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.