In July 1995, Geoffrey Wolpert continued the tradition he had established of consistent unique quality with The Peddler Steakhouse on River Road by building the Park Grill Steakhouse. The concept of the Park Grill Steakhouse is outstanding from its design to its menu. Located just 200 yards from the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, from exterior to interior, the structure itself is a feast for the eyes.

The Park Grill Steakhouse is designed to be reminiscent of a majestic national park lodge. Most of the large National Parks have grand lodges. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is lacking a lodge, so the Park Grill Steakhouse was designed to be the grand lodge of the Smokies. The log construction is authentic with the logs providing structural support for the dining area of the building. Its massive log superstructure is constructed of spruce trees that came from the higher elevations of the Payette National Forest in Idaho.

Many of the specific logs for this project were handpicked with special emphasis on any material having unusual characteristics, such as burls, big knots and natural scars. No live trees were cut down to create the massive building. The trees that were selected for the Park Grill Steakhouse were standing dead trees when they were harvested. They were killed either by an infestation of bark beetles, which long since have disappeared, or by lightning caused fires. The material would have become a hazard if it were allowed to remain standing.

The harvested trees were trucked to Timber, Oregon where the prefabrication was performed at Sun Country Logworks. Prefabrication of the logs began with hand peeling, which is performed with razor sharp drawknives. The char from fire was peeled off with the bark. Each peeler has his own style, therefore the same peeler was used for all the logs so that the peeling pattern would be consistent throughout the entire building across the country from Payette National Forest in Idaho.

The logs were then properly decked, sorted, and treated and moved to the milling area where band saw cuts were done. They were cut to length and many of the mortise and tenon joint seat cuts were made. Logs were then tagged for shipping and stored ready for their trek to Gatlinburg.

A scale model of the building accompanied the logs through the entire process. Each log was selected and tagged for a specific spot in the building. The logs and model were shipped to Gatlinburg on seven flat bed trucks. The logs were carefully stacked on the trucks with cedar filled burlap bags between them so that they would not be damaged on their trek east.

A crew of log builders from Washington State, Oregon, northern California, Idaho and Canada came in to do the work of constructing the building. They cut the logs to precision and constructed the structure using traditional log building methods.

Their primary tool was the gas-powered chain saw. Some of the saws had a cutting bar of 6 feet that required an operator on each end. The logs were joined with mortise and tenon connections. The scarfs (the flattened sides of the logs) were all cut by hand. Notice the fine joinery that ensures a clean look to all joints when you visit the Park Grill Steakhouse.

The handrails on the front of the building are metal that has been formed and finished to look like bark. Huge long chains are used as downspouts from the roof to guide the rainwater into stone receptacles. An outside porch on the front of the restaurant, with a fireplace and handmade rocking chairs, accommodates those waiting to dine.

The stonework throughout the restaurant came from old rock fences in the Cosby area, located approximately 30 miles east of Gatlinburg. The hard flooring utilizes surfaces representative of natural stone.

The landscaping incorporates indigenous plants and materials native to the area including witch hazel, mountain laurel and rhododendron to authenticate the mountain theme.

The décor is a progressive mountain theme utilizing massive peeled logs and appropriately innovative coordinating accents that strongly relate to the mountain theme without being too rustic. A leaf motif is used as the primary decorating detail. You will find leaves in the lighting fixture design, in the rest rooms, as coat hooks, on the ceiling fans and on the bar top. On the front of the host stand and the bar are panels of layered metal silhouettes that form mountain scenes with a background of polished copper. Some of the tables have copper tops imprinted with leaves and the chairs are handmade from Tennessee Hickory.

The restaurant seats a total of 341 guests at a combination of tables and booths. There is a full service bar and lounge area. Two climate controlled covered patio rooms at each end of the building can be used throughout the year. Oversized French doors are on two sides of each room and can be opened for the view and a feeling of outdoor dining. There are three fireplaces in the restaurant; one in the bar, one in a patio dining area and one on the outside porch.

