KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – The 2018 Nicest Place in America, Yassin’s Falafel House, will temporarily close for renovations to start 2020.
Yassin’s Falafel House, located at 706 Walnut St. in downtown Knoxville, will close to renovate their kitchen in order to improve efficiency. The restaurant said on Twitter they hope to reopen on Tuesday, January 7.
Yassin’s West Knoxville location on North Peters Road will remain open as normal.
Owner Yassin Terou and his family fled a war-torn Syria in 2011, selling sandwiches outside a local mosque before eventually opening his downtown restaurant in 2014. Terou opened a second restaurant in West Knoxville in 2017.
Terou’s philanthropy has been well-documented. In the past, he’s offered free meals to federal workers affected by a government shutdown and those fleeing Hurricane Florence from North Carolina. In 2018, Yassin’s Falafel House hosted a fundraiser for the Knoxville Public Safety Foundation after Knoxville Police Officer B.K. Hardin was attacked while on-duty.
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Yassin’s Falafel House was named the Nicest Place in America in 2018 by Good Morning America and Reader’s Digest. Terou and family traveled to New York believing they had been named a finalist for the award before appearing on Good Morning America to accept the accolade.
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