A lot of what makes Gatlinburg, Tennessee, such a fun destination is its great food and shopping opportunities.
Two excellent breakfast options are Pancake Pantry and The Donut Friar. The Pancake Pantry is Tennessee’s first pancake house. Opening in 1960, Jim and June Gerding fell in love with the area while vacationing in Gatlinburg and opened a pancake house. Today lines form along the sidewalk early as anxious tourists wait to eat pancakes, crepes, waffles, eggs, and omelets, and all the trimmings.
Just around the corner is The Village, a great shopping destination, and The Donut Friar. It’s not unusual for a line to form here too. Offering delicious donuts and other bakery treats, this is another popular breakfast option.
The Village was created as a distinctive European enclave, with brick pathways, landscaping and fountains, based on architectural and cultural research. It’s a tranquil escape from Parkway traffic.
To create The Village, the two families that built it searched for architecturally appropriate building materials. Their search for old homes, churches, and buildings netted them thick roofing slates, heavy carved doors, antique trim moldings, gas lighting fixtures, and handmade bricks to complete a sense of the Old World. Today there are 27 shops and eateries.
