This article was originally published in PeopleMagazine.com
Parton appeared at the opening day of Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop in Cornersville, Tenn., an hour south of Nashville, on Wednesday, June 24
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Dolly Parton attended the opening ceremony for Dolly’s Tennesseean Travel Stop on Wednesday, June 24
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The new truck stop is in Cornersville, Tenn., and sells several Dolly-themed items, including “Cup of Ambition” coffee
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The appearance comes just over a month after the country icon canceled her Las Vegas residency, citing health concerns
Dolly Parton surprised fans by attending the opening day of Dolly’s Tennesseean Travel Stop on Wednesday, June 24, just one month after canceling her Las Vegas residency.
Parton, 80, arrived at the opening ceremony of the travel stop in Cornersville, Tenn., around 2 p.m. local time, The Tennesseean reported. The shop will also serve a menu of barbecue dishes and coffee aptly named “Cup of Ambition,” a nod to the lyrics from her hit 1980 song “9 to 5.”
“I’m sure some of you want to know why I wanted a truck stop,” Parton told fans at the event, per the outlet.
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She then quipped, “Well, I couldn’t leave it to beavers,” in reference to the mascot of her top competitor, popular Texas-based chain Buc-ee’s, which has opened numerous locations throughout the South.
Parton wore a Western-inspired blue and pink ensemble to the event, where she cut the ceremonial ribbon with coordinating bedazzled pink scissors.
Photos of the interior of the travel stop show a glittery chandelier made of guitars, with a logo on the front of the building that includes Parton’s silhouette sitting on an outline of Tennessee, as seen in The New York Times.
The country icon’s appearance comes a month after she canceled her Las Vegas residency, citing a need to prioritize her health, PEOPLE previously reported. She shared the update about her health and personal life in an Instagram Reel, in which she also addressed the March 2025 death of her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Thomas Dean.
“Thank you for standing by me and showing me so much love and support over the past year,” the “Jolene” singer captioned the video. “I’ve still got some healing to do, but I am on my way! See you soon. 💖 🦋.”
“Well, hey there, it’s Dolly, and I’m here to give you an update on a few things going on in my life,” she began in the video. “First, it’s concerning my health — and I have some good news and a little bad news.”
The “Coat of Many Colors” singer added that she is “responding really well to meds and treatments” and is “improving every day.”
“Now, the bad news is that it’s gonna take me a little while before I’m up to stage performance level because some of the meds and treatments make me a little swimmy-headed, as my grandma used to say,” she continued at the time.
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