Bush's Visitor Center is located and in Chestnut Hill, Tennessee about 24 miles from Parrottsville, TN. just across the street from the Bush's Baked Beans plant and homestead of A.J. Bush. The Visitor Center is located where the old Bush's General Store once stood and houses the Bush's Museum, General Store and Bush's Family Café. It is opened six days a week, Monday through Saturday and although you cannot take a tour of the Bush's Baked Bean factory there is a short film that shows the operations of the factory. We had passed Bush's Visitor Center back in September on our way to Pigeon Forge and have wanted to visit it since. Well the wait ended yesterday and we finally spent the morning and early afternoon at Bush's. It took about 1 1/2 hours to tour the visitor center seeing the film, the museum and general store. The staff at Bush's are very friendly and knowledgeable. We then had lunch at the Bush's Family Café and we are really happy we did. The food was delicious, very reasonable and the service was great. We even splurged on dessert where Tim, Lisa and I had their homemade pies and George enjoyed a Banana Split. Lisa was the adventurous one and tried Bush's Pecan Pinto Bean pie. She said it was good and got the recipe for it. She also tried to get the secret recipe of Bush's Baked Beans but was not successful in doing so.
It may seem strange to have Bush's Visitor Center in the middle of nowhere but it is a popular tourist destination and shows just how popular Bush's Baked Beans are. A.J. Bush, the founder, started a business in 1904 when he partnered with the Stokely Brothers to open a tomato cannery. By 1908 A.J. Bush bought out his partners and the Bush Brothers and Company was born. His home is located right across the street from the Visitor center and is used for meetings. The Bush's plant has been expanded throughout the years and has kept the area's residence with jobs. If you are ever in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area take a couple of hours and visit Bush's Visitor Center and Family Café.
Check back tomorrow for more Bush's pictures and history.
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