The Smoky Mountains are full of things to do. Not only do you have the breathtaking mountains to admire, hike, and camp—the small towns that make the Smokies their home have created an enormous business development to ensure your vacation to East Tennessee a memorable one!
Most of you know about “The Parkway.” It is the main road in the body of the Smokies. It starts in Sevierville and goes through Pigeon Forge, through the mountains, and into Gatlinburg (and beyond if you want too).
But many tourists aren’t aware that there is another parkway called, “Dolly Parton Parkway” off to the left as you enter Sevierville from the popular 407 exit. Dolly Parton Parkway holds it’s own with businesses, restaurants, and shops, and the majority of the business that is done on this parkway is local stuff. Some experienced tourists have learned back roads that use Dolly Parton Parkway to skip the traffic from the main parkway.
The point of my story is this—located on Dolly Parton Parkway is a unique furniture store called Ogle Furniture Outlet. While shopping for new living room furniture, we headed up the hill to this shop to see what they had and if we could afford it. When we opened the doors of the building we were shocked. It was huge…really huge! I had never seen so much furniture in my life.
We weren’t jumped on by sales people. A lady greeted us with friendly comments and told us if we needed her to just yell. We spent forever in the store. In and out of the rooms filled with the neatest furniture I have ever seen in one location. They had the top names, like many other stores, but the selection and the uniqueness of the shop was memorable.
Displayed along the back wall are museum quality signs and fixtures from various places of the past that were once located in the surrounding area. Gas station signs, advertisements, and rare pieces were displayed from the floor to the ceiling. That stuff alone was worth coming in to see (I like old stuff and I am a junk man, so I was in heaven!).
Something that stuck out in my mind was all the pieces that were “mountain” pieces. There were log bed frames, rockers, tables, chairs, plant stands, and much more. I thought to myself, if someone was looking for the type of furniture that was in their rental cabin, this is the place. It made me want to redecorate our house like a cabin!
My wife had other ideas, so we proceeded to shop for our furniture. We were pleased to find just what we were looking for (under our budget, I might add). The furniture was delivered within a few days and we have been enjoying it ever since…actually, I am sitting on the couch as I write!
I know going to a furniture store may not be on your list to do when you are vacationing here in the Smoky Mountains, but if by chance you were looking for a unique piece that captures the area, this is the place. Drive along Dolly Parton Parkway until you see some flags flying on the hill. The big red and white sign with “Ogle Furniture Outlet” is the place.