As Seen on Tennessee Crossroads / PBS
Tennessee Crossroads has been finding the real Tennessee since 1987 — the longest-running locally produced television series in PBS history. When they featured The LOCAL Place, it wasn't promotional. It was recognition.
Your Perfect Centerville Saturday
Most Nashville day trips involve three hours of traffic, a parking nightmare, and a restaurant wait that eats your whole afternoon. This isn't that. Centerville is 70 miles west of downtown — an easy, scenic hour on US-70 — and it packs in more genuine Tennessee charm than places twice as far away. Here's exactly what your day looks like.
Step 1 | 8–9 AM — The LOCAL Drive-Thru
📍1171 Hwy 100, Centerville
Start the way a Centerville Saturday is supposed to start: coffee in hand before you even park. Pull through The LOCAL Drive-Thru on your way into town and grab your morning drink and a quick bite. You're already winning — everyone else is still fighting Nashville traffic.
Step 2 | 9:30–11 AM — Grinder's Switch Winery or Horseshoe Bend Farm Wines
📍 2119 Hwy 50 West Loop, Centerville (Grinder's Switch)
📍1420 Mason Bates Bend Rd, Centerville (Horseshoe Bend)
Two Tennessee wineries, both worth your morning. Grinder's Switch Winery (open daily from noon — check their hours and plan accordingly, or call ahead for early tastings) and Horseshoe Bend Farm Wines offer genuine small-batch Tennessee wine in settings that don't feel like a theme park. Pick up a bottle. Trust us — you'll want it for Step 4.
Step 3 | 11 AM–Noon — Downtown Centerville
📍Public Square, Centerville
Stroll the square and snap a photo with the Minnie Pearl statue — the brass-and-chicken-wire likeness of Centerville's most famous daughter, Grand Ole Opry legend Sarah Cannon. Look up when you reach 111 S. Public Square: the murals painted on The LOCAL Place are the most shareable thing on the square. Instagram before you even sit down.
Step 4 | Noon–3 PM — MADE @ The Local
📍111 S. Public Square, Upstairs, Centerville
This is the centerpiece of your day. Head upstairs at The LOCAL Place and into MADE @ The Local — Centerville's paint-your-own pottery studio and candle-making bar. No reservations required. No time limit. Grab a pottery piece or set up a candle pour, open that bottle of wine you picked up at the winery (yes, MADE is fully BYOB), and settle in. Two to three hours disappears fast when you're actually making something.
Step 5 | 3–4:30 PM — The LOCAL Place
📍111 S. Public Square, Centerville
When you come down from MADE, you're already in the right building. The LOCAL Place is downstairs — an 81-year Centerville institution that operated as Breece's Café from the 1940s until the current owners took over in 2021. The legacy stayed. Order lunch, sit a while, and enjoy the kind of meal that small-town Tennessee does better than anywhere else.
Step 6 | 4:30–5 PM — Drinks to Go + Head Home
📍111 S. Public Square, Centerville
Grab a drink to go and pick up ice cream on your way out of town. You're back in Nashville by 5. If you made a candle, it's already in your bag. If you painted pottery, it gets fired in-house and ready within 7–10 days — we'll ship it straight to your door no matter where you're headed, or pick it up next week when you come back for more ice cream.
Why Centerville Beats Every Other Nashville
Day Trip
Nashville day-trippers are spoiled for choice, but most of the obvious options come with an obvious downside. Here's why Centerville wins.
✅ 1 Hour, Not 2.5
Centerville is 70 miles west on US-70: a pleasant drive with no mountain-road stress. You're there before your coffee gets cold.
✅ BYOB Pottery + Two Wineries = An Itinerary
Pick up a bottle at Grinder's Switch Winery, head to MADE @ The Local, and spend the afternoon painting pottery with Tennessee wine in hand. That's a full day in one sentence.
✅ PBS-Certified Hidden Gem
Tennessee Crossroads — Tennessee's longest-running PBS travel show — has featured The LOCAL Place. That's not just a sticker.
✅ Real Tennessee, Not a Theme Park
Minnie Pearl grew up here. The diner downstairs has been feeding locals since the 1940s. You won't find a wax museum.
✅ No Reservations, No Pressure
MADE @ The Local requires no reservations. Show up, pick your piece, start painting. Tennessee hospitality at its finest.
✅ One Building Does It All
MADE is upstairs. The LOCAL Place is downstairs. The Minnie Pearl statue is across the square. Walk 30 feet between stops.
Things to Do in Centerville, TN
Whether you follow the itinerary above or build your own day, here's the full menu of what Centerville has waiting for you.
Wineries & Local Drinks
Grinder's Switch Winery (2119 Hwy 50 West Loop) — open Mon–Thu noon–6 PM, Fri–Sun noon–5 PM. Award-winning Tennessee wines in a hand-built log cabin on 110 scenic acres with a 7-acre vineyard. gswinery.com
Horseshoe Bend Farm Wines — small-batch local wines from local fruits. Also offers vacation rentals and farm tours. The more intimate of the two wineries.
Pro tip: hit one winery in the morning when you arrive, pick up a bottle, and bring it to MADE @ The Local. That's the Centerville move.
History & Culture
Minnie Pearl's Hometown. The statue on Centerville's public square honors Sarah Colley Cannon — Grand Ole Opry legend since 1940. Born here in 1912. Taking a selfie with Minnie is basically required.
Breece's Café Legacy. The building at 111 S. Public Square has been feeding Centerville since the 1940s — 80+ years, four generations. The LOCAL Place took over in 2021. The history is in the walls.
