There was an animated movie a couple years back called “Cars” that featured our hero, Lightning McQueen, in a town called Radiator Springs. For those not familiar with the film, Radiator Springs was a once-thriving town until a new interstate was built and traffic no longer flowed through the city.
What had once been a prosperous businesses district was reduced to shambles, a virtual ghost town, by the time Lightning McQueen rolled into town. It was sad to see and Lightning McQueen hated the place. But the movie had its charm and “Cars” was awesome with its memorable quotes.
“I create feelings in others that they themselves don’t understand.”
Lightning McQueen
“I’m happier than a tornado in a trailer park.”
Tow-mater
And I can’t forget the catchphrase “Get-R-done” which may have already been part of the redneck vernacular before “Cars” but which springboarded into greater popularity after the movie. I’d give “Cars” 3 stars out of 4.
Radiator Springs comes to mind when thinking about businesses located right here in Warren County along Nashville Highway. Since the new four-lane to Woodbury is fully operational, I can’t imagine there’s as much traffic traveling through Centertown now. Who’s going to take the old, curvy road when there’s a shiny, new, straight road? Not me said the business writer.
All this is a long way of saying business has probably not been whipped cream and cherries on Nashville Highway in the two months since the new road opened. So I decided to travel the road for myself and find out.

Pack Nursery to relocate

Business has been so rocky at Pack Nursery in Bethany, there are plans to move the nursery sales yard.
“It’s been hard on everybody,” said Pack Nursery owner Jamie Pack. “I’d say traffic on this road is down 80 percent. We’re going to be moving to the new road, but it won’t be for several months. It probably won’t be until the fall when we get everything moved over there.”
Jamie said the nursery is fortunate to have property that borders both the new four-lane and old Nashville Highway. She said the sales yard has been operational at its current spot since the 1960s. The nursery does some wholesale work but relies heavily on retail traffic. Asked if she has a good business, Jamie was straightforward.
“I did have one, but now I don’t,” she said. “I’m going to have to move. I understand everything and why this happened. The new road was needed. It’s been needed for years and the convenience is wonderful. But it’s not going to work with me staying here.”
Jamie said it will probably take about five years, but she expects the new four-lane to eventually be lined with businesses the way Nashville Highway is now.

Kenny’s Cycles is sputtering

Kenny Davis has operated Kenny’s Cycles for 15 years at the S-curve in Bethany. He said the new road has had a negative impact.
“I was afraid it might hurt, but I didn’t think it would hurt this bad,” said Kenny. “I think it’s hurt every one of us who are on this road.”
Kenny says a big part of his business is repairing four-wheelers and motorcycles, which normally keeps him very busy this time of year. However, he said business is way off from where it usually is.
The other aspect of Kenny's business is repairing lawnmowers and tillers. He says he’ll start to get an idea about the strength of that business in March.
“Traffic is probably one-tenth of what it used to be,” said Kenny, who, at 62, says he has no plans to leave his longtime location. “I’ll stay here until I retire or until business gets so bad there’s no reason to stay here anymore.”
To show how much traffic has dropped off, Kenny said he has a Dr Pepper machine in front of his building. Before the new four-lane was open, he would sell 12 to 14 cases of cold drinks during a normal week. Now he says that number has dwindled to six cases.

Bent Beetle sees slowdown

The downturn in traffic has not had positive results for the Bent Beetle car lot located near the intersection of Nashville Highway and Crisp Springs Road.
“It used to be you couldn’t cross the street out here without looking both ways,” said Bent Beetle owner Mike Hammel. “Now you can lie down in the road and take a nap.”
The Bent Beetle, like most car lots, relies on passing motorists to generate sales. If someone drives by and notices a vehicle they like, they might be inclined to stop and ask about it. But with fewer motorists passing by, it stands to reason there will be fewer people stopping.
Fortunately, Mike says the Bent Beetle has used the Internet to its advantage and has sold a number of vehicles online, which is a growing trend in the automotive industry.
The next month or so when people start to get their income tax checks back should be a good indication of how business has been impacted by the four-lane.
“I’ve thought about a new location, but I haven’t made that decision yet,” said Mike. “I do this for a hobby on my days off from Bridgestone so I want to keep my expenses as low as possible.”

