Walton's Jewelry 

This business was started almost fifty years ago by Melba Walton, an entrepreneur who had a sincere passion for antique jewelry. Before having a storefront of her own, she would sell jewelry on the hood of her car at flea markets. Oftentimes, Melba would set up right next to people selling chickens! When she decided to open her first brick-and-mortar location during a time when women could not get a loan on their own, she had her husband, Jack, cosign to help her pursue her dreams of becoming a business owner. Melba persevered, opening Walton’s Antique and Estate Jewelry in 1974 in our original location in Carter’s Court - the premier Downtown Franklin shopping destination at the time. In 1982, she decided to invest in the future, purchasing our current building at 410 Main Street in Historic Downtown Franklin, Tennessee.

Mike, Melba’s youngest son, joined the family business in 1980. He received his Graduate Gemology degree to become the resident jewelry appraiser. He also took courses and put in hundreds of hours to become our resident jeweler. For many years, Mike handled almost every aspect of day-to-day operations. His passion, knowledge and genuine, honest character helped grow Walton’s into the jewelry store it is today.

In 2012, Julie, Mike’s oldest daughter, joined the family business. She pursued her Graduate Gemology degree and began making her mark by establishing a solid online presence for Walton’s. “Julie launched our first website and grew our Facebook and Instagram following, allowing us to connect with our customers in a whole new way,” says Mike. In 2017, she launched Walton’s online store, allowing our customers to shop with us twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week from all across the country!

Today, Walton’s has become a staple in  the downtown Franklin community. Not only offering beautiful pieces to purchase, but also repairing fine jewelry and offering custom design. Specializing in pre-1940’s antique and estate pieces, Walton’s maintains the foundation on which Melba created the store, a place where all are welcome to share in the love and admiration for pieces of one-of-a-kind jewelry.

Early's Honey Stand

In the words of founder Erskine Early: "The spring and summer of 1925 was an excellent 'honey year,' … we had honey running out of our ears, so to speak." My mom was a pretty good business ‘man’ and she got an idea: She put honey into many sized mason jars, jugs, bottles, etc. 

I was only seven years old at the time, but I helped her. We put three steel drums out under that big shade tree, put some two by eights on top of the drums, made a “skirt” around it out of sawmill slabs, set the various and sundry sized containers of honey on top, made a small sign “Honey for Sale” and nailed it to a post and ‘Early’s Honey Stand’ was born! The folks that stopped at the former site of the toll gate proved to be good honey customers, and she sold most all the honey dad raised that way.

From time to time, Mom would have a few other things to sell at the stand. She would cook up jams, jellies, etc., which folks bought readily… apples, peaches in season… and various other items from time to time. 

But the really BIG change occurred in the fall or rather, the winter of 1925. Dad and the other farm workers were butchering hogs out back for our meat supply. Everybody butchered their own meat back then. Back then, the word “meat” generally meant pork.  Seeing the butchering going on, a fellow stopped and asked if he could buy a few sausage pounds. Dad and him “negotiated” and made arrangements for him to pick up his sausage in a few days as soon as it was packed in the “pokes” and smoked goods. Now, my dad had a reputation for being the best sausage maker in the surrounding countryside. For one thing, he had delicious cuts of pork, but his seasoning was what really made it good. And he always smoked it a golden brown with real hickory. This fellow came back for his sausage… liked it and came back for more for himself and his friends. The old ‘word of mouth’ method of advertising took effect. Dad made up some extra sausage both in ‘pokes’ (cloth bags for smoking), and links, and they readily sold at the Stand. 

“We still make sausage in the exact same way Dad did then. It is the cornerstone of our operation today.” - Erskine Early

Today, you can find us in that same original location at 5075 Main Street, Spring Hill, TN. Right on Highway 31 at location of the former toll booth and the original stand.

We’ve got the same great items and we also do a lot of gift boxes this time of year. Honey, Hams, Jams, Sausage you name it. And we ship all over the country. 

You can stop by our shop there, give us a call at 1-800-523-2015 or visit us online at Earlys.com Our new website has a lot of great features and you can ship to multiple addresses and include your gift message right there on the website if you wish. And the whole time you’ll be getting Early’s excellent customer service and over ninety years of know how in country foods. 

Oh boy what could be better than that?

Jimmy's Cleaners & Alterations

Jimmy’s Cleaners & Alterations was started in Spring Hill, Tennessee, by Franklin residents Jimmy and Luanne Story in February 2003. We saw potential growth in Spring Hill and decided there was a need for a dry cleaners so we opened our first location with an on-site cleaning facility on Main Street. This was met with great success so we opened two more locations in the fall of 2004, in addition to adding our Free Pickup and Delivery service to business and residential clients.  

