Nature's Pantry, 6600 Kingston Pike in West Knoxville, is going out of business. It's an organic/natural health food store and was home to "Organic Roots," one of the only raw vegan restaurants in Knoxville that I know of. Besides the corporate branch of Earth Fare, it was the only place where I could go to get fresh wheatgrass juice, for instance.

The adjacent building, "Well by Nature," a center that provides alternative wellness services, is also closing.

I can only speculate as to why this happened but my guess is that as a small business, it was just too hard for them to compete in a market that doesn't really understand the benefits of what they were trying to offer.

If you're a vegetarian, a vegan, a raw foodist, or if you are at all interested in studying the corrupt politics and history behind the food we eat, you know that Knoxville still has a way to go with providing an ample selection of restaurants, community resources, and alternatives to the typical mainstream American diet.

Two Knoxville locals (having moved back from California) are putting together a grassroots coworking community that meets every Wednesday at Panera Bread on 4855 Kingston Pike in West Knoxville. To get more information you can join them on facebook or be notified of future events on upcoming.org. They also have a site on Google Groups where you can ask questions about coworking.

Coworking is a movement that is redefining the way some people work. It aims to show those who are self-employed, independent, or entrepreneurial how they can benefit by working around each other.

Lately, the new trend has caught the attention of Mother Jones, The New York Times, Business Week, and other publications.

The eventual goal is to get enough people organized so that a discussion can commence about establishing a physical not-for-profit coworking community venue in Knoxville.

In the meantime, the idea is just to provide a space that allows progressive, creative, independent people an opportunity to network and work around the company of others once a week.