In 1931, Nestled in the woods adjacent to Maryville College and in the center of downtown Maryville lies RT Lodge. RT, stands for Ruby Tuesday. While the mass market food chain doesn’t exactly inspire images of Relaix Chateau and everything that comes with that, RT Lodge is a delightful surprise. A true oasis in every sense of the word.
Back in 1931, a rich widow, moved to Maryville College to be near her sister, who was married to the chaplain of the college. Her name was Susan Wiley Walker and she fell in love with the natural surroundings of the college, particularly the woods. She arranged with the university’s trust to build a home in the Maryville College Woods, upon which would be left to the college upon her death. The 26-room home became known as Morningside, and the 80 year-old Walker supervised both its construction and the landscaping of the lawns and woods around it. Her meticulous eye for natural beauty helped preserve much of the wooded area that surrounds the building today, which became a home for Maryville College presidents and back in the day, young women students.
Susan passed away in 1951 and the home and grounds went through some changes. Eventually, Ruby Tesday (based in Maryville) arranged with the college to run the home and grounds as an event center, focusing on beautiful outdoor weddings. They built 2 lodges adjacent to the home (which is now the restaurant) with porches, rocking chairs and views of the lush grounds. Old and new stone paths wind through the woods connecting the wedding spaces with the main lodge and the rooms. HIdden trails wind through the woods and onto the Maryville campus allowing for plenty of exploring on bike or foot. Oh and did we mention the food?
Their farm-to-table food is totally on point. On our stay with only one night booked for dinner, we quickly booked the next so we could try all the things on the menu. The dishes were completely seasonal from the stir-fried okra with peanuts to the Mushroom Risotto (meaty with big chnunks of foraged shrooms) to the Tomato Tart. They make their own ramp salt, hot sauce, fermented butter, and breads. In the melon salads (both watermelon and cantalope) they compress the melons, then vacuum pack them making them almost translucent in appearance and super flavorful. The fried chicken is not to be missed, nor the berry pavolva for dessert. Best of all after a couple glasses of wine, you are just footsteps from your room.
Wether you’re visiting your son at UTK (a mere 20 minutes from the lodge) or spending time in the neighboring Smoky Mountains, RT Lodge is a respite from the busy world. At only a 2 1/2 hour drive from Nashville, it gets our vote for best dreamy staycation.