By Lily Agee, MTSU Seigenthaler News Service
SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – In 1950, Sevier County, Tennessee, was best known for its proximity to the most visited nature area in the U.S. – Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
The population consisted of about 20,000 residents, according to the 1950 census.
Now, over 100,000 people live in Sevier County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The county also attracts millions of tourists every year.
Much of that growth can be attributed to Dolly Parton.
Since the 1980s, Parton greatly impacted Sevier County’s tourism industry – whether it be through her branded theme park, Dollywood, or her many philanthropic endeavors in the region. Although several larger companies have since settled along the Little Pigeon River, local businesses have benefited and grown since Parton’s rise to stardom.
“Whether she was on ‘The Tonight Show’ or she was doing an interview with Rolling Stone – from a tourism marketing standpoint – that is the absolute best marketing you could ever have,” Sevier County Mayor Bryan McCarter. “Her bringing awareness to our area was a big reason [for] why we are who we are today.”
The county generates 21 million visitors per year – an accelerated jump in tourists from even five years ago, McCarter said.
In 1985, Parton opened Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, just 12 miles from where she grew up in Locust Ridge. Today, it is one of the South’s most visited tourist attractions. However, the popularity she brought to the region didn’t remain focused on just her brand.
Many local businesses in Sevier County benefit from Parton’s image and connection to the Smoky Mountains, which has transformed the county into an international tourist destination. Increased business from visitors has shaped and strengthened Sevier County’s economy throughout the past 40 years, McCarter said.
“When I was growing up, it was a lot of individual families here locally that operated hotels and different things,” McCarter said. “You’re seeing, now, a lot more outside investments and entities managing tourism businesses here.”
Sevierville businesses
Sevierville, Tennessee – known for its historic buildings and downtown tributes to Parton – sits north of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Parton considered Sevierville her hometown.
Parton’s impact on small businesses in Sevierville can be traced back to her formative years visiting one of her favorite childhood restaurants – Red’s Cafe.
Red’s closed decades ago; in March 2024, Nate Van Zuiden helped memorialize the previous Red’s Cafe by opening Red’s Soda Fountain in downtown Sevierville, installing an old-fashioned soda fountain to emulate Parton’s former haunt.
Van Zuiden drew inspiration for the soda fountain from a business partner who remembered the original Red’s.
“He’s in his early 60s,” Van Zuiden said. “It was kind of a bucket list item for him. He always wanted to own an old-fashioned soda fountain because you can’t find them anymore. He grew up drinking cherry phosphates.”
Along with the vintage soda technology, Red’s Soda Fountain’s relation to Parton drove customers to its barstools. Red’s Cafe is where Parton likely ate her first hamburger, Van Zuiden said.
In the weeks after Parton’s death, downtown Sevierville saw thousands of tourists, many of them visiting a statue of the singer located near the steps to the town’s courthouse. Lines formed along the sidewalk as people waited to take a photo with Parton’s statue.
“We’ve seen a lot [of tourists],” Van Zuiden said. “A lot of people just come to see her statue downtown, which is a big draw for downtown. But just having her statue down here brings a lot of business to us and to the downtown as a whole.”
Down the road from Red’s Soda Fountain sits The Pines, formerly known as The Pines Theater, a movie theater and concert venue where Parton played her first paid show.
The theater closed its doors for a time, eventually functioning as a car dealership, thrift mall and skating rink, according to The Pines general manager Christine Granduke who reopened the venue in 2022..
“And I think it [The Pines] was most popular being the theater,” Granduke said. “So, when we took it over in probably about 2021, we decided that we wanted to go back to the roots of the community and make sure that we were holding true to a true downtown Sevierville.”
Sevierville’s atmosphere shifted following the announcement of Parton’s death, Granduke said. Thousands of tourists somberly remembered the country artist, inquiring about Sevierville’s historic buildings like The Pines.
Some businesses in Sevierville modeled their brands after Parton’s – many gaining inspiration from the mountainous East Tennessee aesthetic that she so fervently advertised throughout her life. But on the sweeter side, the Cinnamon Bread Factory brought a familiar Dollywood staple from Pigeon Forge to the quieter town of Sevierville.
However, the store’s recipe is not exactly the same, said owner Sephany Houston. She created her own cinnamon bread-making process after working in Dollywood’s Spotlight Bakery. After two seasons of baking at the park, Houston opened her own storefront in 2018, but had to close up shop after only a year, she said.
The Factory reopened in 2024, selling only 2,500 loaves of cinnamon bread to start. Then, after exposure through social media, that number soared to 25,000 in 2025, Houston said.
Though functioning independently from Dollywood, much of the Cinnamon Bread Factory’s patronage comes from park workers and administration. Still, it’s never been a “rivalry” between the Factory and Dollywood, Houston said.
“Dollywood is very supportive of our business,” Houston said. “We encourage people, you know, if you’re at Dollywood get the Dollywood bread. If you’re on your way out of town on a Sunday night or a Monday morning, stop by and see us. There’s plenty of customers for everybody.”
Preserving Sevier County
Stimulating tourism in Sevier County doesn’t mean forgetting what makes the region unique, McCarter said.
“Visitors want to see an authentic experience, and small businesses, family-owned businesses and things of that nature offer that,” McCarter said.
With the third-largest tourism economy in Tennessee, it is important for the government of Sevier County to find balance between economic opportunity and the well-being of its residents, McCarter said.
“We’re really emphasizing that our residents should come first in our decisions we make on a governmental level,” McCarter said.