Dolly Parton has had health troubles lately, but that didn’t stop the 80-year-old entertainer from making an appearance Wednesday at the new Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop in Cornersville, Tenn.
Just last month, the country music legend canceled her residency set for Las Vegas. She had previously postponed it as she mourned her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, who died in March 2025, and dealt with health issues, including recurring kidney stones.
She was all smiles, as usual, in front of the crowd Wednesday.
Parton noted, “I’ve spent my whole life traveling down the road.”
Then she made a joke about the Buc-ees chain of travel centers, which will be her competition.
“I’m sure some of you are wondering why I wanted a truck stop,” Parton said in video posted to social media. “Well, I couldn’t leave it to beavers! I had to throw my scrawny little self in there. We’re not trying to compete with anybody. We don’t think we’ll have to. We think we’re going to have everything that you want or need.”
The website for Parton’s new business describes it as “a place where you’re greeted not just with fuel and food, but with warmth, comfort, and a little sparkle of Dolly Parton magic. No matter how far you’ve traveled, you’ll feel right at home here.” The travel stop offers gas, showers, a general store, and a full-service restaurant.
Her collaboration with Community Coffee, the brand Cup of Ambition, is flowing. It’s, of course, a reference to a lyric in her 1980 song “9 to 5,” from the movie of the same name.