Storytellers Museum & Hideaway Farm. Eight miles east in Bon Aqua — Johnny Cash's personal farm, now open to the public. Museum, the One-Piece-At-A-Time car, live music. visithideawayfarm.com
Grinder's Switch Hour. Free live music every Saturday 10–11:30 AM at the Chamber of Commerce. 17 years running. Third longest live country music show in America.
Outdoor Adventures
Jackson Falls. Natchez Trace Milepost 404.7 — a 40-foot waterfall in a limestone gorge. 0.75-mile round trip from
Baker Bluff. No fee, genuinely beautiful, never crowded.
Duck River. One of North America's most biodiverse rivers. Kayaking, canoeing, fishing. Pinewood Canoe & Camp offers rentals on the nearby Piney River.
Natchez Trace Parkway. 20 miles west of Centerville — a federally protected two-lane through old-growth forest. No billboards. Stunning in fall.
Make Something — MADE @ The Local
This is the anchor of your whole day. MADE @ The Local (111 S. Public Square, Upstairs) is a paint-your-own pottery and candle-making studio. BYOB. No reservations. 2–3 hour sessions. Staff fires your piece and ships it home.
Annual Events
National Banana Pudding Festival — October 3–4, 2026. Cook-offs, live music, Centerville's biggest crowd of the year. bananapuddingfest.org
Ag & Arts Tour — Every June, the Hickman County Ag & Arts Tour takes visitors on a self-guided journey along rural back roads — meeting farmers, artisans, and musicians in settings you won't find anywhere else. Free admission, free parking. 2026 dates: June 19–20. agandartstour.com (The LOCAL Place's own Concetta West serves on the Ag & Arts Foundation board.)
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How far is Centerville, TN from Nashville?
Centerville is approximately 70 miles west of downtown Nashville — about 1 hour 10 minutes via US-70 West. No interstate required. Factor in an extra 10–15 minutes leaving Nashville during Friday afternoon rush hour.
Q: MADE @ The Local BYOB?
Yes — fully BYOB. No corkage fee. The move is to pick up a bottle at Grinder's Switch Winery or Horseshoe Bend Farm Wines and bring it upstairs to MADE. That's the signature Centerville itinerary.
Q: Do you need reservations for pottery painting in Centerville?
No reservations are required at MADE @ The Local. Walk-ins are welcome any time during open hours. Simply come in, browse the bisque pottery selection, choose your piece, and get started. For larger groups — parties, bachelorettes, family outings — book your party directly at thelocalplacetn.com/book-online. Individual visitors and couples can always walk in.
Q: What is the National Banana Pudding Festival?
Centerville's annual October celebration of the iconic Southern dessert. Cook-offs, live music, vendor booths. 2026 dates: October 3–4. More at bananapuddingfest.org.
Q: Who was Minnie Pearl?
Minnie Pearl was the stage persona of Sarah Colley Cannon, a comedian, actress, and country music entertainer who performed on the Grand Ole Opry from 1940 until 1991. Famous for her "Howdee!" greeting and the price tag on her hat, she was one of the most beloved figures in American country music history. She was born in Centerville, Tennessee in 1912, and the town honors her with a distinctive brass-and-chicken-wire statue on the public square. You'll definitely want to grab a selfie with the famous Minnie Pearl — it's one of those stops you'll actually post.
Q: Is Centerville TN worth visiting?
Yes — especially if you're tired of day trips that feel manufactured. Two wineries, an 81-year restaurant building, BYOB pottery, a PBS feature, and a waterfall hike. The crowds haven't found it yet.
Q: Can you do the Centerville day trip with kids?
Absolutely. MADE welcomes all ages for pottery painting — kids love it. Jackson Falls is a manageable hike for older kids. The Minnie Pearl statue and murals are easy free stops. The National Banana Pudding Festival in October is great for families.
What is the best time of year to visit Centerville TN?
Fall (October–November) is peak — stunning foliage on the Natchez Trace and the Banana Pudding Festival. Spring is beautiful along the Duck River. MADE and The LOCAL Place operate year-round.
Plan Your Visit to Centerville, TN
Centerville, Tennessee sits about an hour west of Nashville along Highway 100 — close enough for a comfortable day trip, far enough to feel like you've actually left the city. It's one of Middle Tennessee's most underrated destinations, and it checks more boxes in a single afternoon than most towns do in an entire downtown.
The LOCAL Place Cafe is a full-service espresso bar and cafe at 111 South Public Square, serving specialty lattes, handcrafted smoothies, fresh pastries, and made-to-order food — plus small-batch homemade ice cream made in-house. One floor up is MADE @ The Local, a pottery painting and candle-making studio where walk-ins are always welcome and BYOB is encouraged any day of the week. You paint your pottery and glaze it on-site (two kilns in the building). Candle-making workshops run the same way — no reservation required. Call (931) 729-8459 with questions.
The LOCAL Drive-Thru at 1171 Highway 100 is your first stop of the day — grab coffee and breakfast on arrival before heading out. Jackson Falls on the Natchez Trace Parkway (mile marker 404.7) is a 40-foot waterfall on a 0.75-mile round-trip trail — free, uncrowded, and one of the most accessible waterfall hikes in Middle Tennessee. Grinder's Switch Winery and Horseshoe Bend Farm Wines are both a short drive from the square — pick up a bottle before your pottery session at MADE.
This itinerary works coming from Nashville, Franklin, Dickson, Spring Hill, Columbia, Murfreesboro, and Clarksville — most within 60 to 90 minutes. For groups planning a girls' trip, bachelorette outing, birthday celebration, or family day out, MADE handles walk-in groups of most sizes and the cafe downstairs can handle a group lunch. The whole loop — coffee, waterfall, winery, pottery, lunch — runs comfortably in a single day.