Just a few miles out of Nashville, Tenn., the Antioch TA does its best to serve up a hearty helping of Southern charm to all who pass through its doors.
Music City memorabilia, including Tennessee Titans jerseys and Grand Ole Opry posters, adorn the walls of the Country Pride restaurant. "The servers go out of their way to provide good old Southern hospitality," says general manager Chuck Buckman. "That's probably what I get the most compliments on."
In the last six months, the restaurant has added a buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The dinner buffet includes a carving station offering roast beef and turkey. Country Pride also provides mouth-watering regional specialties such as country ham and grits, Southern fried chicken, fried catfish and pecan cobbler.
The Basics
Antioch TA
Where: I-24, Exit 62 Antioch, Tenn.
Phone: (615) 641-6731
Fax: (615) 641-3353
Truck Parking: 155
Showers: 6
Truck Service Bays: 2
Full-Service Restaurant: Country Pride
Fast-Food Restaurants: Popeyes, Burger King
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But the most famous fried chicken in the place comes from Popeyes, which is the No. 1 selling fast-food restaurant within the TA system. "We used to get people who'd drive 60 miles just to get this chicken," Buckman says, pausing to greet two drivers loaded down with Popeyes bags.
On the other side of the building, drivers can watch a big-screen TV in the lounge, play games such as Tokyo Cop and Derby Owners Club in the arcade, and use the laundry facilities.
In August, the Antioch TA broke ground on a shop/bay expansion that will increase its offerings from two bays and a half pit to four bays and one-and-a-half pits. The expansion will allow the TA to accommodate three preventive maintenance services at a time, rather than one.
This fall, the six private showers will be remodeled, and two new ones will be added. The popular Popeyes will get a facelift, and a new roof will be added.
"We appreciate our customers," Buckman says. "And we do our best to take care of them."
