How Dolly Parton’s success impacted small businesses in Sevier County

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.

Meet the mind behind ‘Mindfield,’ a sky-high work of art in rural Tennessee  

By Jacob Burgess, MTSU Seigenthaler News Service

BROWNSVILLE, Tenn. – Driving down I-40 in West Tennessee, those who take one of the three exits leading to Brownsville see sights that are familiar to rural Tennessee. There’s farmland on both sides of the two-lane blacktop that leads into town.  

But once travelers get to the town square, an unusual sight sticks out. A towering metal conglomeration that looks vaguely like a power station can be seen to the west, where it looms over the local grocery store and roadside motel.  

It’s called the “Mindfield,” and it began taking shape in 1989 as a passion project for local artist Billy Tripp. There appears to be no rhyme or reason for the collection, but with a keen eye, the meaning behind this lifelong piece of art becomes clear. 

“It’s an odd roadside attraction,” Tripp said. “I mean, it’s odd and I think because of it being kind of odd and different, it gets more attention than it deserves.” 

He added, “People accomplish a lot with age, but it’s the record in which it’s accomplished is not as altogether and as visible as this.” 

Behind the ‘Mindfield’  

Tripp grew up in a prominent Brownsville household in the ‘60s and ‘70s with two brothers and his parents.  

Tripp’s father was a successful businessman and Methodist minister who owned a plot of land that holds a collection of businesses: A grocery store, motel, tattoo shop, car wash and a few restaurants.  

In a plot of land behind the tattoo shop, a young Tripp went to work on the Mindfield.  

“I don’t know, late ‘60s, he had this property, but it was so long and narrow,” Tripp said. “See its got the ditch inside it. It wasn’t really commercially viable … he was fine with as I put my smaller stuff here and then when I started doing bigger, it was fine, because he really didn’t see any commercial way for this.” 

Tripp took his early love of metal work to Memphis State University and welding school for a short time, before dropping out of both and returning to Brownsville.  

The project went vertical in 1989 when Tripp was in his mid 30s, and he found a set of support beams up for grabs.  

“I was able to get some structural beams from a local building that had burned,” Tripp said. “And I thought, well, I’ll make a framework and start putting this smaller stuff on the ground on the framework. “ 

“When I was putting up the framework, you know, just the beams, and so, the building inspector put a stop-work order. He thought it was a building, which I understand.”

Toni Eubanks, the daughter of late former mayor Web Banks, remembers when the Mindfield started growing up — and out.  

“My dad got a lot of pushback,” Eubanks said. “The more it grew and got bigger, the madder people got, but dad just kept supporting it and there it is. Some people think it’s an eyesore, some people love it.”  

The opening portion is highlighted by a metal slab high up in the air. The slab, elevated by the original beams, has cutout hands of Tripp’s brothers’ and father’s hands and a heart for his mother.  

“My mom died before I started this, so I didn’t have a chance to take her handprints,” Tripp said.  

2003-2026: Rapid growth   

The majority of the Mindfield came after 2003, including the boats, airplanes, a water tower, steeple and hunting stand that reaches 125 feet, or more than 10 stories tall.  

Throughout the project, the memoryof Tripp’s parents is on display. The water tower, soaring above the entire project, “in honor of mom and dad,” he said. 

“I had the best of parents, even when I was young and had both mom and dad,” Tripp said. “My mom probably would have liked certain careers over others for her children than my dad did.”  

Both parents supported any endeavor as long as it was done honestly and enjoyed, Tripp said.  

Along with his parents, Tripp places tributes to other artists and writers through the Mindfield. Charles Lindbergh was the first aviator to fly solo from New York to Paris non-stop over a 33-hour span in 1927.  

Lindbergh named his historic aircraft the Spirit of St. Louis, after two St. Louis businessmen who helped fund the project.  

When Tripp got the chance to find an airplane, he already knew what he would pair with it. 

“I started thinking of an airplane, for an element of design and if I got one, I named mine the Spirit of Brownsville,” Tripp said.  

“Brownsville has been good to me, so I put up there underneath it but then it says ‘small town, large mine, mostly maybe.’”  

Now, at age 70, Tripp plans to continue adding to his life project for as long as possible.  

“After my death or after I am physically no longer able to work on it, I will give it to the Kohler Foundation,” Tripp said. “I expect in 10 years at the max, I will not be able to work much on it.”