Likewise Coffee at 1209 E. Magnolia Avenue is the first new business to open since the completion of the City’s $7 million Magnolia Avenue Streetscapes project. 



Its new front door and accessible ramp lead out onto a new, wider sidewalk. Large picture windows overlook the boulevard landscaped with native grasses and wildflowers. Customers get fresh looks at Headliners next door, and Knoxville Area Transit Bus 31 picks up and drops off passengers on the nearby corner of Jessamine Street. 



Shop owners Will and Katie Boggs applied for Façade Program funding from the City’s Housing and Neighborhood Development department in February 2019. The project received $50,000, and they spent $61,000 of their own funds to make a variety of exterior improvements: new siding, new roofing, new windows, entry door and new steps with the ADA ramp. 

Since it was originally built as a residence in 1910, the building has also been a restaurant, a lawyer’s office and a halfway house. And when the Boggses purchased it, the building had been vacant for five years. 



Ken McMahon, Economic and Community Development Project Manager, administers the façade program and helps guide the developer through the process of applying, obtaining architectural drawings, selecting a contractor, and finally reimbursing the owners for eligible construction expenses.

"Few things are more rewarding than being able to help revitalize these older buildings along our commercial corridors," Ken says. "The investment truly energizes the surrounding neighborhood, and folks really get excited seeing the facelift on these older structures."

Likewise Coffee is the ninth project in the Magnolia Avenue Revitalization District to receive funds from the Façade Improvement Program, which began in 2005 under Mayor Bill Haslam. 

For those projects, the City invested $454,408 in façade improvements, and the property owners invested more than $250,838, with at least an additional $300,000 for interior improvements and equipment. And, overall, at least 13 new full-time or full-time equivalent jobs were created in the process. 



The City’s investment leads to private and public investment, which encourages the creation of jobs and increased property values. That’s why the facade improvement program and Ken’s work with property owners is considered economic development.

Likewise Coffee held its grand opening on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020.