KaTom Partners with Dolly's Tennessean Travel Stop to Create Unique Middle Tennessee Experience
Editor's Note: This case study was completed before Dolly Parton's passing. We are grateful for the opportunity to have shared her story and extend our condolences to her family, friends, and colleagues.
A Middle Tennessee staple for more than 40 years, the Tennessean Travel Stop gave passengers a place to rest while passing Cornersville on I-65. A full-size restaurant, ice cream parlor, and slow-smoked barbecue awaited weary travelers on Exit 22.
Originally opening its doors in 1974, the Tennessean became a staple of Southern Middle Tennessee until an early-morning grease fire razed everything but a single fueling canopy in 2021.
While the tragedy eliminated a local landmark, it also gave ownership an opportunity to reimagine both the future of the Tennessean and the future of travel stops as a whole.
In 2026, Dolly Parton cut the ribbon on Dolly's Tennessean Travel Stop, which combines several foodservice concepts in a single footprint. KaTom Restaurant Supply helped outfit this operation, providing the equipment consultation and personal attention needed for a project with multiple offerings under one roof.
From Ashes to Iconic Destination
When ground broke on the reconstruction in 2022, the project required a redesigned kitchen, a rethought layout, and new kitchen equipment. Tennessean owner Gregory Sachs turned to KaTom for support.
KaTom Strategic Account Manager Chris Swann, aided by the Design + Build Team, led the kitchen development for the renovation. The team offered advice on smallwares, equipment, and a layout designed for an efficient workflow.
"It's great when you think about a standalone operation like this, having a partner with this level of experience," Mark Dukes, President of Dolly's Tennessean Travel Stop, told KaTom. "Because otherwise you're shopping from a catalog and saying, 'Well, I think I need this and I think I need that.' But you need somebody with you saying, 'No, you're not going to need this. This is what you're actually going to need.'"
The new construction opened in 2024, and Sachs quickly set his sights on the future of the Tennessean and the travel stop's place in the industry. To take the business in a new direction, he targeted a celebrity theme, and only one celebrity fit the bill.
Sachs approached Parton and her team, remodeling the landmark in her image. Parton was the clear choice because of both her fame and what she represents.
"She's just a national icon," Dukes said. "You're going to hear her music in every corner of the world. Then there's what she stands for. Her high integrity, the products that she's associated with. That's who he wanted to partner with, and he completely focused on her. Luckily, it all came together."
Crafting the Concepts
Once Parton was on board, her creative team immediately went to work. Dolly's Tennessean Travel Stop opened with three distinct foodservice concepts designed to serve a variety of customers.
For guests with more time on their hands, the full-service country-style restaurant offers a classic meat-and-three feel with recipes inspired by Good Lookin' Cookin', the cookbook written by Parton and her sister. This concept also offers breakfast in the morning.
For customers looking for a quick pit stop, the grab-and-go barbecue counter offers brisket, pulled pork, and other slow-smoked meats packaged for the road.
The Cup of Ambition coffee shop partners with Community Coffee to keep travelers fueled on their journey. In addition to beverages, the shop offers hand-dipped ice cream, milkshakes, Dollywood's famous cinnamon bread, and other sweet treats.
Inside the full-service restaurant is a stage for live music. Above the restaurant, guests can visit a full-service bar and screened-in patio with a second stage.
"It all depends on the person," Dukes said. "Some want to get in and get out, but I think what differentiates us from other travel stops is we're kind of in between the mega store and the gas station stop. But we want people to get off the road. We want them to get a great cup of coffee. We want them to enjoy the shopping. We want them to stay awhile."
These concepts are built around items travelers expect to find at a travel stop, such as walls of drinks and snacks designed to satisfy road-trip cravings. In the middle of the main floor, rows of Parton memorabilia cover nearly every era of the singer's career.
"She has a tremendous team," Dukes said. "She has some very creative people. She has some great operators. She has a great marketing machine. So everybody was involved in deciding what the chandelier was going to look like, what the signage was going to look like, what the outside signs were going to look like. She wanted to include some items from her and her sister's cookbook into the menu, so we incorporated some of those recipes in the menu. That was a part of it. We're just trying to be respectful to her brand."
A Dedicated Partner
As the Tennessean began to transition toward the Parton partnership, KaTom had already outfitted the building with most of the equipment necessary to support the planned menu. The team also provided support beyond equipment.
Swann, with input from the Design + Build Team, spent time making sure the kitchen flowed as it should. That meant eliminating bottlenecks that could create inefficiencies or safety hazards.
"Chris was a big part of equipment selection and layout," Dukes said. "Flow is important. You can have all this great equipment, but if people are passing over each other all the time, it's inefficient, but more importantly, it's not safe."
KaTom also identified equipment that was not necessary. On several occasions, Swann pointed out that a piece the Tennessean was considering could perform a function an existing unit could already handle.
When equipment was needed quickly, Swann and his team responded. As the travel stop prepared for its grand reopening, the final piece was Dollywood's famous cinnamon bread, which would be sold in the Cup of Ambition coffee shop.
As the opening approached, Swann coordinated an overnight delivery so the Baxter ovens needed to produce the first day's bread could be delivered, installed, and ready to bake. After installation, he worked with the chef to test the bread recipe and make sure each batch met the brand's standards.
"KaTom makes it easy to have the confidence that you're getting a fair price," Dukes said. "They have people there to support you from the time you buy to the time it's installed to whatever issues you may have. That's wonderful instead of having to call this 800 number and they'll send out somebody. Your team stays connected with us until we're back up and running. That doesn't happen everywhere else."
Expansion on the Horizon
While the kitchen in Cornersville was designed to serve customers efficiently, ownership had another goal during construction. Everything from the equipment to the layout to the flow needed to be repeatable.
The flagship location of Dolly's Tennessean Travel Stop has exceeded ownership's expectations, and expansion is planned as the team looks to bring this style of travel stop to new locations around the region.
"We've exceeded our expectations from a foot traffic standpoint, so we were drinking from the fire hose for a couple days," Dukes said. "The transition from a comfortable, medium to slow operation to doing this at this volume while still maintaining the family, hometown atmosphere has been a balancing act, but I think we're doing pretty good at it."
Expansion does not mean reckless progress. Part of the travel stop's charm is its connection to the Cornersville community. The staff is made up of local residents, and local musicians perform at the travel stop's two stages.
That community connection is part of what makes the location special, and it is something ownership wants to repeat, along with the kitchen equipment and operational planning, as it evaluates new locations.
"We have to find the right town, because we're a part of Cornersville," Dukes said. "We're a part of this community. We want to connect with the community where we go. We want to make sure it's a smart location with the right amount of traffic to make it successful, but it has to feel right to us. It's not going to be, 'Hey, there's a flat spot, let's build.' We're going to do the due diligence that helps us make a decision that connects with the brand that we want to be."
