People drive hours to get here. They come for the produce, the bread, the sandwiches made to order behind a deli counter, and the furniture built by hand a few feet from where it’s sold. Some of them come for the building supplies. Most of them leave having stayed longer than they planned.
The Fall Creek Mennonite community sits on the Cumberland Plateau between Pikeville and Spencer, Tennessee, on the edge of Fall Creek Falls State Park. Around 60 families live and farm here across roughly 5,000 acres, and they run about two dozen businesses out of their homes, barns and shops. Horses and buggies share the road. The pace is slower. Nobody is looking at a phone.
It’s also on the way to our place. If you come in from the west, you drive through it on Brockdell Road to reach The Canyon at Pond Creek. From our gate it’s 15 minutes and 8 miles to Oak Ridge Pantry and Brockdell Produce.
What you’ll find
Food and produce
- Oak Ridge Pantry (3016 Brockdell Rd). Groceries, bulk spices, meat and cheese, and made-to-order sandwiches. This is where to get lunch.
- Old Dunlap General Store (51 Army Camp Rd). Hot deli sandwiches, a farm market, plus furniture, clocks and crafts.
- Brockdell Produce (2624 Brockdell Rd). Seasonal produce, baked goods made that morning, homemade jams and jellies.
- S&S Farmers Market (51 Army Camp Rd). Seasonal produce.
- Sunrise Sorghum (601 Highland Dr). Sorghum molasses, pressed and cooked in September and October.
Furniture and woodwork
- Rocky Top Woodcraft (2720 Brockdell Rd). Cabinets, tables and chairs.
- Brockland Woodworks (3493 Brockdell Rd). Custom cabinets and cedar outdoor furniture.
- Wildwood Enterprise (288 Bud Boyd Rd). Custom furniture and wood products.
- Mountain View Barns (348 Sheep Hill Rd). Mini barns and sheds, built to order.
Much of this is custom work. Bring measurements if you have a project in mind, and expect to wait for it. The wait is the point.
Hardware, lumber and the practical stuff
- Highland Building Supply (1369 Highland Dr). Building and fencing supplies and hardware.
- Discount Metal Roofing (1256 Old Hwy 111). Metal roofing.
- White Oak Harness (370 Army Camp Rd). Harness sales and repair.
- Pine Ridge Store (254 Dusty Rd). Salvage groceries and surplus materials. Worth a stop just to see what’s on the shelves.
Fabric and quilts
- Country Fabrics (2411 Brockdell Rd). Quilts, quilting fabric and custom quilting.
- Fairlane Fabrics (288 Bud Boyd Rd). Dress fabric, notions, bonnets and baby items.
Garden
El Bee’s Garden Shop (58 Hummingbird Trail) and Mountain Laurel Greenhouse (2624 Brockdell Rd). Flower and vegetable plants, seeds, seed potatoes and onion sets in season.
Before you go
- Closed Sundays. All of it. If you’re checking out of the dome on Sunday, you won’t be able to shop on the way home. Plan your visit for Saturday, or for a weekday if you’re staying midweek.
- Bring cash. Most shops don’t take cards.
- Hours run on Central time, roughly 8 to 5, and a few shops close Mondays and Thursdays. Produce and greenhouse hours change with the season.
- Ask before you take pictures of people. Photograph the barns and the fields all you want. The families here aren’t part of the scenery.
- These businesses serve their own community first. Visitors are welcome, but you’re a guest. Drive slow and give buggies plenty of room.
A weekend built around it
A good Saturday from The Canyon: breakfast at the dome, a morning hike down to Upper Falls, then 15 minutes over to Brockdell Road for sandwiches at Oak Ridge Pantry. Pick up bread, jam and produce for dinner. Walk through the woodshops. Stop at Fall Creek Falls State Park on the way back if there’s daylight left. Then the hot tub, a fire, and a sky full of stars.
The community is the kind of place that reminds you what it was like before everyone was attached to a screen. So is The Canyon. 447 acres, six private domes, and waterfalls you can swim in.