Kat’s Diner still cooking

Kat’s Diner is still cooking up great food in Centertown, but owner Katherine Merriman wonders how long her good fortune will last.
“Like the old saying goes, ‘Out of sight, out of mind,’” said Katherine. “I’m sure this is going to affect us some, which is why I’ve tried to get some signs up on the new road. We thought we were going through the proper channels with TDOT and the state, but we’ve been told we don’t qualify for a sign. I was told as a business we’re not even allowed to put a sign up on private property unless we’re doing business at that site.”
I sent an email to TDOT on Friday morning in an effort to clarify the state’s restrictions on signs. It sounds like a complicated matter as I received this response from TDOT spokesperson Jennifer Flynn:
“State law does not allow private citizens, businesses, churches, civic groups, etc. to install advertising signs (or signs of any nature) on state of Tennessee right of way. If we did, you can imagine how cluttered our highways would be in a very short period of time. This would not only take away from the scenic beauty of our lovely state, it would also hinder motorists from seeing the signs that are important for the safety of our road users. Not only can these illegal signs be distracting and unappealing, oftentimes these illegal signs block sight distance and do not meet state and federal safety regulations, thereby degrading the safety of our roadways.”
Flynn said there are legal avenues businesses can take to place advertising along state highways and provided two outlets for me to investigate. At first glance, these regulations seem a bit much to include in this story, but I do have all the information if anyone would like me to forward it to them. My email is editor@southernstandard.com.
As for Kat’s Diner, it’s going on its ninth year in Centertown serving three meals a day. Despite the loss of traffic, Katherine says business remains steady.
“Most people know where they’re going when they leave home so they know if they’re coming here,” said Katherine. “It’s hard to say which meal is the most popular. It changes every day. If we don’t have a rush for breakfast, we’ll usually have it for lunch or dinner.”

Gas sales dwindling

Without as many cars zipping by, gasoline hasn’t been going into as many vehicles at 1st Stop Market in Centertown.
“It’s mostly just local traffic now,” said store owner Mike Sheath. “Naturally people are going to take the new road so people aren’t going to be coming through as much.”
Mike said the local traffic remains OK, but it’s hard to predict how business might be impacted in the future.
With all that said, I think that pretty well covers this new four-lane and how it has made an impact on stores still operating on the old road. It’s time to move on with our lives.

Apartments get facelift

For all the folks who would like to experience the convenience of downtown living, the apartments on N. High Street have new owners and have been renamed Wingate & Nunley Manor.
The new owners are Jason Nunley and Brandon Wingate. They have devoted countless hours to updating the 29 units to make them a comfortable place to live.
“The first thing we did was we kicked everybody out because there was too much riff-raff here,” said Brandon. “We need more places like this in McMinnville for people to rent. That’s why we’ve put so much energy into this place.”
Added Jason, “We want people to feel safe where they live. We want this to be home with a family oriented environment.”
Since purchasing the facility, the two have worked to upgrade nearly everything. This includes a laundry room with four new washers and dryers. New landscaping and a picnic area are planned for the spring.
There are several different units available. The efficiency apartment comes fully furnished and includes water and electric. Other units do not include electric, but they do include water. The two-bedroom unit I walked through Friday morning was roomy and looked like it would be a nice place to live.
Jason has been in the construction business for 30 years so he knows all about maintenance issues. In addition to him, there is a full-time maintenance man on staff. Also of note, Jason says his 10-year-old son, Jacob, is pretty snazzy on the drums.
Brandon is familiar with the real estate side as he has several commercial properties in Tennessee and beyond.
If you’d like more information on the units available at Wingate and Nunley Manor, the office phone number is 507-4545. Jason can be reached at 212-4103.

That’s all folks

I hope your Valentine’s Day was filled with looooove and romantic surprises. I know I tried to do my part.
For business tips, give me a call at 473-2191 or send me an email at editor@southernstandard.com.