Episode 3931

- [Announcer 1] "Tennessee Crossroads" is brought to you in part by...

- [Announcer 2] Some of our biggest trucks have also made the biggest difference. The Tennessee Lottery. Proud to have raised more than $7.5 billion for education. Now, that's some game-changing, life-changing fun.

- [Announcer 3] Discover Tennessee Trails and Byways, where adventure, cuisine, and history come together. With 16 scenic driving trails, you can discover why Tennessee sounds perfect. Trips can be planned at tnvacation.com.

- [Announcer 4] Middle Tennessee State University College of Liberal Arts helps students explore the world, engage minds, enrich lives, and earn a living. More at mtsu.edu/cla.

- This week we'll learn about beans from the pros, meet a one-of-a-kind music maker, see what's cooking in Pulaski, and find a spot for some delicious donuts. You know I never met a donut I didn't like. Howdy. I'm Ketch Secor, welcoming you to "Tennessee Crossroads." Many famous products are made right here in Tennessee, from Goo Goos to MoonPies and beyond. Well, in our first story, Miranda Cohen travels to Dandridge to learn about an iconic brand of beans.

- [Miranda] When you think of family gatherings, picnics, and barbecues, there is one side dish that always has a place at the table. We are talking baked beans. Bush's Baked Beans, to be exact.

- Well, I think it's just a great balance of flavors. Certainly there's a sweetness there, brown sugar, molasses, those kinds of notes. But then, you know, there's a little bit of that savory that comes in with the bacon, with the mustard, and some other spices.

- [Miranda] Drew Everett is the chairman of the board of Bush Brothers, founded and still located here in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in Dandridge, Tennessee.

- I'm a fourth-generation family member. My great-grandfather started the company in 1908. He had four sons and two daughters. I am the grandson of one of his sons, who he named the company after, Bush Brothers and Company.

- [Miranda] A.J. Bush started growing and canning tomatoes on this lush farmland in the early 1900s. Too much water for tomatoes, so he had to switch crops and he settled on beans. And like many success stories, in the very beginning, A.J. Bush and his family struggled to make ends meet.

- [Drew] This house was mortgaged a couple of times in order to keep the company afloat during the early days.

- [Miranda] But the small cannery was one of the town's only employers during the Great Depression. And Bush was determined to make it, both for his family and for the community.

- [Drew] My aunts and my great-grandmother would serve meals out on the front lawn and on the side lawn here for folks in the community and folks that worked in the facility.

- [Miranda] And that's when cousin Condon Bush decided to put his mother's baked bean recipe into a can.

- [Drew] So, he came up with this idea of creating, actually, the baked bean that he could sell and market in the area up there. The recipe was inspired by his mother's recipe that she used to serve to the community here and to the family when he was growing up. They figured out a way to get this recipe in a can and taste just like his mother's.

- [Miranda] The sweet and savory beans in a can caught on. Today, more than a century later, the family is still here on some 3,000 acres. The recipe is still the same, but the canning facility is state-of-the-art, which you can see for yourself.

- [Drew] This is the home of our original manufacturing facility, and we really designed it around the bean. We can run a lot of beans through the plant every day. We're making about 1,000 cans a minute.

- [Miranda] And the beans are so beloved they have become a tourist attraction. Scott Schrader is the general manager and oversees the busy Visitor Center, General Store, and even the Bean Museum.

- There's so many people that go, "I'm coming to a bean museum." And they leave and they go, "We went to a bean museum!" At our Visitor Center, we see probably about 150,000 people a year. And it just gives us the opportunity to connect with our consumers and tell our story. There's our early history, our tour video, and then what we've got going on with our brand today.

- [Drew] They can get a feel for what goes into the product, how it's made, and the care and quality that's taken into consideration as we make our products every day.

- [Miranda] But don't think you're going to be walking away with any secrets. That is, unless you bump in to their most famous family member.

- [Drew] But it's always been a secret. And so there's more of a public display across the street in the museum, but again, laser-guarded, locked away, and nobody knows, just Duke.

- [Miranda] Oh, Duke. That loose-lipped deep-red Golden Retriever. He is their spokesdog.

- And lo and behold, he's the most popular member of the family these days.

- And if all of this beautiful bean footage is making you hungry, you've come to the right place. When you visit the Bush's Visitor Center, make sure to leave time and room to visit the Bush's Family Café, where they will make delicious foods, of course, with beans. They will offer you the bean of the day. They will also bake beans into delicious desserts, just like this pinto bean pecan pie. And it's delicious.

- It is our signature dessert, and it is a must-try when you come to the café. One of our goals here is to teach people how to use beans in their everyday meal occasion. So we've got a lot of bean bowls. We've also got times where we'll do lasagna with beans in it or potato soup with beans in it.

