CORNERSVILLE — In the days following Dolly Parton’s death, tourists and fans flocked the newly-opened Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop, a roadside attraction in Marshall County, Tennessee, that sells merchandise, serves homestyle cooking and offers an unordinary travel experience.
To celebrate Parton, fans created a memorial arrangement of pink, white and yellow flowers — alongside an array of purple butterflies — at the forefront of the attraction. Stuffed animals, rubber ducks and bouquets were placed around the base of the display.
Roughly 50 miles south of Nashville, the city where Parton started her career, and 250 miles west of Sevierville, where she was raised, the truck stop offered a place for fans to mourn and commemorate the “national treasure” in the fashion of Southern hospitality.
“As far as the trucking community, she took care of our truck drivers,” said Tim Dodd, a truck driver visiting Dolly’s in the days after her death. “I know because I’ve heard and seen reports where they bragged about how she compensated for every little thing they did, not just for driving down the road.
“You can just walk in here and see the accommodations that she put up for us, like the drivers lounge right back here,” Dodd said. “Not all truck stops even have stuff like that.”
Outside the truck stop
While the Tennessean Travel Stop had been a roadside spot for decades, the collaboration between Parton, her manager Danny Nozell and Gregory H. Sachs, owner of the truck stopbrand, hopes to rival Buc-ee’s by utilizing the county music icon’s image for tourism purposes.
After rising to fame in the mid 1960s and spending decades touring and traveling, Parton opened her truck stop after gaining first-hand experience of what — especially truck drivers — need and want on the road.
During the ribbon cutting ceremony, Parton explained her decision behind opening a new tourism destination.
“I’m sure some of you are wondering why I wanted a truck stop,” Parton said at the ribbon cutting ceremony. “Well, I couldn’t leave it to beavers. I had to throw my scrawny little self in there.”
The location offers an immersive Dolly-themed experience. Guests are greeted by a crossroad on the far-right side of the building, with musical notes and Parton’s signature butterfly icon. For those traveling with four-legged friends, the truck stop encourages dogs to roam outside in a gated area named “Doggy Parton.”
Alongside the building sits a road-used blue tour bus, featuring musical notes to emphasize Partons’ singing career. A large portrait of Parton appears on the far-right side, with her autograph displayed in the center.
Behind the bus is a vibrant pink wall that reads, “Dolly, we will always love you.” On the wall, visitors can write names, messages to the late philanthropist and — like the memorial at the storefront — leave small gifts.
Inside the truck stop
Inside the stop, walls are lined in black-and-white murals of Parton, as well as a bedazzled chandelier of stage-used electric and acoustic guitars.
While many gas stations offer a mundane experience of sugary snacks and the smell of burnt coffee, the general store showcases hundreds of Parton themed merchandise items and accessories, from apparel to music and cooking appliances.
Among the most popular truck stop merchandise items — even before her death — is the highly-collectable blue and silver stainless-steel tumbler.
Partons original coffee shop, appropriately named “Cup of Ambition” — a nod to her hit song, “9 to 5” — offers espresso-based beverages, refreshers and ice cream. Parton collaborated with Community Coffee for the project, and her estate plans to expand the partnership nationwide later this year.
“It’s really nicely decorated,” said Alabama native Eva Leban. “It’s cute with all the (decorations) from the ‘9 to 5’ movie. It’s just the feeling of (the coffee shop], it’s very homey, it seems like everyone wants to be here.”
Nearby sits DLY BBQ grab-and-go counter, offering slow-smoked meat sandwiches, including pulled pork and smoked brisket, alongside the Dollywood fan favorite cinnamon bread for $12.99.
If that isn’t enough to fuel travelers, next door is an all-service restaurant, and an all-you-can-eat style buffet that serves homestyle breakfast and lunch, including pancakes, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and mac and cheese.
“As far as the food (this is the best truck stop], it’s so hard to find cooking like this,” Dodd said. “She kept it all country.”
The experience continues downstairs with live music and karaoke stages, while the upstairs bar offers a quieter lounge area.
From families cruising through Middle Tennessee on a road trip or locals looking for a bite to eat, the travel destination takes an unordinary on-the-road experience into one full of gilts and glamour — just like the woman behind the passion project.
“We’re not trying to compete with anybody — we don’t think we’ll have to,” Parton said on opening day. “We think we’re going to have everything that you want or need.”
