand-crafted sausage made from locally sourced pork and lamb.
All well and good, but what about the barbecue? This craving was satisfied on the last night at Sugar’s Ribs (www.sugarsribs.com), where we enjoyed pork ribs, chicken and corn on the cob while grooving to Chuck Berry and Little Richard on the juke box. A tour of Sugar’s revealed not only a 125-seat private dining room on the lower floor, but an adjoining grassy area where the owner’s adorable pet goats reside. Like so much else in Chattanooga, it was a delightful surprise.
