The Tennessean Truck Stop is now Dolly Parton Travel Stop

You can't miss it

 

I have been to the Tennessean many times before the fire and after rebuild before Dolly took over. I prefer the old Tennessean because of the "Log Cabin" design and truck stop feel and the restaurant was the best.
The rebuild was bright and open but it was definitely a travel center and lost it's unique appeal as an independent truck stop. I am a devoted fan of Dolly for humanitarian and personal accomplishments but the video shows it to be a 4 wheeler tourist trap. I wish her success but I will probably not visit this tourist heaven.

 

Hate to see that. I'd say at least give it a try before you judge. I haven't been able to stop there in the past year or so but will the next time I get through that way. I thought it was clean and nice since the reopen. And reality is they have to cater to everyone not just truckers or they simply wouldn't make it.

 

This is a huge truth these days. A lot of drivers, myself included when I was running around the country, don’t spend much money at a truckstop. The food is questionable at best a lot of the times and expensive, if you even find a place that has more than just fast food. Flipside of that is cars will stop and a family of 4 can easily spend $40 or more on drinks and junk food and be back on the road in 10 minutes.

 

I had an old jacket from there years ago. Had a Tennessean walking horse on back. I gave it to mom. Dunno what happened to it when she died. Sisters grabbed it I’m sure

 

Their food is good. There's no such thing as a cheap and good restaurant anywhere in 2026. That's a world we don't live in. No reasonable person should expect restaurants to serve them up for no profit or a loss. People complaining about expensive can always eat at home or pack a lunch.

 

I should’ve said expensive for the quality of food you get. Expensive is fine if it’s good but I’m not going to overpay for frozen Sysco junk just because I’m a captive audience at a truck stop.

 

Kind of veering the thread off track but a good cook can work with whatever they got wherever it comes from. My point was everything is expensive everywhere. There's no cheap meals anymore. I heard somebody the other day ago complaining about spending $20 for lunch. OK well, whoever owns the restaurant has to make a dollar same as their employee making the meal for you. $20 ain't really a lot of money. I feel like anybody thinking that way ought to just pack their own lunch and save whatever they think they need to be saving instead expecting other people to serve em for free.

 

Would really love to see a newcomer like this one really spank Pilot, Love's, etc....by setting a new standard for value, service, food quality, better truck parking, etc.

I think the major chains have got it coming.