Entry No. 29 — the Memphis file — filed under: general store
Shelby Forest General Store
The store sits on a two-lane road between the front and back entrances of Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park, about fifteen minutes north of I-240, and it is still doing the job a general store does: canned goods, jerky, bulk candy restocked weekly, salt-water taffy, and Mennonite baked goods and jarred preserves trucked in from Backermann's Country Market in Whiteville. Behind all that is a grill, and the burgers are the reason city people make the drive out. The owners are a genuine mom-and-pop operation who will cut up with you the entire time you're ordering; the store's own line for itself is "the past is our present to you." You eat on the front porch, in one of the Adirondack gliders and rockers they also happen to be selling. It is cash-and-carry in the most literal sense — no online, no phone orders, come stand at the counter.
→ Three more weird eats & drinks in Memphis — never the same twice
The story
The store sits at the corner of Benjestown and Locke Road, on a two-lane between the front and back gates of Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park — 12,539 acres of hardwood bottomland running down to the Mississippi, with Poplar Tree Lake and Lake Piersol inside it and a fair claim to being the most-visited state park in Tennessee. The store puts itself at fifteen minutes north of I-240 and ten minutes west of Highway 51, which in practice means about half an hour from downtown Memphis and no way to get there that doesn't involve a car.
What it sells is what a general store sells when it is still actually a general store rather than a themed reconstruction of one. Jar goods in eight-ounce, pint and quart. Beef jerky, cheese, sausage. Salt-water taffy and bulk candy with new things put out weekly. A weekly delivery of Mennonite baked goods, jarred preserves, meats and cheeses from the Yoder family's Backermann's over in Whiteville, fried pies included. Faith-based signs, SFGS hats, shirts and coffee cups, and a full line of Adirondack gliders and rockers — which are for sale, and which also happen to be where you sit to eat.
Because behind all of that is a grill, and the burgers are why people drive out from the city. The owners are a real mom-and-pop and will cut up with you the entire time you're ordering; the humor is the house style, not a bit. Everything is transacted in person — no online ordering, no phone orders — and their own explanation is that the internet doesn't work so well out here in the forest, but the phones work fine. The line they put on the front of the place is "the past is our present to you," which is corny and also precisely accurate.
What it's like
You come up Benjestown past the park boundary and the store announces itself with a porch full of rocking chairs, which is both the furniture department and the dining room. Inside it is one room doing several jobs at once: canned goods and bulk candy on the shelves, the Backermann's case with the week's fried pies and preserves, jerky and taffy near the register, and a grill at the back where the burgers get cooked to order after you stand at the counter and ask for one. Expect to be talked to. Expect to wait, because nothing is made in advance. Then take it out to a glider on the porch, which is the correct and only real seating. The trap is the clock: Monday through Thursday the store is open just 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the grill shuts thirty minutes before closing either way.
The move: Drive out Friday or Saturday morning, hike or bike a loop in Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park while the day is still cool, then land at the store by noon for two burgers and a fried pie and eat them on the porch in the rocking chairs. Buy a jar of something on the way out and stop at the Mississippi River overlook in the park on the drive back.
📍 Before you go Hours are lopsided: Mon–Thu 11 a.m.–2 p.m. only, Fri–Sun 6 a.m.–4 p.m. The grill shuts down thirty minutes before the store closes, so a 1:45 p.m. Tuesday arrival gets you groceries and no burger. In-store purchases only — no online ordering, no phone orders. About a 30-minute drive from downtown Memphis and there is no transit; you need a car. Phone (901) 876-5770.
- 📍 Millington
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 7729 Benjestown Rd, Millington, TN 38053
Hours: Added 2026-08-26 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Cozy Corner BBQ — The obvious stop on the drive back in: North Parkway, Tuesday–Saturday only, and its whole smoked Cornish hen is the closest thing Memphis has to another dish worth a special trip.
- Alcenia's — Another daytime-only room that closes before dinner — Ms. B.J.'s Pinch District soul-food counter, open Tuesday–Friday to 5 and Saturday from 9 — so the two make one long, unhurried eating day rather than an evening.
- Jerry's Sno Cones — Same no-dining-room format an hour east: a walk-up window in Berclair where the Supreme is eaten standing in the lot, because there is nowhere else to eat it.
More weird in Memphis
Good to know
How do I get there, and how long does it take?
It's at 7729 Benjestown Rd in Millington, at the corner of Benjestown and Locke Road — roughly a 30-minute drive from downtown Memphis, about fifteen minutes north of I-240 and ten west of Highway 51. There is no transit; you need a car.
What are the hours, and when does the grill stop?
Monday–Thursday 11 a.m.–2 p.m., Friday–Sunday 6 a.m.–4 p.m. The grill closes thirty minutes before the store does, so a 1:45 p.m. Tuesday arrival gets you groceries and no burger.
Can I call ahead or order online?
No. It's in-store purchases only — no online ordering and no phone orders. The phone, (901) 876-5770, is for questions; the store notes that the internet is unreliable out there but the phones work fine.
What's worth buying besides the burger?
Jar goods in 8-ounce, pint and quart sizes, beef jerky, cheese and sausage, salt-water taffy, bulk candy restocked weekly, and the weekly Backermann's delivery from the Yoder family bakery in Whiteville — fried pies, breads, preserves.
Where do you eat, and is there indoor seating?
On the front porch, in the Adirondack gliders and rockers — which the store also sells, so you can buy the chair you just ate in.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site
last checked: 2026-08-26