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.

We had to pleasure to dine at Vinny and Me Saturday night. The food was very good.....too bad the place sounded like someone took sixteen buses of 7th graders on a Shaky's Pizza Parlor field trip. It was so noisy we had to SCREAM across our table to be heard.