Food & Recipes

How people from South Africa, England, New York and Iowa ever found Tarkington General Store is the million-dollar question. Located in Lyles, in Hickman County, it is not on the way to anywhere. Chances of stumbling upon it are next to nil, unless one is truly lost.

But find it they do. A guest register and walls of photos prove it.

“Somebody just tells them,” figures co-owner Pam Allen, granddaughter of the store’s founder.

Tarkington has been in Allen’s family for 77 years, and it’s certainly not your run-of-the-mill general store. They don’t offer a huge selection in the way of groceries, but they do have an inordinate amount of clothes, new and used. It’s a kind of flea market as well, with antiques and odds and ends.

But what are not odd and certainly not made with ends are the bologna sandwiches, cold or hot. They are the favorites on the Tarkington lunch menu, says Allen. For $1.85, hungry customers can get a loaded fried bologna sandwich on grilled white bread, with cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and pickle. Afterward, visitors can officially join the Tarkington Society – which requires a wade in Hassell’s Creek out back. That tradition was started by the group from Des Moines, which stops by once a year.

On Saturdays, around lunchtime, there is usually live music – country, bluegrass or gospel. On July 9, that will be expanded to a full day of music and activities for the annual Hassell Reunion. Three hundred people attended last year.

To Get There

Tarkington General Store is at 6688 Hassell’s Creek Road. From Nashville, take Highway 100 toward Centerville. Turn left at Primm Springs Road and right on Tarkington Road, which takes you to the store. Store hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. The phone number is 931-729-2767.

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Magazine:
Tennessee Home & Farm, Summer 2010 Edition Edition

Headline:
General Store in Lyles Offers Bologna, Cool Creek

Summary:
How people from all over the world ever found Tarkington General Store is the million-dollar question.

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