With over 250 collective years of dry cleaning and laundry experience from our team members within our plant and drop-off locations, we pride ourselves in being the experts of our industry.  We take special care of your garments and textiles while ensuring that your dry cleaning and laundry items are cleaned, pressed, assembled “in house,” and not outsourced to any other facility. We have been voted “Best Dry cleaners” four years in a row by the Franklin Sizzle Awards and love to serve our clients with friendly faces and courteous service. At  Jimmy’s Cleaners, we believe in customer service that focuses on solving the needs and challenges of our clients, our most valuable asset.

In addition to providing general dry cleaning and laundry services, we also offer several specialty services. These services include cleaning household items such as comforters, linens, draperies, rugs, wedding gown preservation, leather cleaning, and expert alterations.  Our Wash, Dry and Fold service is another of our super convenient services that many of our clients have taken advantage of. 

Luanne and I also believe in giving back to the community that supports us.  We have supported several nonprofit charities throughout the years, including The Tennessee Children’s Home, Tennessee Kids Belong, High Hopes Academy, Love the Dress and The Special Needs Easter Egg Festival in Spring Hill.  

We understand firsthand how the pandemic has affected businesses over the past year. Initially, we saw our business drop off due to our clients working remotely and not traveling for business.  Additionally, many formal social events, graduations, and weddings were canceled. Before the pandemic, we had five locations. During this time, we decided to restructure our business model, close the two less performing locations, and concentrate on the three locations in Spring Hill and Franklin, where there has been tremendous growth. In hindsight, this was the best decision we ever could have made. As a result, we operate much more efficiently. We can concentrate on our current client needs and address them while also welcoming our new clients to our community and the Jimmy’s Cleaners Family. We’d love to see you at any of our three locations or take advantage of our convenient, Free Pickup and Delivery Service.  For more information on our business, visit our website.

jimmyscleaners.net

Southern Events Party Rental Company

Located in historic Franklin and serving greater middle Tennessee, Southern Events Party Rental Company has delighted guests and hosts alike for over fifteen years. We offer personal service, beautifully curated event rentals and southern hospitality, all in one place.

Southern Events is family-owned by Chip and Jill Cole. We started Southern Events to meet the demands of Williamson County’s growing community of families and businesses who had occasions to celebrate. Jill’s years of experience as an event planner allows her to handle the creative and client facing aspect of the business, while Chip’s project management background allowed him to handle the logistical side of the business at that time. The business began in 2005 (in our garage!) and has grown to a team of nearly fifty full and part-time staff, based in their current office & warehouse space on Alpha Drive. 

The company mission is simple – happy clients. Southern Events is a client-centered event rental company focused on building strong client relationships through personalized service and creative event design and planning guidance. Our team is committed to truly personalized service – understanding a client’s needs, event vision & budget, as well as going above and beyond the standards of friendliness and professionalism.

Our family is also deeply committed to the local community. We are the only full-service party rental company in Williamson County and have deep roots in the area. This means we can not only introduce you to the best planners, caterers and venues, but the money you invest with Southern also goes to supporting the local economy. The company gives back often, supporting local events, fundraisers and annual festivals. You have likely seen their float in the annual Franklin Christmas parade or sat upon their furniture at the Heritage Ball. The Southern Events party rental inventory includes an extensive collection of unique and one-of-a-kind party and event rentals - from tables and chairs, modern lounge seating and decor to glassware, linens, china, event flooring and tents. They know the trends, listen to their client’s needs and regularly add new rental items. You can see all the rentals or get in touch to start planning your next celebration through our website.

YOUR Williamson & Robertson Media Group

This perfectly sums up what our business motto and purpose truly is. As a local media company, publishing community magazines both in print and online, we have spent a decade in Williamson County - showcasing the stories of individuals, businesses and organizations that make Williamson County one of the top places to live, work and play, in the country!

Creating a high-end publication ten times a year for a readership and circulation of over 50,000 per issue with ongoing additional audience reads online in the thousands monthly, our brand has revolved around the idea that this is a "Distinctively Southern Place." 

What makes Williamson County unique are the people, places and their stories that we never run out of to share with you. 

In providing hyper-local content along with promoting the incredible and thriving business community through a multi-pronged marketing approach of print - digital - social media and event partnerships, we are able to put your business in the hands of an ideal demographic and potential client each and every issue. Our distribution is complimentary through Williamson County in literally 100's of locations and our online readership and engagement for organization content and ongoing contest, promotions and other Williamson County based news is growing rapidly. 

We know what you want to read about, we know who is important to learn about, and we strive to provide the kind of information that keeps our readers, advertisers and partners engaged in not just a publication but everything we are doing in the community. 

We know what we are talking about and we work hard to provide exemplary service and quality work for our clients. We help them create their own marketing strategies and build packages for advertising that are impactful and as unique as their business is. 

It goes without saying that we love this community and the people that live here. We consistently search for the hero's among us and the businesses alongside us, doing great things and giving back in ways, big and small.