Alice Basler has always trusted her instincts. The Maryville real estate professional once closed on a house the same day she saw it. So when she drove past a vacant building at 114 E. Broadway one evening, called a friend to get inside, and walked out 20 minutes later ready to make an offer, nobody who knows her was particularly surprised.
“It was basically a whim,” Basler admitted. “I tend to be a fairly impetuous person.”
That impulsive detour is about to pay off for downtown Maryville. Basler and her partner, Eric Chadwell, are putting the finishing touches on Wells Tavern, a Scottish pub and rooftop bar that the pair hope will become Blount County’s neighborhood gathering place. An opening is planned for “a day in July.”
“July has 31 days in it,” Basler said with a laugh, “so we’re opening in July.”
The concept grew out of a frustrating reality: the options were few, and none fit her style. Basler had been with family one evening when the group realized Maryville’s downtown lacked a real Scottish pub — the kind of cozy, winding space where people linger over a pint and run into friends. She drove home through downtown, noticed the vacant Broadway building for the first time, and the idea took hold.
The decision to go Scottish was deliberate.
Maryville’s Scottish heritage — its Highland Games, its active clan organizations, its ties to Maryville College — made the concept a natural fit. Basler has traveled to Edinburgh and drawn on those experiences to shape the interior, working with local architect firm OYSK, builder Lamon & McDaniels, metal fabricators Aethon Metal Fabrication, interior designer Missy Johnson of Nashville Office Interiors and others to create a space layered with tartan, exposed brick, and custom touches throughout.
The building itself — the only Downtown building to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places — required a significant structural overhaul. Engineering studies revealed a foundation sitting on bare brick with clay-wall basement conditions, for example.
The renovation required 150 yards of poured concrete, a new interior steel frame running from basement to roof, and a complete rebuild of the roof structure — all to support the rooftop bar that has become one of Wells Tavern’s signature features.
The three-level layout carries a geographic theme: the rooftop is the Highlands, the main floor the Midlands, and the enclosed back patio — complete with a wood-burning stone fireplace and a stage — the Lowlands. A custom timber timber arch inspired by European railway stations crowns the rooftop. Tucked into the main floor is a snug, a private booth in the tradition of Victorian pubs, along with cozy booths designed for connection and conversation.
The menu leans into authenticity: fish and chips, bangers and mash, steak and ale pie, Cullen skink — a Scottish smoked haddock and potato soup — and salt and vinegar wings. No chicken tenders, Basler insisted.
Basler said the project has pushed her in unexpected ways, particularly in learning to share creative control with Chadwell, who will oversee daily operations once the doors open.
“My hope,” she said, “is that we’re just going to be seeing a lot of friends all the time.”
