Andrew Howard

Brown Bag began in 2009 as a simple catering business started by Peter Brown. A manager at Qdoba, Brown noticed a gap in the catering market — No one was serving simple, healthy meals at a reasonable price. If you wanted an affordable catered meal, you were often left with pre-made sandwiches and bags of chips. Peter decided that he was going to create a catering menu that was simple but delicious and incredibly well done. Peter started in his home kitchen, eventually moved to his detached garage, and in 2011, made the transition to Brown Bag’s first location off of Hardin Valley Road in Knoxville, TN. After several months, Peter decided to take advantage of the space and opened up the restaurant, which would dish out catering orders throughout the day and serve food to customers who came in daily for lunch. The business grew organically, grounded in great relationships, a lot of hustle and delivery of exceptional customer service, some of the hallmarks of Brown Bag as a company. Former professional golfer Matt Mincer joined Peter as a co-owner in 2013, and Brown Bag continued to grow. In 2014, the two decided it was time to open up a second location in downtown Knoxville, which came to fruition in July of 2014. In 2016, Brown Bag expanded into the Nashville market with its first store located in Cool Springs. Business grew so quickly that in 2017, Brown Bag opened a commercial kitchen to handle catering for the entire Nashville area. For eight years, Brown Bag has been committed to delivering simple but delicious and healthy food, seeking to build relationships in the community and provide excellent customer service.