Country music icon Dolly Parton made a surprise appearance Wednesday to celebrate the grand opening of a roadside travel stop bearing her name in Tennessee, news outlets report.
Ms. Parton cut the ribbon at Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop, located along Interstate 65 in Cornersville. It includes a full-service restaurant and bar, a cafe serving Ms. Parton’s Cup of Ambition coffee brand, live music, a Dolly Parton merchandise shop and a mural by Southern artist Britt Flood celebrating the country performer’s roots.
The travel stop is the result of a partnership among Ms. Parton; her longtime manager, Danny Nozell; and Gregory H. Sachs, owner of the Tennessean Travel Stop brand.
At the ribbon-cutting, Ms. Parton took a playful jab at travel-stop competitor Buc-ee’s, telling the crowd: “I’m sure some of you want to know why I wanted a truck stop. Well, I couldn’t leave it to beavers,” USA Today reported.
Mr. Sachs teased that additional Parton-branded locations are planned, saying the Cornersville stop “establishes a high benchmark for our future locations,” Rolling Stone reported.
The event marked Ms. Parton’s first public appearance since the 80-year-old canceled her six-show Las Vegas residency due to health concerns.
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