Is Buc-ee’s Coming To Western North Carolina?

The World’s greatest convenience store chain is expanding in states across the South and beyond. Are the mountains of North Carolina on the radar?

When I think of things that have taken the South by storm, the list probably starts with General Sherman. Certainly, a close second is Kudzu – the impossible to eradicate vine that devours landscapes like something out of a ’50s sci-fi flick.

But No. 3 on the list? Buc-ee’s, the Texas based convenience store, gas station, Interstate bathroom Shangri-La. Buc-ee’s has a cult following and a “Pinky & the Brain”-like obsession with world domination.

How many Buc-ee’s are there? Tough to say. It seems like a new one is popping up as often as summer dandelions. However, at last count there where 54 open. There’s another 16 on the way – including locations in Wisconsin, Ohio and Arizona. With one already open in Colorado, it seems like Buc-ee’s has broken Southern containment with no end in sight.

Are you telling me places like Indiana, Michigan, Oklahoma, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska wouldn’t flock to Buc-ee’s like moths to the flame? The Midwest should start making banners right now, welcoming their new Beaver overlords.

What is Buc-ee’s?

Chiefly, they are interstate oases. They offer a welcome respite on long road trips where you can stretch your legs, gas up at one of their ridiculous amount of pumps and visit the large and almost always well-kept bathrooms. They’re known for unusually good gas station food and snacks. But they also have a wide variety of Buc’ees themed merch and other Southern favorites.

Come to fill up on gas and access to their top shelf bathrooms, stay for the wide variety of beef jerky, pastries, BBQ, and the delightful Beaver nuggets – which are a little like large Honey Smacks.

Because of the cult following, there’s a strange energy to the place that can also put a little jolt of energy on a road trip pit stop. Mostly they’re fun.

Is there a Buc-ee’s backlash?

Like anything that’s popular these days, there’s always a backlash. You’ve got people who reject anything that’s popular on spec. Some people who are natural contrarians. You’ve got people who live – if you’ll excuse a detour into the vernacular of the youth – to yuck other peoples’ yum. And then you have people – like my step-dad – who have an honest and natural aversion to the inherent chaos you find a Buc-ee’s.

What are people’s complaints? I’ve seen people say Buc-ee’s are nothing but Wal-marts with bigger bathrooms. Or a decent gas station with a Dollar General attached.

First of all, I’m betting that guy has never set foot in a Dollar General in his life. Dollar General is, admittedly not a high-end chain. But when you live in the rural parts of country where a drive to a full-service grocery store can be quite a way, Dollar General fills a real niche. Now that they have freezer sections and produce, they’re a valuable asset in rural communities. With the proper respect on Dollar General’s name, the items at Buc-ee’s are in general terms better than a Wal-Mart or a Dollar General.

I also saw someone say Buc-ee’s had the worst BBQ he’d ever tasted. To which I say this person has not tasted nearly enough BBQ in his life. The food offering at Buc-ee’s – including the BBQ, the pastries, the sandwiches and the burritos and tacos – are legitimately good. Most certainly above almost any fast-food spot you’d find alongside an interstate.

Other complaints are that the bathrooms are not as nice as advertised. Listen, I’ve spent the better part of the last 40 years driving interstates across the South. In the days BB – before Buc-ee’s – the number of times I pulled into what I thought was going to a legit major label gas station only to find out it was a franchise that was managed by someone who learned bathroom maintenance at an outhouse factory is more than I care to say.

We’re talking live geckos, dead snakes and the kind of foulness that Andy Dufresne had to deal with when escaping “Shawshank.” It takes someone who has spent a lot of time on America’s interstates to understand how valuable Buc-ee’s bathrooms are.

Is Buc-ee’s still expanding?

Yeah. As we said above there are at least 16 Buc-ee’s in the works. This includes two in Tennessee – one in Murfreesboro and another in Gallaway, a little northwest of Memphis. Two more are being built in Florida and another in Benton, Arkansas. That feels a little like a shot across the bow.

There are likely more that haven’t been announced. As a former Hoosier with family in the state, I feel like central Indiana, just outside of Indy would be ripe for a location. I also believe West Virginia and Iowa would be prime locations for Buc-ee’s expansion as well.

But is Buc-ee’s coming to Western North Carolina?

Not yet. Buc-ee’s is building its first location in North Carolina. This one is near the town of Mebane, which is located just off I-40 in between Durham and Greensboro. It’s 202 miles from Asheville, which would be the expected location if Buc-ee’s wanted a location in Western North Carolina.

The Mebane location isn’t scheduled to open until late 2026 or early 2027. It seems unlikely anything will be done in Western North Carolina before that construction is finished. Now, the question is whether Asheville would be too close to other Buc-ee’s. The chain seems to like to keep a certain amount of distance from one location to the next.

On the North Carolina side, I think it would be OK. It’s just over 200 miles from Mebane to Asheville. For comparisons, two Georgia locations on either side of Atlanta on I-75 – in Calhoun and Warner Robbins – are about 240 miles apart. Mebane to Asheville would be comparable. Also, Asheville does have two interstates – 26 and 40 – bringing traffic through. Something close to that intersection should provide plenty of traffic.

So, that said, the issue – in my mind – is the Sevierville location. It’s less than 100 miles from Sevierville to Asheville and when I-40 is repaired, it’s not an especially long drive. Would Buc-ee’s build something that close to the Sevierville location? Buc-ee’s has a location on I-40 in Crossville, which is less than 100 miles from Sevierville. Also, Crossville only 114 miles from the Murfreesboro location – but since that’s on another interstate, it might not be comparable.

Are you excited or disappointed about more Buc-ee’s heading to North Carolina? Let us know in the comments!