Best Little Truck Stop in Texas

By Dean Meadors 

In a world of conformity, Carl Cornelius is a big thinker. 

He thinks about beer a lot and he thinks about truck drivers all the time. It’s hard to be innovative in business, but Carl Cornelius has managed to set himself apart by building the most unique truck stop in America. 

Not big. Unique. And not clean and modern, either. Carl’s Truck Stop, located a scant 59 miles south of Dallas, makes Elvis’ Graceland Mansion look tasteful, even when you compare it to other truck stops. 

In one small area, Carl has managed to fit more products and services for his customers than the Wal-Mart down the road. You want a socket wrench? Carl’s has it. You need an X-rated movie to get you through the lonely nights? Carl’s your man. 

He has showers for rent, a laundry, a swimming pool, Carl’s T-shirts for sale, a chapel, a topless bar, a catfish pond, an English telephone booth and a motel. He has puzzles to test your I.Q., video games and waitresses with tight tank tops that say “Carl’s” on the back and “Harley Davidson” on the front. 

Carl can duplicate a key or sell you groceries. He can feed you lunch or sell you a watch. Carl can also sell you a beer or a bottle of not-so-fine wine, which is how his unique story started. 

After an unfulfilling career as an evangelist, Carl cashed in his savings and bought 1,200 acres along Interstate 35E about halfway between Waco and Dallas. After parking his mobile home in the middle of his new land, Carl learned he couldn’t even buy a cold beer in any incorporated area within 60 miles.

Not to be so easily defeated (and with his eye on the highway with its steady truck traffic), Carl had an idea. He decided to start his own town, called Carl’s Corner, by getting together 201 area residents and incorporating as a legal village.

The vote on whether his new town should be dry like the rest of the area was held with 49 fellow residents in attendance. The vote was 49-0 and the first city south of Dallas to be “wet” was born.

There’s a five-man town council, which Carl claims is totally independent. He only votes in case of a tie. Of course, he is the mayor, which provides some punch. And he’s also the judge, should there be matters the mayor can’t decide.

Zoning, for instance. isn’t the sticky problem that it can be up the road in Dallas. When the rather noticeable 10-foot high dancing frogs were suddenly installed on the roof of the Tango nightclub in Dallas, local authorities ruled the frogs had to find a new pond. They now sit atop the gas island at Carl’s Fina Truck Stop.

When the much-aligned Willie Nelson Fourth of July Concert had to find a new home because of fan behavior, guess where the next concert was held. Right. Carl’s Corner welcomed the famous singer with open arms.

Sadly, the exact spot where Willie once celebrated the national holiday—directly across the road from Carl’s Truck Stop and B-B-Que Restaurant—is now the site of Carl’s newest unlikely plan, a golf course. 

Carl’s Corner is now a burgeoning city. About 220 residents live within its unique boundaries, and up to 50 of them (depending on the time of year) work for Carl. Even charity benefits from Carl’s Corner’s leading business. Right on the restaurant counter beside the cash register is a big bowl clearly labeled, “For Charity.”

“We are building a Utopia here,” he says. No one there seems to disagree with this assessment either, especially since Carl’s Corner has its own police force headquartered right outside the truck stop.

But Carl seems the most benevolent of dictators and all is happy in his kingdom. Everybody likes Carl, and besides, the dancing frogs are good for the local economy.