Dolly Parton Has a New First, Along a Tennessee Highway

Dolly Parton is turning a Tennessee interstate exit into her latest branded destination. The country icon's first roadside travel stop, Dolly's Tennessean Travel Stop, opens June 24 in Cornersville, about an hour south of Nashville along I-65, reports Axios. The spot at Exit 22 will feature a sit-down restaurant serving barbecue given the thumbs-up by Parton, a "Cup of Ambition" coffee offering (a riff on the lyrics from her "9 to 5" song), and a gift shop stocked with custom merchandise.

Meanwhile, a tour bus modeled after Parton's own will let visitors peek at her on-the-road lifestyle. Live performances by local musicians are also on the agenda. The destination "is built on the belief that every traveler deserves comfort, good food, and a genuine welcome," a release notes. The Cornersville location is billed as the first in a series of travel stops and adds to a fast-growing portfolio that already includes Dollywood and two mountain resorts, with a new museum and hotel slated for downtown Nashville later this year. Southern Living says it's adding the travel stop "to our list of Southern spots to never skip on a road trip."