Posted on 06/26/2023 4:47:28 PM PDT by DFG
Crowds of shoppers camped out overnight for the public opening of the world's largest convenience store - a Buc-ee's travel center in Tennessee.
The store, located in Sevierville, is the first business to open at Exit 407: Gateway to Adventure - a 200-acre development owned and operated by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
The new site spans 74,000 square feet, boasts 120 gas pumps, a 250-foot car wash and has 400 full-time employees.
Fans reportedly began lining the streets on Sunday evening ahead of the opening at 6AM on Monday morning.
Local traffic officials previously warned that any new Buc-ee's stores tend to attract a 'miles-long line of cars.'
And news outlet Six on Your Side showed footage of shoppers excitedly hurrying into the store shortly after it unlocked its doors.
Both Tennessee Govenor Bill Lee and Servier County Mayor Larry Waters spoke at the grand ceremony - along with Buc-ee's cofounder Beaver Aplin.
Buc-ee’s director of operations, Josh Smith, told ABC13: 'It’s fun. It’s exciting. There are so many people out here ready to go.
'You got the crowd forming about midnight last night. So, we opened the doors and watched hundreds of people flow into the building with shock on their faces.'
The site is now the largest convenience store in the world, having taken the title from a 68,000-square-foot Buc-ee's in New Braunfels, Texas.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
It is the main road into Gatlinburg.
The only one near me is in Florence, SC and the wait is literally HOURS. My husband said the line snaked onto I-95 from Buc-ees.
I have been once and was in absolute SHOCK!!!!! It was amazing!!!!!
I may have simply missed it, but in the several comprehensive articles I’ve read about this facility I haven’t noticed how much this “gas station” is charging for fuel. (Then again, I’m only on my second cup this morning out here!)
The bread for the sandwiches is cheap garbage. I stopped buying their sandwiches and buy other things like the burritos.
A travel center that size is like a major transportation hub.
My 1st and only. I’ve been 3x. It is unbelievable!! You could dine in the bathrooms
YUP!
They are REALLY proud of their VERY CLEAN (and well designed!) bathrooms!
And their gas pumps are spaced out very well for someone pulling a travel trailer.
Yep, they sure are and rightly so. Apparently the owner designed the bathrooms himself.
Even when using the urinals you have a sense of privacy, which is rare. They’re spaced a little further apart than is typical and they have a substantial
divider wall between them which runs floor to ceiling and sticks out a bit further than the skimpy divider panels at most places. They also have fairly loud (country) music playing in the bathrooms which adds the sense of separation.
As you approach a Buc-ee’s you starting seeing their billboards about 100 miles before you actually get there. They make some pretty clever references to their bathrooms — “Potty Like A Rock Star”, “Your Throne Awaits”, etc. They definitely see their bathrooms as a selling point.
Here’s a Forbes article with some background on the Buc-ee’s “phenomenon”:
Brits do Buckees...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY6KEAI2O9E
I couldn't find anything about this in an online search. Maybe it's buried in their policy somewhere.
I wonder how much of a problem this really is. In 60 years of living, I've never seen a man enter a woman's restroom (unless he was going in to clean it). I'm sure it happens from time to time and when it does, it gets out on the Internet and goes viral. But is this really a common occurrence? I don't think so.
As for children's safety, I would never let a small child enter any restroom unaccompanied anyhow. That's just common sense. Even with my niece, when she was little, I would take her into the men's room and stand outside the stall she was in. Men never have a problem with that and I doubt women have issue with other women taking little boys they are in charge of into the women's room.
I do like the trend that many restaurants and other public places are adopting. Just have individual little bathrooms that can only be occupied by one at a time. You go in there, lock the door behind you, do your business and get out so the next person can come in. Even as a man, I prefer that. I hate going into a men's room just to pee and there's some guy in the stall taking a smelly crap with all the attendant noise. I would also rather have my own space, even if it's a porta-pottie.
Yes but larger and with a more “people of Walmart” in a truck stop vibe.
Thanks for the post and the link.
The Buc-ee’s “phenomenon” will surely generate a lot of competition.
I generally stop at Shell stations when I am traveling to get the $.10 discount.
Used to stop at Flying J, until I got the Shell card.
Will have to see what the Buc-ee’s gas prices are on my next trip.
Is it I-80?
Slovacek’s Bakery in West off of I-35 is much better than Buc-ee’s IMHO, I always try to stop there when I go down to Austin/San Antonio.
” Bathrooms always sparkling clean and always available..”
That is their signature big thing. Not the food or gas price.
You could come close to eating off the bathroom floor. You got a 13 or 15 year old daughter stop at Buc-ee’s at least you will not get a complaint about the bathroom. Then you spend 1 hour + while the women folk wander around the store. Been there done that. I vote for Buc-ee’s.
Their food is hit or miss. Jerky is good and quite a few varieties. Bathrooms are huge and clean. If you like Buc-ee’s, it’s a comforting stop on a long road trip.
One of the best things about Buc-ee’s, at least here in Texas, is that they have forced all sorts of knock-off places, convenience stores, and even plain old gas stations to up their bathroom game. Not saying sparkling-clean, welcoming, and unstinky bathrooms are universal, but you have a lot better chance of finding one now than even just a few years ago. For that, I thank them.
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