It’s hard to miss the Casey Jones Village signs if you’re traveling through Jackson. Positioned at the intersection of Interstate 40 and Highway 45, the village has become a key tourism stop. Although many go for the railroad museum, they return for the most popular attraction: The Old Country Store.

The third-generation, family-run destination draws visitors from all 50 states and 86 countries. Open seven days a week and closed only four days a year, the Old Country Store emphasizes authentic hospitality and extensive staff training to deliver a “world-class” experience where every guest feels welcomed, loved, and valued, encouraging repeat visits over generations.

“We turned 60 in 2025, and we’ve been celebrating all year,” says Brooks Shaw, president of Brooks Shaw & Son Old Country Store and Casey Jones Village. “Our ribbon-cutting celebration last May was attended by Senator Marsha Blackburn and other dignitaries, and we received video messages from the governor and the state tourism commissioner. They all highlighted our significance to statewide tourism. For a lot of people, this is their only exposure to Jackson.”

The business actively courts motorcoach and niche tour traffic, including Tesla-based day tours between Nashville and Memphis that use the on-site Superchargers—an intentional “yesterday meets tomorrow” pairing of nostalgic setting with modern EV infrastructure.

The Old Country Store began in 1965 as an antique museum featuring the collection of founder Brooks Shaw (Brooks’ grandfather). It later evolved into a full-service Southern restaurant and attraction that welcomes over 650,000 guests a year.

“My grandfather worked at Kelly Foods in Jackson, and he had a heart attack,” says Brooks. “His doctor advised him to get a hobby to take his mind off work. A friend gave him three antiques that we still own — an apple peeler, a coffee grinder, and a cash register.

“The problem with giving entrepreneurs a hobby is that they make a new business out of it. He started collecting antiques, acquiring over 10,000 pieces. So, he opened an antique museum three miles down the road and charged admission. To add to it, he decided to serve lunch there, offering items like his mom’s cracklinʼ cornbread recipe (still served today), white beans, turnip greens, and cold cut sandwiches.”

“The lunch counter got so popular, they began to add more and more tables,” he chuckles, “and then one day, they found that they had an Old Country Store restaurant.”

Brooks says his grandfather passed away from his fourth heart attack in 1971, and his dad, Clark Shaw, was 16 years old at the time. Although coaxed to sell, his grandmother, Anne, refused, having faith that she and Clark could keep it going. Clark finished high school, quit college, and at 24 years old, bought 25 acres near the interstate (where they are today), and rebuilt the whole country store.

“Dad was a key part of this whole Casey Jones Village and The Old Country Store,” says Brooks. “While he was moving the store, simultaneously, the city of Jackson was preparing to close its downtown train museum, memorializing Casey Jones, after 20 years of losses. Dad had the idea of moving Casey’s home and replica train here and operating the train museum on their behalf. He rebranded it all Casey Jones Village.”

Casey Jones is a legendary railroad engineer who died in 1900 when his passenger train, number 382, known as “Cannonball,” was on track to collide with a stalled freight train in his path, but he skillfully slowed the engine down and saved the lives of the passengers at the cost of his own. He is immortalized in a traditional song, “The Ballad of Casey Jones.”

With Casey Jones Village up and running, Clark set out to “chase tour buses up and down the interstate” and hold signs out the window of his vehicle that said ‘Follow me to Casey Jones Railroad Museum.’ He started getting those tour buses coming, and the rest is history,” said Brooks.

Clark suddenly passed away in 2020 with COVID-19, and now his wife, Juanita, and son, Brooks, run Casey Jones Village as well as The Old Country Store, which includes about 3,000 square feet of nostalgic candy and Southern-themed retail, a very popular buffet restaurant, an ice cream parlor with a historic 1880s soda fountain, and a café with plate lunches.

The faith-based business employs about 100 people and functions as a second-chance workplace, with over half the staff and leadership in recovery from addiction or trauma. In March 2026, the business received Tennessee’s inaugural Recovery Business of the Year award at the 2026 Women of Worth Conference held at Paris Landing State Park.

The Old Country Store is best known for its Southern soul food buffet — voted one of the top 10 buffets in the U.S. three years in a row by USA Today readers —offering multiple meats, more than 15 vegetables, salad bar, cobblers, banana pudding, soups, and drinks at a strong value price point. Unlimited pass-around fried green tomatoes are included with the buffet.

Complementing the buffet are the Dixie Cafe takeout and drive-through with plate lunches, plus upcoming online ordering and third-party delivery.

The site has grown into a broader attraction featuring not only the Casey Jones Train Museum, home, and Old Country Store, but also relocated historic buildings such as a 115-year-old church and a pre–Civil War home, seasonal mini golf, a children’s farm area, festivals, and a long-running faith-based art gallery representing dozens of regional artists.

For more information, visit http://www.caseyjones.com/ or facebook.com/oldcountrystore.