My wife and I will be visiting Gatlinburg and Johnson City soon so I'm here getting educated on TN carry. It would appear that my VA CHP qualifies me for CC and OC. I've read about public parks and the gun busters/3 distinct factors for posted businesses.
Anything else a visitor should be aware of in regards to the law?
Any suggestions on restaurants to visit or other attractions to take in?
Yeah, unfortunately all of Johnson City's parks, even if they aren't posted, are prohibited by city ordinance. I don't know about Gatlinburg.
As for restaurants in JC, I highly recommend you stay away from chain restaurants. Don't get me wrong-we have plenty of great chain restaurants in JC: Cheddar's, Smoky Bones, Johnny Brusco's Chili's, Jimmy John's, Jason's Deli, etc. But we have so many great local restaurants that I don't see a reason to go to them. Crazy Tomato, Scratch Pizza, Alley Kat, Jack's City Grill, Cootie Brown's, Mid City Grill, Tomy Thai, Miso Teriyaki House, Amigo, One 12 Downtown (recently changed their name to Label), are all great places to eat, and I've open carried in all of them without so much as a comment about it.
I'm sure there are more great restaurants that I'm forgetting, but my point is that there are so many great local restaurants to suit your needs, there's enough for pretty much any popular craving.
