In this week’s Know Your Rotarian, we spotlight one of the finest dentists in Knoxville, Dr. Jim Kotsianas.

The son of immigrant parents, his father came to the U.S. right after WWII, with the American dream of entrepreneurship. Father Frank was in the restaurant business in Knoxville for over 40 years. Frank’s Brass Rail was a much-loved and very successful restaurant in downtown Knoxville from 1959 until 1976. Frank also opened Ivanhoe House of Beef and Kotsi’s Charcoal Grill.

Jim was schooled in Knoxville and is a loyal graduate of the University of Tennessee. He got his first job in the family restaurant business and worked part-time as an usher at a local movie theater. With no intention of doing either permanently, Jim continued pursuing his own entrepreneurial dream in dentistry.

1982 was a banner year for Dr. Jim. He not only realized his dream and opened his Knoxville dental practice, but he also met his future wife, Fannie, at church when she was visiting from South Carolina to attend the World’s Fair in Knoxville.  Married in 1985, they now have three adult children and five precious grandchildren.

After 44 years of service to the community, Jim has reduced his workweek to 2 days/ week, and he plans to retire completely next summer.

As is customary in the Know Your Rotarian segment of the weekly meetings, Dick Hinton shared four facts about Dr. Jim, three of which were true and one false.

Three Truths and a LIE

  • Jim is very active in his church (St George Greek Orthodox), and every year, you can find Jim cooking meat under a tent to sell to attendees at Greek Fest
  • His wife is the assistant principal at Rocky Hill Elementary School
  • In the late 1970s, he became the first male to master making pastries, baklava, and spanakopita to a high enough level to be sold at Greek Fest
  • Has a menu from the Caesars Palace restaurant in Las Vegas, signed and personally given to him by comedienne Joan Rivers

The truth is Dr. Jim is very active in the St. George Greek Orthodox Church and is the ‘griller’ at their annual Greek Fest. His wife, Fannie, is the assistant principal at Rocky Hill Elementary. One of his travel memorabilia items is a menu from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, signed and personally given to him by Joan Rivers. So, despite his master grilling status during Greek Fest, he is not the master of pastries, baklava, or spanakopita.

The Rotary Club of Bearden meets every Friday, 12:15 p.m. for a luncheon meeting/program at Bearden Banquet Hall, 5806 Kingston Pike, 37919. All guests are welcome. Contact Joseph Pace with membership questions: here.

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