Seafood is my go-to,” says Fiori co-owner Jesse Vose. “Especially Maine lobster.” His great grandfather Robert Curtis was a lobsterman in Maine and his grandfather still ships blueberries to him from the family blueberry farm. Vose grew up in Harrington (pop: 962), a shipbuilding and seafaring town in the region Mainers call “Down East,” whose “aeyah” accent was immortalized by the “Bert and I” record—as in, “The Bluebuhd slithuhred out into the hah-bah.”) When Vose moved to Lenoir City with his mother and stepfather at 13 with his thick Down East accent, he laughs, “Everyone wanted to know what country I was from.”
This history inspired three highlights of chef Sam Wyley’s menu:
The Lobster Skewers starter—served with a braised leek, aioli, and pistachio breadcrumbs showcases chunks of tail meat in lemon and herb butter. Next, the generous Mini Maine Lobster Rolls (pro tip: they are not mini), capture the characteristics of a true New England lobster roll: plenty of fresh, fragrant lobster meat with a light dressing, no filler, and served on butter-toasted brioche with a single lettuce leaf.
Last in the lobster lineup is White Pappardelle Noodles with Lobster, an entrée where wide pappardelle in a Parmigiano Reggiano sauce are topped with lobster, shallots, and a hint of oregano. (You can also choose clams or meatballs, but why would you?)
Fiori means “blossom” in Italian. “We think in life, everyone blossoms in their own way,” says co-owner Corey Vose. They used this view as inspiration for the restaurant, located on the ground floor of the red-brick Jackson Central Building at 111 E. Jackson Avenue, just one door off Central.
After the Voses took over the lease in late 2023, Corey set to work on the design. On a trip to Edinburgh, Corey and Jesse ate at a restaurant called “Tattu Chinese” and were transfixed by its use of faux cherry blossom trees creating an interior canopy. Corey found the Scots artist who had made the trees and ordered two.
Leaving the light and bustle of Jackson Avenue for the cool interior of Fiori with this fairy-tale ceiling is transformative. Antique heavy curtains cover windows facing the building’s central atrium, providing a sense of intimacy. Five specially commissioned Mark English paintings are hung along the brick wall which runs the length of the restaurant. The glass and gold-accented bar, manufactured in New York City, adds a touch of sparkle and glam. Jesse: “It’s an experience. Come and relax, unplug from the world and have a good time.”
Built in 1922 for the Iddins Machinery Company, the building was once the only place in our region where farmers bought John Deere machines. (The heavy-equipment elevator is still in the back, near the railroad tracks.) Between the 1940s and 80s, Camel Manufacturing Company made and sold tents there. For 25 years it was the Jackson Avenue Antique Market. In 2009 the building was fully renovated, including the LEED-certified, naturally lit second-floor offices of the eco-minded Shelton Group.
Co-owners Corey and Jesse met when Corey was working at Red Lobster and going to nursing school at Pellissippi. An entrepreneur from a young age, Jesse started a mowing and landscaping service with his brother while still a student at Lenoir City High. After graduation he spent five years as a Loudon County sheriff’s deputy and helped his parents at Buttercup Restaurant and Tea Room in Lenoir City. He has owned a retail home décor store and started and sold a graphic design company. He has been a realtor and property manager for eight years and manages the Jackson Central Building. “I don’t sleep very much,” he chuckles.
Hostess Hannah Bundi is Corey’s little sister and our server, Bianca Hood, made sure to suggest the “House Nectars” that Corey designed, starting with the top-selling Carousel II, named after Knoxville’s iconic night club. It starts with a pink cube of cotton candy which slowly dissolves as your server pours vodka, pomegranate liqueur, and lime over top. Hint: perfect for IG.
The second most popular is “She’s SOOO Giddy” a concoction of Limoncello, vanilla vodka, vanilla syrup, lemon, champagne, and soda. “We wanted naughty undertones to all of the names,” says Corey. The “Conjugal Visit” mixes jalapeño-infused tequila, pineapple-infused Licor 43, Passion Fruit Purée, lime, and basil served with a square ice cube. And the “Naughty Nectar” features tequila, Licor 43, St. Germain, Dolin Blanc, and agave. “A Zesty Affair” is vanilla vodka, vanilla syrup, Limoncello, cream, and egg white. Save room for the show stopping dessert cocktail, the Affo-Got-Ya, a play on the Italian “affogato,” which was one of our favorites. Although, honestly, it was hard to choose a favorite.
Chef Sam Wyley (he goes by Wyley) grew up on a cattle farm in Udall, Kansas. “We had a peach orchard and different crops and were far from grocery stores, so I helped my mother and grandmother do the cooking. In his two years at Kansas State, Wyley worked at AJ’s NY Pizza restaurant in Manhattan (Kansas, that is). “It was great.” He cheffed for 2½ years at the fashionable Lottē, in Wichita, the “Air Capital of the World.” (Harrison Ford, a pilot, dined at Lotte during aviation events.) Wyley cooked in tony Aspen for three years, “always serving seafood,” he says, then at the Secret Stash in Crested Butte, Colorado, where the DJ/producer Steve Aoki was a regular. By the time Wyley enrolled in Wichita Tech’s Niche (National Institution of Culinary & Hospitality Education) program, he realized he’d already acquired his culinary bag of tricks and was ready for a head chef posting. After his girlfriend moved to Knoxville, he decided to head east and look for a job. Serendipitously, Fiore was looking for a chef at exactly the same time.
Wyley’s focaccia starter with cultured butter, prosciutto, and pear is flavorful without being too heavy and his arancini, with arrabbiata sauce and Parmigiano Reggiano, has a delicately crisp texture as a result being air—not deep— fried.
The Brussel Sprouts with Parmigiano Reggiano and breadcrumbs get a special kick from a touch of Vadouvan, a French-inspired curry powder that originated in Pondicherry, India, during French colonial rule. The Moroccan-Spiced Duck Leg, served with spiced braised beets and house-made flatbread, balances pickled chilis and toasted pistachio with labneh, a soft Middle Eastern dairy product made by straining yogurt to remove the whey.
Wyley’s seafood skills shine through once again with the large, seared Scallops in Romesco sauce, with seasonal root vegetables, baked figs, and spring carrots, with baby arugula in homemade dressing of chili oil and Greek herbs and chili crunch.
The Crispy Pork Belly, says Wyley, is “cured for seven hours, baked low and slow.” It’s served with chimichurri on top of carrot puree, Italian salsa verde, pickled tart cherry, and marinated grilled cabbage.
The dessert menu makes this a great stop after a ballgame or a show for a dessert cocktail and one of these beautifully presented plates. The Créme Caramel Tiramisu features gorgeously caramelized bananas. The Chocolate Cake Showstopper (Corey’s recipe) is an intense chocolate cake with whipped cream and berries. And the Pavlova, our favorite, mixes meringue, whipped Chantilly cream, poached pears, pickled pears, and almond praline with a hint of white wine.
And back to the promised finale: The Italian dessert “affogato,” which translates to “drowned,” is made by “drowning” a scoop (or two) of gelato or ice cream with a shot of hot espresso. The “Affo-Got-Ya” goes further, drowning vanilla ice cream in vodka, toasted coconut rum, PostModern crème de cacao, cacao, and espresso. Think of it as throwing a lifesaver to that drowning ice cream.
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