Chattanooga Has Fun 2.5

205 Broad Street
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Phone: (423) 266-5564
Website: Mellow Mushroom

Eight years ago, a little slice of heaven opened its doors downtown Chattanooga.  Well, actually—it’s where you can get a few slices of heaven.  Mellow Mushroom, downtown in the old Coca-Cola building, is celebrating its eighth anniversary on February 22.

Mellow Mushroom, the original, was opened in 1974.  Says Samantha Jones, one of the owners of Mellow Mushroom in Chattanooga, “Mellow has been around since 1974, with the first location in downtown Atlanta, by Georgia Tech. It’s not there anymore, so now our oldest store is the newly remodeled location on Sandy Springs Road.”

Since its birth in 1974, Mellow Mushroom has stood by the somewhat eclectic philosophy of its founding fathers—keep the food consistent and the vibe different.  Every Mellow Mushroom has a different theme.  “My husband Jason and I moved here from Atlanta nine years ago to build our MM Chattanooga. We own and operate it ourselves with the support of our MM headquarters and an awesome staff,” Samantha says.  “We both have worked in the Mellow family a long time and actually met at the Brookhaven location. A Mellow love story, we call it.

“We chose downtown because we knew it was a growing part of the city with great possibilities for us to be successful,” she says. “It’s been really fun to see the area grow around us…we used to be the end of the block, but now we are in the middle of all the excitement!”  The Coca-Cola Building was a deliberate choice.  “We chose the Coca-Cola building because of its location.   Of course, we love that it has Chattanooga history, and Mellow’s long time partnership with Coke makes it a bonus.”  It also helped Samantha and Jason choose the theme for Chattanooga’s Mellow Mushroom.  “We have antique Coke memorabilia all over the store and, of course, the super-cool bottle cap awnings.”

The bottle-cap awnings are a unique feature—one every person who’s eaten at Mellow Mushroom has no doubt noticed.  “It was a design collaboration. We are happy with the way they turned out,” says Samantha.  “I’m ready for the trees out front to grow just a bit taller so we can all check them out more often.”

But there’s so much more than the aesthetics at Mellow Mushroom.  Wait till you get a load of their menu.  Pure heaven!  “Our menu is a creation of delicious, thoughtful, and healthy ingredients,” remarks Samantha.  “I’ve worked with Mellow in three stores, since 1997 and I can tell you, our house dressing Esperanza (which means ‘hope’ in Spanish), is the start of every Mellow addiction—on our Greek salad, or mixed with red sauce to dip your pretzels in, to people asking to buy it… Yeah, I think people like it and it’s popular.”

Everyone also raves about the spring-water dough.  “That’s certainly a star factor here! Anyway you order it the dough is outstanding.” says Samantha.  “And yes, I still eat pizzas, all the time,” she adds.  “People ask that a lot.”   So what would she suggest to a Mellow newbie?  “A Greek salad, a pizza of course, and one of our 40 draft beers! Well…The hummus is really, really good too, though, and man, I do love our jerk chicken hoagie. It’s all good. Really!”

So in eight years, how has Mellow Mushroom changed?  “We have changed a ton over the years, but many things are the same too,” Samantha explains. “We’ve recently remodeled the patio, added eight 42-inch flat-screen TVs, and a new hand-painted mural by the front door. Last year, we revamped our menu adding a ‘build your own salad’ section, a spinach-and-artichoke dip, meatballs stuffed with fresh mozzarella, a Capri salad and sandwich, a delicious sausage-and-peppers hoagie, and a few specialty pies as well.”

How has this strategy—the changes and the consistency—worked for Mellow Mushroom?  “We have more fans than ever and that’s really cool. We’ve tried hard every year to learn more, be more thankful for our success and create an environment where everyone thrives. And the second location is in the very near future! Yes, near the mall. We hope to be an oasis from traffic and crowds. We’ll invite our guests in to Mellow out, as they say.”

Whether it’s the pizza and hoagies you love, the atmosphere, or, like Samantha and Jason, you find your soul mate there—Mellow Mushroom is a cool place with heavenly food made by and served by people who really, really care about doing it right.  Just call it a Mellow love story.

Mellow Mushroom, 205 Broad Street. (423) 266-5564. www.mellowmushroom.com