- [Miranda] Generations tell stories about the entrepreneurial patriarch, A.J. Bush, instilling his values of honesty and integrity to his family and his staff. And they are using that very same secret recipe today.

- [Scott] Bush's is a very wholesome company, and we try our best to treat people right. When they come to the Visitor Center, we treat them like family. And they feel at home, and they enjoy hearing about and understanding where their food comes from.

- How we've been able to create a product and a brand that folks can trust and that they really have an affinity for. And that's pretty humbling, actually, to be honest with you. And pretty incredible to think that we were able to kind of build that from our roots here in east Tennessee and continue to build on that going forward.

- Thanks, Miranda. Hey, I think you'll agree that music is magical and so are the instruments that produce it. Well, recently, Vicki Yates met a charming lady who's bringing the magic to life by making stringed instruments by hand. Here's the story of Amanda Ewing.

- [Vicki] If you've ever driven through Nashville's railyard district south of Broadway, you've probably seen this location.

- [Amanda] So I'm here at The Forge Nashville. I am one of six resident artists here.

- That's the voice of Amanda Ewing. Amanda Ewing is a star. She's the first officially recognized Black luthier in America. And what does a luthier do? Well, it involves stringed instruments, like this lovely handmade violin.

- [Amanda] Well, initially it was very exciting to think about being a pioneer in the US in luthiery as a Black woman. But then, as I sat with it a little bit, I realized there's a lot of work to do, because people of color, Black individuals, have been playing instruments for a very long time and probably making those instruments, but they have gone unrecognized.

- [Vicki] How did you get started anyway? How did this all begin?

- It all began... I was working a corporate job, Gaylord Opryland, and that job position was eliminated. So it was a blessing 'cause it was a soft exit to that role. And I had a severance package, which means I had time to think about what I wanted to do next. I watched "Tony Robbins: I'm Not Your Guru." And so, in that film he asked the question to his audience, "What does an extraordinary life look like to you?" I really didn't know what an extraordinary life looked like, but I knew what it felt like. So I started to write down those things that brought me joy. I wanted to start playing the violin again, because I played for a little while as an encouragement for my daughter to play piano. So I found a community orchestra to play in, and in that orchestra was an instrument maker and repairer, which I had never heard about. And so I thought, "Well, I don't like the sound of my instrument, so maybe I can talk with this person about having an instrument made for me." And so we started to talk a little bit about it, and I just thought it was so fascinating. And since I was unemployed currently, I thought, "Well, maybe I can watch you make it. Maybe I can have a hand in making it." It sounded excited. I wanted to feel excited about my life, so I decided to go and watch an instrument being made. But as I was there in the shop, that turned into a conversation about, "Well, maybe you can make an instrument next to me so you can fully understand what it looks like to have an instrument made." And so I just kept saying, "Okay." And then that turned into a five-year apprenticeship.

- [Vicki] Wow. So you didn't choose the violin, the violin chose you.

- [Amanda] That's what I say. That is exactly what I say. I never heard of the term "luthier." I never even thought about where violins came from, outside of a violin shop, never. And so to see such a beautiful craft and such a beautiful instrument that I enjoyed for a long time because I was a gymnast, so I performed to classical music and a lot of it had strong strings in it, I thought, "Well, this will be something cool to do." So, at that moment, I realized that maybe I can make some type of impact in the world of violin-making, educating myself on how to make and then also extending that to other people who would be interested in making as well, specifically Black individuals.

- [Vicki] There's much for a luthier to consider when creating a violin.

- The work itself, there is a learning curve, hand tools, power tools, carving techniques. But I didn't have these unrealistic expectation attached to it. I just thought it was really fascinating. I was having fun. I like to sit with the wood a little bit. It really depends on where I get the wood from. And so I look at the wood and I look at the grain lines and I look at the color of it and, depending on the size of it, I'm thinking about, "What is this going to be? Is this going to be a violin? Is this going to be a fractional one? Is it going to be a viola?" And I start thinking about, like, "Who could the player be?" And I just sit with it for a minute. And as you start carving, you're getting to know the wood, as woo woo-woo as that sounds. Okay? Like, some wood loves to be carved. It's easy, it doesn't have a lot of chips out, it's not, like, super dense. And some wood is resistant to everything. It's been born to resist. It doesn't want to be carved. It is challenging to carve. You think about the journey of that tree whether it was cut down or whether it fell, you know, the process of dry, whose hands it's touched, whose energies it has in it. And I go there. I just want it to be... The wood already has music in it, so I'm just revealing it.

- [Vicki] How long does it take from when someone says, "Hey, I want a violin" to, "Here's your violin"? How long does that take?

