Willie's Place was a

truck stop A truck stop, known as a service station in the United Kingdom, and a travel center by major chains in the United States, is a commercial facility which provides refueling, rest (parking), and often ready-made food and other services to motori ...

and

biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...

processing plant located in

Carl's Corner, Texas Carl's Corner is a town in Hill County, Texas, United States. The population was 173 at the 2010 census. The town was founded by, and named after, Carl Cornelius, a local truck stop owner and long-time friend of Willie Nelson. Cornelius founded t ...

that was opened in 2005 and named after

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

. The facility was originally built circa 1980 by Carl Cornelius and named Carl's Corner. Willie's Place was closed for a time and then reopened in 2008 after a significant expansion. Willie's Place had a gas station that was the first to sell

Willie Nelson Biodiesel Willie Nelson Biodiesel is an American company started by singer-songwriter Willie Nelson, that produces biofuel under the brand name BioWillie. Nelson became interested in biofuels in 2004 after his wife bought a diesel car, which she fueled only ...

brand biodiesel, a restaurant that specialized in

Southern cuisine The cuisine of the Southern United States encompasses diverse food traditions of several regions, including Tidewater, Appalachian, Lowcountry, Cajun, Creole, and Floribbean cuisine. In recent history, elements of Southern cuisine have spread t ...

, a convenience store and a 750-seat concert theater for performances. The theater had a bar and a dance floor, and various touring country western bands would perform there. Willie Nelson also occasionally visited the site, and occasionally performed. The establishment also had a "display of rare country music memorabilia", along with Willie Nelson memorabilia. Willie's Place had about 80 employees.

Biodiesel processing plant

The processing plant at Willie's Place processed over two million gallons of biodiesel annually.

Closure

Willie's Place closed in 2011 after a loan default occurred, which led to

foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan. Formally, a mortg ...

and

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

. It was later converted into a Petro truck stop.

References

External links

{{Willie Nelson, state=collapsed Rest areas in the United States Former truck stops Willie Nelson Southern restaurants

Biodiesel processing plant

Closure

See also

References

External links