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That's Y'all, Folks

Cooter calling it quits with Dukes of Hazzard-themed shop in Sperryville.

By JOBY N. CUNNINGHAM

Date published: 10/16/2003

Cooter's Place calling it quits

The end of the road is near for Cooter's Place in Sperryville.

The garage-turned-museum for "Dukes of Hazzard" memorabilia near Culpeper has been a destination for fans of the popular television show for five years.

But owner Ben Jones--who played Cooter the mechanic on the long-gone but not forgotten CBS show--said the time has come to close the shop's doors for good.

"We just simply can't give the store the time and energy it deserves," Jones said by cell phone yesterday as he made a pit stop on his way to South Boston. Cooter's Garage Band--which Jones fronts--is scheduled to play at the Halifax County Fair this week. "We're into doing so many other things right now that demand our time. I'm just as busy as I've ever been."

Jones said the shop will close the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

"For sale" signs have been posted in the State Route 211 site's yard, which also has been the stage for another "Dukes" star--the General Lee.

Cooter's has welcomed fans from far and wide to take in music, savor down-home cookin', and check out Dukes memorabilia including cast photos, props and scripts.

And folks have gathered there for the annual Dukesfest. The next one is planned for July 31 through Aug. 1 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.

Although "The Dukes of Hazzard" has been off the air for more than 15 years (it originally aired from 1979 to 1985), folks still can't seem to get enough of it.

Jones said Cooter's has drawn more than a half-million visitors during its time in Sperryville, and it's been featured on a handful of national television broadcasts.

But Jones has been a busy man, and other things are drawing his attention away from the Cooter's counter.

He recently wrote a play on Baseball Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean, which he will present at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. And he and his wife, Alma Viator, opened another Cooter's Place in Gatlinburg, Tenn.

Viator also serves as the international director of Operation Sail, a national nonprofit group that promotes tall ships, and as a public-relations representative for several theater clients.

But she's religiously taken a break from those duties to lend a hand at Cooter's.

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Date published: 10/16/2003