Meet the Owners: The Story Behind Tennessee Cabin Co.
- Nathan DeVries
- Apr 7
- 4 min read
A legacy of hospitality, rooted in the hills of Dale Hollow Lake
Hey there — we’re Nathan and Lee DeVries, the husband-and-wife team behind Tennessee Cabin Co.
If you’ve stayed in one of our cabins, there’s a good chance we’ve already crossed paths — maybe through a guest message, a last-minute delivery, or just a wave on the road. Even if you haven’t stayed with us yet, you might still recognize us. Maybe you’ve seen Captain and Finn hanging out the window, or maybe you remember us from a few years back at East Port Marina.
Either way, we’re glad you’re here — because this place, this business, and this lake have been part of our story for a long time.
Where It All Began — A Life on the Lake
I’m Nathan, and I’ve spent most of my life working on Dale Hollow Lake.
For 17 years, my parents owned and operated East Port Marina, and the whole family was all in. It wasn’t just a summer job — it was our lifestyle. It meant sunburned necks, late-night alarms when storms rolled in early, and fuel deliveries before most people had poured their first cup of coffee.
And somewhere in the chaos — I met Lee.
She worked there too. We started out as coworkers, then became friends, and eventually partners in life and business. We learned how to work through anything together — from backed-up houseboat toilets to holiday weekend fuel surges. It taught us more than just hard work. It taught us the heart of hospitality.
It Was Always About the People
What we remember most isn’t just the work — it’s the people.
We watched families come back year after year. Kids who once wore life jackets now return with boats of their own. Guests who once needed help backing in their trailers eventually became friends — the kind who brought us homemade pecan pie and stopped by each evening just to say hey before heading back to their accommodations.
We witnessed proposals, reunions, birthdays, and sometimes even quiet goodbyes.
That’s the kind of hospitality you don’t learn from a textbook. It’s something you live. And we lived it — for nearly two decades.
What Marina Life Really Looked Like
Of course, it wasn’t always picturesque. Here’s what it really looked like:
Middle-of-the-night marina checks after storms — flashlight in one hand, soaked feet and all.
Boats breaking down in the middle of a guest orientation.
Someone asking, “How deep is the lake?” while we were trying to salvage a half-sunk ski boat.
The ice machine dying on a holiday weekend.
Septic backups an hour before check-in.
Pop-up storms that shattered glass tables — and the whole game plan.
Tornadoes that didn’t just pass nearby — they tore straight through, ripping the marina from shore, sending us racing to check houseboats, and hoping everyone was safe.
We’ve had guests show up right in the middle of chaos — storms, outages, things breaking left and right — and somehow, we stayed calm. We cleaned up, we smiled through it, and made sure they never saw the scramble happening behind the scenes. And every time, we figured it out.
Letting Go — and Starting Over
When we made the decision to sell the marina, it felt like the end of an era — for us and for a lot of the guests who had become part of that rhythm.
We took a breath.
We traveled.
We stayed in cabins, tiny homes, and Airbnbs all over the country. And somewhere between those winding drives and quiet porches, something started stirring in us again.
We missed hosting.
We missed making a place feel special.
We missed the people.
So, we decided to start something new.
The Start of Tennessee Cabin Co.
Tennessee Cabin Co. didn’t begin with a fixer-upper or a long to-do list. It started with three cabins — all part of a single property we bought in one leap of faith.
They were solid. Less than ten years old. Well-built and in good shape. But we knew we wanted to make them feel like ours.
We added our touches, improved the spaces, and opened the doors. Then we were asked to manage two more cabins — ones we don’t own, but care for like we do. And now, we’ve got a few more in the works (hopefully).
We’re growing slow and steady. Intentionally. Personally. And always with our hands in the work.
What We Want This Place to Feel Like
We’re not trying to be the biggest. We just want to be the place you come back to.
We want our cabins to feel like the kind of place you didn’t realize you needed — until you get here and breathe a little deeper.
We want you to:
Drink coffee with no agenda
Watch your dog settle in like he’s been here before
Feel the quiet that you can’t quite explain
And leave feeling like someone actually cared
We don’t want it to be perfect.
We want it to feel real.
Carrying the Legacy Forward
This is a new chapter, but it’s still written with the same idea.
We’re still the ones answering messages, flipping breakers, delivering supplies in the rain, and figuring things out when the unexpected happens. We still believe the best hospitality isn’t about what’s in the welcome basket — it’s about how you make people feel.
We’ve seen what happens when people return to a place year after year. We know the power of a place that becomes part of your tradition.
That’s what we hope Tennessee Cabin Co. can be — a place to return to, again and again.
“Still showing up, still checking on things, still putting our name on it — because it means something to us.”— Nathan & Lee DeVries, Owners of Tennessee Cabin Co.
Up next: What People Think Cabin Life Is… and What It Actually Looks Like tennesseecabinco.com 📧 nathan@tennesseecabinco.com
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