- [Amanda] It's about a 300-hour process. Instrument making can be tough on the body. And I love the process. So, if someone commissions an instrument for me, I treat it like a pregnancy. I give an eight-month, eight to nine-month return time, because I love sitting with the wood. I like for the wood to be carved and then rest in between processes. Also, once the instrument is finished and it's strong, it needs a moment to rest and settle until its new position. So, I like for it to take its time, not too much time, but I like for the process not to be rushed because the magic happens in the process.

- [Vicki] Meanwhile, Amanda is still hoping to find others she can share her expertise and ideas with. However, she might've found the next new luthier in her very own home.

- I think I have one child who may. 'Cause he really doesn't know what he wants to do. He likes to do what his big brother does, and I'm going to try to bring him into the world of instrument making. I think I can do it.

- Hey, thanks, Vicki. Well, as our loyal viewers know, we're always on the lookout for fun places to grab a bite. And Cindy Carter found a spot that fits the bill in a beautifully restored building in Pulaski.

- [Cindy] You know good food, friendly attitudes, and a dash of experimentation can usually be found in a kitchen. Any kitchen. Some say it's the cornerstone of any home. So it only stands to reason that in Pulaski, Kitchen 218 has become a cornerstone, a gathering spot for this Tennessee town.

- [Jake] I feel like, literally, the heartbeat of the town. Like, we get just such a huge amount of love from the people around us.

- [Cindy] Jake Pfeiffer opened Kitchen 218 in 2019.

- [Jake] Let me add some wings. Buffalo? Just standard buffalo?

- [Cindy] And believe me, Jake knows his way around a kitchen. When he was 15, his family bought and took over managing the Corner Pit BBQ, which was already a beloved staple in Giles County. From the actual barbecue pit to customer service, Jake logged lots of hours over the years, which laid the foundation for cooking up something new in downtown Pulaski.

- The goal was that when you stepped in the door, you felt like you'd left Pulaski and stepped into Nashville. We wanted to be that, like, you had stepped into the city. We were bringing what we left town for back to town.

- [Cindy] Jake and his wife, Michelle, were intentional about making this place an upscale dining experience that was still cool and casual enough to foster community engagement. And it's all driven by the Kitchen's tasty menu.

- So we serve high-quality burgers, wings, and flatbreads. All of our meat is raised in county, so we do all local farm-sourced. We do steak nights twice a month that come from those same local farms. We try to do elevated high-quality burgers that have quality locally-sourced ingredients wherever we can. And then same with the flatbreads and the wings as well. We actually smoke the wings through our Corner Pit location and then bring them up here, and then flash-fry them here. We do a lot of rotating food specials as well. So we try to bring in different specialty things. And same thing there, is bringing in stuff that you wouldn't necessarily get to see or try here otherwise.

- [Cindy] Circling back to those high-quality burgers, Jake says the most popular item on the menu is the 67 Fastback, with pepper jack cheese, bacon, and a locally-sourced pepper jelly. There's the Keg Burger, which features whiskey-bacon sauce and fried shallots. The Litigator is a special burger that moves on and off the menu and includes basil pesto and mozzarella.

- [Jake] Yeah, if there's something you can imagine on a burger, we've probably tried it or we'll try it.

- [Cindy] There's flatbreads filled with fresh ingredients, wantons with "yes, please" pimento and cheese, delicious specialty cocktails, a beehive honey bomb dessert. And of course, I mean, how could there not be some savory barbecue?

- Because it's kind of a nod to where I came from, is that like we do, like, the brisket grilled cheese and the pork grilled cheese, our loaded pork nachos and fries, and we bring all that in from the barbecue pit. So we get to kind of pair off each other with that. And that's been very nice and worked really well.

- Big Machine Distillery, Sun Drop, Hannah Holler's Peach Bourbon Jam, and Daddy Bob's Pimento and Cheese. What do they all have in common? Kitchen 218 and Giles County. The restaurant says it's important to support local businesses and incorporate local products into the menu. Co-owner Danielle Kirkpatrick says the key to success comes from listening to both customers and staff. Sure, everyone's got an opinion, but a lot of good ideas blend together in this kitchen.

- Even if it's something that has been done before. Like, you know, "Hey, let's do fish and chips." Okay, but let's do it our way. Let's put a little twist on it. And so we'll have a little powwow to talk about it and put our menu together.

- [Cindy] Danielle and her husband, Josh Kirkpatrick, jumped into Kitchen 218 when Jake's initial investors jumped out during COVID. The Kirkpatricks owned a contracting company and knew virtually nothing about the restaurant business but believed in this concept.

- So then Josh came in and... Sorry.

- [Cindy] It's okay. Take your time. And breathed just an incredible life into this project.

- [Cindy] Josh sadly passed away a week after the restaurant opened, but his smile and his aesthetic linger. You'll find his expertise in the restaurant's floors, woodworking, lighting design, the historic building's original tile ceiling, even in that popular Keg Burger, which was Josh's idea,

- He was able to enjoy it, and he was really happy being a part of this and seeing it grow.

