Truck stop reopens after being closed by fire

A popular Tennessee truck stop has reopened nearly two-and-a-half years after a fire forced it to close.

On Monday, Jan. 8, owners of the Tennessean Travel Stop announced its new location was open for business.

The newly opened travel stop is located in Cornersville, Tenn., off I-65 at exit 22. The location is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with amenities that include:

• Truckers lounge
• Showers and laundry
• Truck parking
• Barbecue restaurant
• Ice cream shop with donuts and coffee
• Quick-service deli with pizza, wings and sandwiches
• Full-service cocktail bar
• Outdoor seating, including a rooftop deck
• Dog park

The popular travel destination had been closed since July 2021, when a grease fire completely destroyed the old location.

According to Gregory Sachs, who has owned the truck stop since 2017, only one fueling station canopy could be salvaged from the former facility. At the time of the fire, he expressed his desire to rebuild this business that had been adopted as part of the community.

“It’s been a passion of mine since I came to the area back in 2008. It’s a great place; all the locals come here all the time, and everybody knows each other,” Sachs told WKRN News. “Truckers around the country are familiar with the Tennessean … It’s just a special place.”

In August 2022, ownership broke ground and unveiled plans for a new “bigger and better” 25,000-square-foot facility that would be built on the site of the former truck stop. The company hired to complete the construction estimated the project would take about a year.

At the start of the construction, a spokesperson for the Tennessean told Land Line that project plans included about 100 truck parking spaces: 60 striped spaces and an additional 38 to 40 spaces in an unstriped gravel area available for truckers.

The company did not immediately respond to Land Line’s attempt to confirm the number of total parking spaces after construction was completed. LL