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From cars to cart

Tomlinson bringing luxury experiences in new venture

September 2, 2026 by Jake Nichols

For more than two decades, Priscilla Tomlinson worked at car dealerships across Knoxville.

She worked her way up from a receptionist, ultimately running both sides of the Grayson BMW dealership.

Now, after continuing her career with Christian Brothers Automotive and Matlock Tire Service & Auto Repair, the Farragut High School graduate has steered her career in an entirely new direction.

And she’s doing it on four wheels that are a bit smaller than that to which she became accustomed.

Having retired from her previous positions, Tomlinson runs “Where Magpies Gather,” a luxury cart experience using a wooden cart made by local woodworker Jim Bixler.

“I woke up one day and was like, ‘I want to go back to food,’” Tomlinson said. “People keep telling me to come work for them, but I’m not going back to that industry unless it’s something community-wise.”

The Magpies name stems from her husband’s Irish background and her Thai background, as magpie birds live in Europe and Asia.

“For his culture, it means death. For mine, it means life,” Tomlinson said. “So two different cultures take the same bird and it means two different things.”

A fresh addition to Biddle Farms

September 2, 2026 by Tammy Cheek

A new business has joined the seven others now located in the growing Biddle Farms at Town Center and is ready to refresh its customers.

Nekter Juice Bar, 112 Brooklawn St., Suite A, celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon cutting, Friday, Aug. 21, of its second store in Knox County.

“It’s always great when we have a brand new business come to Farragut, especially one that’s not in the area right now,” Town of Farragut administrator David Smoak said. “So, it’s exciting. I’m happy for the owners to invest their time, effort and resources into having a business in the Town of Farragut, and we wish them great success.”

“I love it,” Said Jay Patel, manager along with his sister, Riya Patel, assistant manager, who live near Farragut.

Nekter Juice Bar is owned by Haresh Patel, a family friend, who opened the original location at 5362 Kingston Pike near Anthropology in Bearden.

“It’s kind of a famous store over there by that area, so he decided to move a second location here [in Farragut],” Jay Patel said.

The juice bar offers quality organic smoothies, acai bowls, juices and cold-pressed juice cleanses.

Business briefs

September 2, 2026 by

• As Covenant Health in Tennessee commemorates National Nurses week, May 6-12, it celebrates achieving “A” grades for all nine of its acute-care hospitals from The Leapfrog Group.

This is attributed to providers, such as nurses, as well as physicians and staff, who prioritize patient safety and care every day.

The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit watchdog organization known for setting rigorous standards for patient safety, quality care and hospital performance. The organization assigns grades based on more than 30 safety measures, including intensive care physician staffing levels, hygiene and patient outcomes.