
Café 7, Rock City’s upscale outdoor restaurant, has always welcomed pets, as does Rock City itself, but there is a really cute, new pet menu that features clever names like Grrrrrilled Cluck Cluck, Two Hot Dawgs, and Tricks for Treats Bacon, each for $5. Puppuccino is only $3, but bowls of fresh water are always free. With a designated area near the bar for pets and their owners, both humans and their best friends can relax and enjoy!
Because Rock City is pet-friendly, the staff has seen its share of unusual pets, which come through regularly. The only stipulation is that pets must be on a leash. Rock City employees have visited with guests that slither, climb and hop through the Enchanted Trail, including baby goats in pajamas, bunnies, pigs, a snake, a small monkey, a rooster, and a parrot dressed in a tux to celebrate its birthday during Shamrock City. (No, you can’t make this kind of stuff up!)
Café 7 overlooks Lover’s Leap and is quite beautiful, as well as very relaxing, and it offers all sorts of entrées, including beef brisket tacos, barbecue, fried green tomato BLT, fried chicken and sweet potato waffles, shrimp and grits, and several salads, plus a kids’ menu. Everything is very reasonably priced. Café 7 also serves beer and wine, plus a variety of soft drinks.
Local folks always want to know if mountain residents can enter Rock City and enjoy the restaurants without paying admission. The answer is no, but residents can get a resident’s pass after paying the price of a one-day admission, and the pass is good for a lifetime! It needs to be renewed every three years, which is a very simple process. There are a few restrictions on the resident pass, but it mainly allows residents to enjoy all that Rock City offers year-round.
Besides the Café 7, Rock City also offers the Big Rock Grill, which is near the entrance to Rock City and features more casual dining with a variety of menu items, including breakfast to-go during the morning hours on the weekends. Rock City also boasts a snack shop that offers pizza and other concession items, so it would be hard not to find something to enjoy!
The Café 7 is open in the summer from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the weekdays and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the weekends. If you don’t have a resident pass or know someone who doesn’t, this would make a great birthday or Christmas present - the gift that gives on giving!