Discover our unique, small gift shop. Expect to be delighted when you find paintings, prints, raku pottery, silk scarves and handcrafted jewelry by local artists. A wide assortment of gift selections includes books of local interest, stationery, hiking medallions and staffs, puzzles, handmade soaps, plush animals and "furry forest critters" native to our National Park. You can purchase a "memory" of your stay in the mountains while dining in the warm and welcoming lodge atmosphere of The Park Grill Steakhouse.

Gatlinburg, the historic gateway to the Smokies, and its surrounding area scenes have been combined in the mural by Knoxville artist Ann Lorimer. It provides a nostalgic view of the past and a remembrance for the future.

The 56’ x 13’ Park Grill Steakhouse mural has been designed in three sections to accommodate the ceiling beams and trusses. Working drawings were developed over which a grid was drawn. When the 2-level scaffolding was in place, the wall was marked with a corresponding grid twelve times the size and the design was roughed in. The greatest challenge, according to Ms. Lorimer, “was to make one contiguous painting out of three very different views that were not seen together in nature.”

The left section is a distant view of early Gatlinburg from a historic photograph taken in 1912. Lorimer said, “I decided to add vitality to this scene not only with livestock and a hound dog, but with the addition of the 20th century likenesses of the Park Grill Steakhouse owner Geoffrey Wolpert, and his sons Jacob and Jordan.”

The middle is a near view of foothills with a Tennessee log cabin and indigenous wildlife. White-tailed deer, striped skunks (“pole-cats”) and purple finches appear in the center panel, watched over by Elvis, the cat of Marketing Director Caroline Polakowski and Ms. Lorimer’s golden retriever Wellington.

The right section is a view of Mt. Le Conte in the distance with a close-up view of a stream with a waterfall. In this panel are eastern bluebirds and a red fox, with cardinals, tufted titmice and chickadees.

The styles of the middle and right sections were inspired by a type of early 20th century American folk art called Camp Art. Amateur painters who were avid hikers or sportsmen did these rustic, yet vivid impressions of nature before the days of small cameras. It was decided that a mural done in this style would best complement the ambiance of the Park Grill. All featured elements were researched by Lorimer for authenticity.

The mural, left to right, leads the viewer from a human environment back into a more natural habitat, the domain of black bears, raccoons and the red-bellied woodpecker. Lorimer said that she “wished to give the feeling of hiking along a high ridge with views opening below, and a sense of movement and time. The shadows gradually change direction as early morning in Gatlinburg becomes late morning at the pond, and afternoon by the time one reaches the waterfall. The hazy blue mountain ridges gently fading into the sky are characteristic of the Smokies. Whether they are veiled by cloud, or dappled with hoar frost or snow like Mt. Le Conte in the right panel, it is the mountains themselves, in glorious autumn hues that relate the various elements of the mural and give it all continuity.”

The elk antlers on the wall over the bar were naturally shed from a Rocky Mountain Elk called a Wapiti in the spring of 1992 and were found in November of 1992 in western Montana near the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. This elk was probably a 12-13 year old, 1000 pound bull. It takes about 100-120 days for antlers to grow to this size. This growth period occurs from May through August. The antlers received a score of 350 by the Boone and Crockett organization which rates and records trophy caliber animals. A perfect score is 375.

The elk head mounted above the fireplace in the patio room at the north end of the building was donated by Pauline Wright in honor of her late husband, Fred Wright, the original manager of the Clarion Inn next door to the Park Grill and a dear friend of the Park Grill Steakhouse.

Wildlife is on display throughout the restaurant and the Wildlife Room is available for booking for special occasions.

Showcasing and complementing the natural beauty of the mountains in a majestic mountain lodge, The Park Grill Steakhouse offers a memorable dining experience with extraordinary food and service in a warm, welcoming atmosphere. It is the perfect end to your day in the Smokies, as the tradition continues.