For most, a 37-year career in nuclear engineering at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and owning a data analysis company would be the crowning achievement of a lifetime. For native Knoxvillian Brian Worley, it was simply the analytical foundation for a long-held dream. Today, instead of overseeing data sets, Worley oversees a different kind of history at Addison’s Bookstore, located on the historic 100 block of Gay Street in Downtown Knoxville.
Walking into Addison’s isn't like walking into any other retail bookstore; it is an immersion into an "old-world" experience. Housed in the Commerce Building, the shop is a deliberate sanctuary of exposed brick, intimate lighting and the unmistakable scent of aging paper. Worley worked with Tiffani Ogier of Kardia Interiors to help design Addison’s and create the space that it is today.
“We wanted to have the feeling of an old-world experience,” Worley explains. “When you walk into it, you feel comfortable being surrounded by bricks and books.”
The shop’s name is a tribute to a deep-rooted family legacy, spanning generations of men named Addison, and now shared by Worley’s daughter and granddaughter. This sense of lineage extends to the shelves themselves. While many bookstores focus on the latest bestsellers, Worley's focus is on the niche of used, rare and antiquarian books. Alongside curator Jeff Johnson, Worley sources eclectic treasures ranging from 16th-century Latin texts to signed first editions by local legends like James Agee and Cormac McCarthy. One of the store's most prized sales was a 1538 edition of Caesar’s Commentaries, a book that carried the ink-stamped names of every owner who had cherished it over the last five centuries.
However, Worley’s vision for Addison’s goes beyond the transaction of rare ink and parchment; he is building a community "anchor" for downtown Knoxville.
“I really want to be an anchor in that whole downtown atmosphere,” Worley says. “There's plenty of other anchors in many spaces, but in terms of a place to come where you walk into an old-world environment and you're surrounded by wonderful books, and you're a book lover, you want to sit and enjoy it.”
The store serves as a versatile venue, hosting everything from wedding receptions to mystery parties. By utilizing the very floors where the Knoxville News operated in the 1920s, Worley has brought the building’s literary history full circle. He encourages visitors to grab a coffee from Jack’s across the street and relax amongst the books—or over a game on the shop’s signature chess set.
Worley’s commitment to preserving local narrative isn't confined to the store's walls. He is currently deep in the archives of the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club, authoring a book on their 100-year history. Much like the rare first editions he saves from obscurity, this project aims to document the club’s unique experiences and conservation efforts since its founding in 1924.
As Addison’s approaches its fourth anniversary, Worley remains focused on consistency and connection. Whether he is traveling across East Tennessee to evaluate an estate collection or chatting with neighbors about the history of the railway station, his goal remains the same: to ensure that the intellectual and literary heart of Knoxville has a place to beat. For Worley, the data finally adds up to something timeless.
Stop by Addison’s in downtown Knoxville at 126 South Gay Street. AddisonsBooks.com.