HOT TAMALES IN KNOXVILLE

by Ron Allen

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Having enjoyed the experience of buying and eating hot tamales for many years in this town, I'm describing here some of the places where hot tamales were available in Knoxville during those years. I've also given here a bit of the history of some of the earlier sources of those delicacies, before my time, and a brief mention of the current tamale climate.

My earliest recollection of tamales in Knoxville is when I was a youngster, maybe nine or ten years old, when I would occasionally go to the downtown area with my mother. Sometimes we would see the short bowlegged black man who sold tamales from a white push cart on Gay Street. Unless my memory is foggy on the point, he was usually either pushing that cart or standing beside the parked cart on the sidewalk along the east side of Gay, somewhere between Vine and Wall, although I'm sure sometimes he ventured elsewhere. Perhaps he had to stay on the move to satisfy the local street police, who might have sometimes urged him to move on. According to information provided by some older local residents who remember that tamale peddler, his first name was George. I'm not sure, but in later times I sometimes wondered if he may have been selling tamales made by Andrew Taylor, about whom more later.

Back in the forties, the most readily available local hot tamales were made and distributed by a woman named Ruby Wolf. Her tamales were sold at grocery stores including Cas Walkers and White Stores, and were also served at a number of local restaurants, including Kay's. For a while, my grandmother worked for Ruby, both women having been friends through a mutual association in a ladies auxiliary of the wives of Southern Railway workers. I remember my grandmother leaving early in the mornings, being picked up by Ruby, as they delivered tamales to various locations in town, in the tamale maker's automobile. Ruby's tamales were popular fare in Knoxville for several years.

Another source of tamales, particularly for those living in Lonsdale and West View, was W. L. Smith, operating as Smitty's Hot Tamales. Smitty's made and sold tamales from a shop in the basement of his home on Keith Avenue, A number of old Rule High School graduates have mentioned to me that they often bought tamales from him, and all seem to have fond remembrances of going to Smitty's, buying tamales, and walking down an area street while devouring one or more of them.

My personal opinion is that for many years the best tamales in town were made and sold by the aforementioned Andrew Taylor. He probably also was the champion local tamale maker in terms of longevity. But Taylor was not Knoxville's first tamale maker. A place called Forney and Company was in operation at 318 East Jackson in 1909. The Royston family was in the tamale business in Knoxville from 1912 to 1919, the names at different times including Harry, Fay and Clyde Royston. According to the listings in city directories, the Royston's shop was always located on Willow Street. In 1917, a man named William Jones was making and selling hot tamales in Knoxville. His shop was located on Florida Street, and Andrew Taylor' name first shows up in city directories in connection with the tamale business when he is listed that year as an employee of Jones. By 1919, Andrew Taylor himself is listed as a tamale peddler in the city directory, the location being on Jackson Avenue. That year he also owned a pool hall on the same street.

Andrew Taylor was in the tamale business in Knoxville for more than fifty years. His shops were at several different locations. In 1925, his place was described in the city directory as an eating house, located on Patton Street. By 1930, he was strictly a hot tamale manufacturer, at the same address, and he continued to operate on Patton street through the World War Two period. By 1952, he had moved to Willow Street, where his shop was called Andrew's Weiner Stand. That was appropriate, since besides hot tamales he also sold the best hot dogs in town, topped with mustard and a generous portion of his own home-made chili, which had no beans and was not soupy or thin, but had a consistency something like a heavy paste. Whatever it was, it was delicious.. Don't get me wrong, I also enjoyed those dogs at places like the Smoky Mountain Market and Nan Denton's, but I frankly thought they paled in comparison with Andrew's. It was at the Willow Street location that I first found Andrew's place. His shop was on the south side of Willow Street, east of Central. His tamales were spicy, but not too hot, and they were large, greasy (of course), and always tasty.

Taylor had moved to the northeast corner of Linden and Bertrand by 1960. His business then was located in a small frame building across the street from the Magnolia Bowling Center. I would often drive out there to devour a couple hot dogs for lunch, and I usually bought a dozen tamales to take home for later enjoyment. Andrew once told me that he sold as many or more tamales to people from out of town as he did to folks in Knoxville. He said he received many such orders, and would make dozens of tamales, keeping them in his freezer, to be picked up by those outsiders when they came to or through town. Andrew was a relatively short black man, who spoke with a distinct nasal quality. He continued in operation at the Linden Avenue location for several years. The final year he is listed in the city directory is 1970. That date verifies the fact that Andrew Taylor was making and selling hot tamales in Knoxville for more than fifty years.

