9 Gas Station Orders That Give Away a Lifelong Tennessean
Chattanooga Bakery has baked MoonPies in the same Tennessee building since 1917, and it still ships them by the truckload to gas stations across the state.
Some orders never change.
These are the gas station orders that give away a lifelong Tennessean.
1. Little Debbie off the Rack
Little Debbie snack cakes have come out of McKee Foods’ ovens in Collegedale, Tennessee since the company moved there in 1957.
A Tennessean grabs a box off the rack without reading the flavor first.
It’s muscle memory.
2. Goo Goo Cluster at the Counter
Nashville’s Standard Candy Company, in Tennessee, started selling the Goo Goo Cluster in 1912.
The company says it was the first bar to mix more than one ingredient into a single candy bar.
A Tennessean says the name, not a description of the wrapper.
Out-of-staters usually need it pointed out on the shelf.
Locals just ask.
3. MoonPie and an RC Cola
Chattanooga Bakery invented the MoonPie in Tennessee in 1917.
Pairing one with an RC Cola (short for Royal Crown) at the register is still the fastest way to spot someone who grew up in the state.
The combo even has a festival every June, in Bell Buckle, Tennessee.
Nobody explains it.
Why This Tennessee Order Caught On
This Tennessee gas station order got its start in the 1930s, when mill and mine workers wanted a filling lunch they could carry in one hand.
Both cost a nickel apiece back then, which is how the pairing earned the nickname “the working man’s lunch” in parts of the South.
4. Filling up at Pilot
Pilot Corporation runs its fuel and travel-center business out of Knoxville, Tennessee, where the Haslam family has been headquartered for decades.
A Tennessean calls it “Pilot,” never “the truck stop.”
The name carries weight here.
5. Weigel’s Biscuit and Milk
Weigel’s has run its dairy and convenience stores out of Powell, Tennessee, just outside Knoxville, since the family started bottling milk there generations ago.
East Tennesseans order the sausage biscuit and a jug of milk in the same breath.
Nobody outside the region even recognizes the name.
Not so elsewhere.
6. Sweet Tea by the Gallon
A Tennessean walks past the fountain machine and straight to the jug of sweet tea chilling near the register.
The gallon size covers the drive home, not a party.
Unsweet is a special request, not the default.
Sweetened is standard.
7. Hot Chicken Chips
Nashville hot chicken started as a local dish before it turned into a snack aisle flavor, and gas stations stock the chips version like it’s nothing unusual.
A Tennessean reaches for the bag without checking the heat level first.
Visitors regret it fast.
8. Krystals From the Case
Krystal opened its first tiny hamburger stand in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1932, and some of its locations still share a parking lot with a gas station today.
A Tennessean orders them by the sackful, never just one.
One was never the plan.
Psst! How much do you know about Tennessee? Take our quiz and see how many you can get right.
Quiz
Tennessee Trivia Test
Answer these before you finish reading. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
Tennessee’s constitution divides the state into three regions. What does state law require of the Tennessee Supreme Court because of it?
9. Jack Daniel's Jerky by the Register
Jack Daniel's has distilled its whiskey in Lynchburg, Tennessee since 1866, and the brand's name shows up on gas station snack racks in jerky and barbecue sauce, not just bottles.
A Tennessean picks it up without a second thought.
It's just another shelf item.
Different Clocks, Same State
The state runs on two different clocks depending on which end of the state a traveler is filling up in.
Middle and West Tennessee stay on Central time, while East Tennessee, including Knoxville and Chattanooga, sits in the Eastern time zone instead.
A drive from Knoxville to Memphis crosses that line, along with a change in accent, food, and what fills the gas station shelves.
Two clocks, one state.
What the Rest of the Country Gets Wrong
Visitors often assume every gas station is a Waffle House with pumps out front.
The state splits into three constitutionally recognized regions, East, Middle, and West, and the snack aisle changes some by region even within one state.
Three states in one.
A Nashville station leans harder on hot chicken snacks, while a Knoxville station leans on the Weigel's brand instead.
The state's three grand divisions aren't just trivia. Tennessee's constitution requires its Supreme Court to seat a judge from each one.
A lifelong Tennessean grew up inside one of those divisions and can usually guess a stranger's home region from their gas station order alone.
7 Country Songs Everyone Credits to Tennessee That Were Written Somewhere Else
Nashville gets credit for songs it never wrote.
Some of country music's biggest hits came from writers who barely spent any time on Music Row before the world assumed otherwise.
7 Country Songs Everyone Credits to Tennessee That Were Written Somewhere Else
8 Cracker Barrel Menu Items Tennesseans Can't Get Enough Of
Cracker Barrel's kitchens do a lot more business than many visitors realize.
Biscuits are only the start of what keeps Tennesseans coming back to the same handful of dishes.