- [Jake] Lunch meetings, dinner meetings, community event planning, it's all just kind of centered around this dining room, which was the dream. That's really what I wanted to see happen, was that you could become just kind of the meeting place of the town.

- [Cindy] Warm and vibrant, Kitchen 218 gives downtown Pulaski a dining experience that simply shouldn't be missed. For this community, the kitchen is most definitely open.

- It's a place for everybody to come together within a space and share a meal and talk. And it's the heartbeat of the community.

- Hey, thanks, Cindy. Well, there are a few things that motivate people to get up every day at 3:30 in the morning, but pastries, that's one of them. Tammi Arender got up before the chickens herself to check out East Park Donuts and Coffee.

- [Tammi] Long before the sun comes up, Lauren Anderson and her team are hard at work. You could say the folks here at East Park Donuts and Coffee are the ones who wake up the chickens who wake up everyone else.

- We get here as early as four in the morning to start getting our brioche dough that we made the day before, 'cause it needs to proof overnight. And they start rolling that out and getting that in the proofer. And then the next person comes in and they start frying off of all of our cake donuts that we made the day before. And then the next person comes in and they start glazing all the donuts. So there's just this constant stream of people coming in in the morning just to get it all done so that we have as many donuts glazed by the time that we open at 6:30.

- [Tammi] Anderson says she's a self-taught pastry chef. She likes to think outside the donut hole when it comes to recipes.

- I like to travel and had been to Portland, and they had brioche donuts there, and I'd never had those before. And I hadn't heard of them, so I thought it would be a fun concept to try and make here. And so that's how we ended up with the brioche donuts. And then same thing with the flavors. I really love that you can take different concepts and create flavors, and you just always have the same base, so it makes it easier to work with in that sense.

- [Tammi] Anderson is the pastry chef and store manager. Ken Woodard is the owner. He got the idea to open a business in east Nashville when he noticed what he called a lack of good donut shops in this part of town, at least ones that also did great coffee.

- There'd been a dearth of donut shops here. Of course now there's a bunch. But really there weren't that many when we opened up. And we decided, "Well, we'll open a donut shop." But another thing we noticed was there wasn't a donut shop that took coffee seriously. That was one key thing that, I thought, would draw people in and make people come in every day. Even if they weren't getting donuts or whatever, they'd still come in, get our coffee, get our, you know, espresso drinks, and everything, getting their routines, so I thought that would help.

- So with a full espresso bar made from locally-roasted coffee beans, you get service with a smile and a design. Lots of flavors to choose from, featuring house-made syrups as well. But for those coming in for the donuts, rest assured the coffee takes a supporting role. The dough is made the day before so it has a chance to proof or rise. Then it's put through the ringer or, well, the roller. Next, it's time for cutting out the shapes. There's lots more to do here than simple circles. East Park is famous for their Donut Grams. They'll spell out any message you like, and we like this one. Now it's time to go for a swim in a very hot pool, hands with what appears to be large chopsticks, flip the donuts at just the right time. All right, so I'm going with the salted brown butter donut as well as a brown butter latte. How's that? Now they say a donut has about anywhere from 2 to 300 calories. I bet this one's going to be worth every calorie. Mmm. Oh my goodness. That is sensational. They also serve savory dishes as well, from breakfast sandwiches to a lunch menu. And while the restaurant business can be tough all on its own, Woodard says they faced a mountain of obstacles. From a tornado in 2020 that blew off most of their roof, followed by COVID, and then a woman crashing into their lobby, they've had to dig deep to keep their desire to serve donuts to this east Nashville community alive. But they never once said it wasn't worth it.

- [Lauren] I just hope that they feel welcome and greeted here, that they feel like this is a place that they want to come back to. It's really important to me, especially because I live in the neighborhood, that people are excited to be here and that they want to be here, that they feel welcome, and that they enjoy their donuts.

- [Ken] Well, I mean, I just hope they realize we're trying to do a good job. You know, I mean, everybody... It's all just a bunch of people trying to do the best they can. And then I hopefully, you know, just have a good feeling about the place and the people.

- Thanks, Tammi. Well, that brings us to the close of another great show. Remember to check out our website, watch us on the PBS app, and join us right here next week. Thanks for watching, everybody.

- [Announcer 1] "Tennessee Crossroads" is brought to you in part by...

- [Announcer 2] Students across Tennessee have benefited from over $7.5 billion we've raised for education, providing more than 2 million scholarships and grants. The Tennessee Lottery. Game-changing, life-changing fun.

- [Announcer 3] Discover Tennessee Trails and Byways, where adventure, cuisine, and history come together. With 16 scenic driving trails, you can discover why Tennessee sounds perfect. Trips can be planned at tnvacation.com.