Some years later, two other tamale makers were in town. Both were African Americans, who seemingly have the knack for knowing how to make the best hot tamales. One of them had a shop down on University, on the east side, just past the corner of College street, but usually you could only find him there if you were lucky. Your best chance was to find him beside his cart down on Western, just off University, in front of the Cas Walker store, a location where he sold tamales with regularity. His name was Charles Green. Historically around here, tamales have been somewhat fat and juicy, wrapped in corn husks or tamale paper, and tied at the ends and also in the middle with strings or corn husk strips. Green's's tamales on the other hand, while wrapped in a tamale paper, were tied nowhere. In appearance they were similar to, and really not that much larger, than those tamales you can pick up at most grocery stores -- in a can. Fortunately, they were considerably better than the canned variety, and while to me they didn't compare with Andrew's concoctions, his tamales were not that bad, albeit they were always a bit spicy for my taste, and their size left me with the feeling that maybe I needed to have several at one sitting, an idea that when acted upon sometimes resulted in an overly stuffed feeling, or a bad stomach for a couple of days. But for a while I became a regular customer of Green's tamales, since it seemed that those were about the best tamales that were available around here then, at least as far as I knew.

Then I discovered that my friend Theo Jackson, who for some years had been a fellow member in the Northside Kiwanis Club, made and sold tamales in a small building over on Texas Avenue. I've always called him Theo, but to most folks he is known as ''Sarge", a holdover from his years on the Knoxville police force. That first time I tasted one of his tamales I was hooked. Theo's tamales were the closest thing to those originally made by Andrew Taylor that I ever found. For that matter, Theo also offered great hot dogs, with chili very similar to Andrew's. But he didn't always have those dogs available, despite my encouragement that he should do so. I'm pretty sure Sarge offered his tamales both in a "regular" and a "hot" variety. The originals were always plenty hot enough for me and I never took the gamble of trying one of those scorchers, particularly since for a long time he had a cartoon stuck up on his wall at the original Texas avenue location, showing what was left of someone who had just eaten one of the "hotter" tamales, depicting a man sitting on a stool with nothing left but a partly burned-away and smoking skeleton, being asked by the proprietor if he'd like another tamale. Anyway, I discussed the art of tamales and chili more than once with Theo, and he said that he had spent years perfecting both his tamales and his hot dog chili. He had known Andrew Taylor for years, and confessed that through trial and error he had attempted to duplicate those tamales and the chili made by the Master. He came pretty close in the process. Theo also mentioned that on several occasions when Andrew was still with us he had attempted to convince Taylor to part with his recipes. But the reply had always been the same, that Andrew would take the recipes with him to his grave. " And that, " said Theo, " is exactly what he did ! "

Theo later moved to a larger building at the corner of Western avenue and Pleasant Ridge road, where his business thrived, not only in the tamale business but probably moreso in the barbeque trade, and in fact the place was called Sarge's Barbeque. But the tamales continued to be available as long as he was in business and I was a regular customer. He decided to throw in the towel and retire a few years ago, and his tamales are no longer available. Of course, although Sarge was rightly proud of his ribs and barbeque dishes, and his pigburgers, which I also bought on occasion, there are still scads of places around town where you can get decent ribs and various other types of barbecue dishes. But for whatever reasons the availability of good hot tamales is hardly that far reaching.

For several years now there has been a place out on Magnolia making and selling hot tamales. It's called Mary's Tamales. Their tamales are not that dissimilar from those that were once sold by the aforementioned Charles Green down on University avenue, both in size and format, and I believe I read somewhere that the recipe they use is the one the he had originally come up with years ago. It may be in fact that the proprietor(s) originally worked with or for Green, since I recall one time at the University avenue shop that some ladies were making tamales down there and Green told me then that he was training them in the art of tamale making. Mary's tamales are pretty good, and I drop by there to buy some occasionally. But everyone has his own taste I suppose, and I'm really still looking. I have found a couple of private local sources for tamales, and they're also quite good. But the supply is limited from those individuals, who make the tamales in their homes. You'll need to scout around and find your own sources if you ever happen to crave a decent hot tamale these days.

