Downtown area has tons of wonderful small businesses. From my experience the people are pretty liberal and open-minded compared to people in most other parts of Tennessee. I think of that as a god sign for small business.

There are certainly a lot of small businesses in the Chattanooga area, and just like any small business, it can be tough from time to time. You’ll find a number of cafes, restaurants, coffee shops that are family/small group owned. If you can find the right niche, you can succeed, most especially in the downtown area. The North Shore part of downtown has been booming for some time, and now even condos are being developed there. If you’re looking though, don’t just count on being in the right place – if you don’t have the right stuff it won’t really matter. My parents owned a store on the north shore and eventually the rent kicked them out because they didn’t have the stuff the tourists needed/wanted.

Short answer: they are definately supported, but you’ve got to research “it” before you dive in.