This Tennessee Buffet Is So Good, Locals Say The Drive Is Worth It
Last summer, I dragged my family two hours off the highway for what they called “another one of your buffet detours.”
By the second plate of fried chicken, they stopped complaining.
Brooks Shaw’s Old Country Store in Jackson, Tennessee, has been feeding hungry travelers and loyal locals since 1965, and one bite explains why people plan road trips around it.
Southern Buffet Spread That Hits Every Craving
Brooks Shaw’s buffet line reads like your grandmother’s Sunday dinner menu, but multiplied by ten.
Golden fried chicken sits next to perfectly seasoned catfish, while turnip greens and black-eyed peas steam in big pans that get refilled faster than you can finish your first round.
Regulars know the secret is arriving hungry because you’ll want to sample everything.
The kitchen cranks out classic Southern comfort food daily, anchoring Casey Jones Village as the main dining attraction that keeps cars pulling off Interstate 40.
Six Decades of Feeding Hungry Travelers
What started as a tiny antiques museum with a lunch counter in 1965 has ballooned into a Tennessee dining institution.
Brooks Shaw’s parents opened the original spot, probably never imagining it would still be packing tables sixty years later.
The restaurant celebrated its diamond anniversary in 2025, proving that great food and genuine hospitality never go out of style.
From humble beginnings to landmark status, this place survived trends, recessions, and every chain restaurant invasion because locals refused to let it fade away.
Weekend Breakfast Buffet for Early Birds
Friday through Sunday mornings, Brooks Shaw’s flips the script and rolls out a breakfast buffet that could fuel a logging crew.
Biscuits, gravy, eggs, bacon, sausage, and all the fixings appear until the last seating at 10:00 a.m. Miss that window and you’ll be waiting for the lunch shift.
Separate hours for breakfast, lunch, and dinner keep the kitchen fresh and the buffet tables properly stocked. Smart travelers set alarms to catch those fluffy buttermilk pancakes before they vanish.
Dessert Bar That Demands a Second Plate
Save room or regret it forever. The dessert section at Brooks Shaw’s features cobbler that bubbles with real fruit and banana pudding so creamy it should probably be illegal.
Regulars skip the main course entirely some days, heading straight for the sweets like heat-seeking missiles. These aren’t fancy French pastries or Instagram-worthy confections.
They’re the same recipes grandmothers across the South have perfected over generations, served warm and without apology. One spoonful explains why people become repeat offenders.
Third-Generation Family Keeps Tradition Alive
Brooks Shaw didn’t just inherit a restaurant name. He inherited a legacy his grandparents built from scratch, and now serves as president and owner of the entire operation.
Third-generation businesses are rare because most families either sell out or mess up the formula. Brooks kept the recipes authentic, the service friendly, and the atmosphere exactly as nostalgic as visitors expect.
Family operations like this survive because someone cares enough to show up every day and maintain standards that corporate chains abandoned decades ago.
Casey Jones Village Makes It a Full Day Trip
Brooks Shaw’s sits at the heart of Casey Jones Village, a mini-destination that includes the Casey Jones Home and Railroad Museum, a sprawling gift shop, and Miss Anne’s Ice Cream Shoppe for post-meal treats.
Families turn lunch into an afternoon adventure, exploring railroad history before attacking the buffet, then waddling over for ice cream.
It’s the kind of old-school roadside attraction that makes road trips memorable instead of just tolerable. Kids burn energy, adults get nostalgia, and everyone leaves with full stomachs.
Hundreds of Thousands Pack In Annually
Brooks Shaw’s welcomes hundreds of thousands of guests every year, which sounds impossible until you see the packed parking lot on a random Tuesday afternoon.
Tour buses, family minivans, and solo travelers all converge on this spot like salmon returning upstream. That kind of volume could tank quality at most places, but somehow the kitchen maintains consistency.
Word-of-mouth keeps the crowds coming because nobody risks their reputation recommending a mediocre buffet. When locals say the drive is worth it, believe them.