Below, I've listed the names of some of the hot tamale makers who have been in Knoxville, as shown in twentieth century city directories through the year 1970. Of course, much of this repeats information already given above, but this condensed listing might be useful to interested parties :

1909. Forney and Company was located at 318 East Jackson Avenue.

1912 - 1914 Harry Royston was on Willow Street

1917 Fay Royston was now shown Willow Street. Another tamale maker that year was William Jones, located on Florida Street. That year, Andrew Taylor was an employee of Jones.

1918 Clyde Royston was on Willow Street. (Obviously this was the same family, but I don't know what the relationship was between Harry, Fay and Clyde Royston). That year Andrew Taylor had branched out into his own tamale business, on Jackson avenue, the first time he is so listed in the directory. Whether he took over from William Jones, for whom he had worked the previous year, is not known, but that certainly seems to have been likely. Earlier, Taylor had owned a pool hall on Patton street in 1915, and later he owned one on Jackson avenue in 1920. Probably his pool hall and the tamale shop were at the same Jackson avenue location.

1919. Clyde Royston was still on Willow Street, the final year anyone in the Royston family is listed in city directories in the tamale business.

1925. Andrew Taylor place was now called an "eating house", located on Patton Street.

1930 Andrew Taylor's shop was now shown as "hot tamale manufacturer", still on Patton Street

1931 - 1943, and later. Andrew Taylor continued in operation on Patton Street

1940's The aforementioned Ruby Wolf (Ruby's Tamales), and W. L. Smith (Smitty's Hot Tamales) made and serve hot tamales in Knoxville. made and sold hot tamales in Knoxville. Andrew Taylor had moved to the south side of Willow Street, east of Central, where he continued in business.

1952 Andrew Taylor continued on Willow Street, where his place is called his "Andrew's Weiner Stand", although as always he also offered tamales.

1960 Andrew Taylor's shop was now called Andrew's Tamales and he had moved to the corner of Linden and Bertrand, across the street from the Magnolia Bowling Center.

1970. Andrew Taylor was still listed on Linden, the final year he is shown in city directories.

I came across an old article from the Knoxville Sentinel, published on January 12, 1891. The article perhaps reveals that tamales were being peddled in Knoxville as long ago as that year (or possibly not). The article is somewhat confusing, since although it begins as if it concerns happenings in Knoxville, it later describes the sale of hot tamales in Atlanta, Georgia. I have reproduced that article in its entirety below, and readers may determine for themselves if they think the first portion of the article was intended to describe such activities in Knoxville. In any event, if the manufacture and sales of hot tamales had made it as far north as Atlanta, Georgia in 1891, it would not seem unusual that they were also available in Knoxville, either then or soon thereafter.

"HOT TOMALIS" SOMETHING ABOUT THE MEXICAN DELICACY VENDED ON OUR STREETS.

It is quite a familiar sound of nights after the theatre performance is over to hear the resonate voice of some local weiner vendor ring out the words, "Hot Tomalis, fresh and nice. Just like they are made in the city of Mexico or the Southwest." You are tempted by the lunchman's persistent and continued hawking of the strange product of the border Republic to invest five cents and sample it. What it is and what you experience is best described in the Atlanta Journal as follows.

You pay five cents and he hands you from a hot tin box three little rolls of something wrapped in shucks. You unroll the shucks and take out a stick of dough, somewhat resembling a banana. You bit it, and discover that it consists of an outer layer of meal and an inner layer of - - what ? That's the question.

It tastes like sausage and yet it doesn't taste like sausage. But then, one thing about it you are not slow in discovering, and that is that it is hot - - very hot. It possesses a hotness that lingers with you, that it takes you some time to rid yourself of.

Nearly fifteen hundred of these little hot tomalis are sold upon the streets of Atlanta every night. George Roberts - he's well known - is the proprietor of the establishment that manufactures these delicate little morsels. It's not a very large manufactory, but it's a prosperous one, only a small frame beef market down on Courtland street, but it serves its purpose well. The tomalis are made in the rear of the building by two Mexicans whom George captured from Pawnee Bill's wild west show when it was engaged by the Exposition company.

This is how the Mexicans prepare the tomalis for market : loins of beef and pork, boiled in chunks for a long time. These chunks are then ground up in a sausage mill. Then meal, which has been ground very fine between rocks - the Mexican way - is mixed with the soup of the boiled meat, and made into a kind of dough. This dough is then spread out upon clean shucks with a knife, and a layer of the meat, highly seasoned with pepper and two or three kinds of Mexican sage, is put upon top of the dough, and at last the whole is rolled up like a cigar and is ready to sell.

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