Forget 9-5 because Dolly is working overtime.
The Queen of Country opened up her brand new truck stop, cutely called Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop. In typically Dolly fashion, the spot is “a place where you’re greeted not just with fuel and food, but with warmth, comfort, and a little sparkle of Dolly Parton magic.”
Right off Exit 22 in Cornersville, Tennessee, the stop will have food, live music, a general store, gas pumps, a dog park and some very clean bathrooms, giving Buc-ee’s a run for its money. The Iron Butterfly even went through a quick jab at a big tourist destination at the grand opening.
“I’m sure some of you are wondering why I wanted a truck stop. Well, I couldn’t leave it to beavers,” Parton joked. The job was most likely at Buc-ee’s, whose mascot is famously a beaver with a red and yellow baseball cap.
“We’re not trying to compete with anybody; we don’t think we’ll have to. We think we’re going to have everything that you want or need,” she added.
And she’s right. The space is massive spanning 50,000 square feet with an entire shop where fans can score custom merch, a sit down, full-service barbecue restaurant and a grab and go option from DLY BBQ.
For dessert, tourists can wash it all down with a scoop of ice cream, open daily from 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Truckers and tourists alike can stop in for a fresh cup of Dolly’s Cup of Ambition Coffee, “where premium roasted coffee and fresh pastries are served daily.” In partnership with Community Coffee, the spot will be open Monday – Friday from 6 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Saturday – Sunday from 6 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Obviously, music is a must. Dolly added a main stage where fans from around the world can see concerts, do live karaoke and have story time where folk from the library come and read to families.
Like many truck stops, this one also has showers, restrooms, a trucker lounge and a gas station with EV charging.
Fans took to Facebook and shared in the excitement, “As a trucker for 40+years, this place is the nicest, most unique travel stop I have seen. Had no idea Dolly would eventually become involved.”
“Prefer hers over Buc-ee’s any day. Plus, she helped make roads safer by adding places for truckers to rest. I may just do a road trip to visit that over Buc-ee’s,” another wrote.
Another wrote, “Dolly got us wanting to drive from Georgia and Alabama to get gas.”
The new truck stop is located at I-65, Exit 22 3686 Pulaski Highway Cornersville, TN 37047. It’s open 24/7 with a week full of events until July 3.
Every day through July 2, Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop will be serving up live music on the main stage handing out major giveaways and surprises all week long. The party will then close out with a full-scale community celebration on Friday, July 3, starting at 5 p.m.
Fans can come and watch live music, compete in a cornhole competition, enjoy bounce houses, raffle prizes, food truck, ice cream and a fireworks display to top it all off.
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