A carnival is set to open in Knoxville, and it has plans for an extended stay.
Carnival Delights — a restaurant serving a variety of carnival foods such as hand dipped corn dogs, lemonade shakeups, cotton candy, funnel cakes and more — will open Saturday at 234 E. Main St. in downtown Knoxville.
Visitors to the restaurant are greeted by circus-themed music playing on speakers outside the business. Once inside, the dining room is designed as a circus tent, with red and white curtains and a circus-themed mural and arcade games. There are three booths and several tables, along with a 16-foot long picnic table.
“We wanted to create something family friendly, and fun and exciting for people,” said Jessica Collins, who owns and operates Carnival Delights with her husband Roy.
Roy added, “And every small town should have an ice cream shop, right? We have a young daughter, and we know from Jenessa and her friends that they like ice cream, cotton candy and that type of thing.”
Carnival Delight will open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. six days a week, but the owners are still determining what day it will be closed.
In addition to hand dipped corn dogs, tenderloins, waffle fries, homemade pizza by the slice, lemonade shakeups and cotton candy, Carnival Delight will offer sundaes, banana splits, and a variety of specialty elephant ears and funnel cakes.
The basic elephant ear features a sweet cinnamon and sugar flavor on fried dough. The specialty elephant ear will come in flavors such as garlic parmesan, taco, pizza or spaghetti.
“We’ve traveled quite a bit, and really haven’t seen this concept for a restaurant,” Roy Collins added. “We think it’s kind of a once of a kind thing for the area.
“Nothing that we serve will be frozen — it will all be freshly made from our recipes.”
Jessica says her favorite item will be the cotton candy, while Roy is partial to the chocolate ice cream sandwich featuring soft serve ice cream between two glazed doughnuts.
Roy and Jessica said Carnival Delight is a dream turned into reality.
“We’ve wanted to get in the food business, and once this location became available a few months ago, we thought, ‘this is the perfect location,’” said Roy Collins. “It seems like the perfect fit, and we think the community will really enjoy it.”
Carnival Delight’s debut will coincide with the first-ever lighted Halloween parade at 6 p.m. Saturday in downtown Knoxville.
