More than 200 local municipal and county officials, legislators, business people, and others turned out Wednesday morning for a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Buc-ee’s Travel Center being built in Mebane.
The Mebane site is the first North Carolina location for the Texas-based company. In brief remarks, founder and company president Arch “Beaver” Aplin, III set the tentative opening date for the company’s 70th store as November 2027.
In an interview with The Alamance News, Aplin credited the company’s success to “providing the customer everything they want and things they didn’t even know they wanted.”
Mebane was actually the company’s second choice. Buc-ee’s had originally sought to build a travel plaza in western Orange County, along Mount Willing Road in Efland. The company ultimately withdrew its application for conditional rezoning in early 2021 amid vigorous opposition from neighbors.
Mebane officials soon stepped up to entice the company to build in Alamance County, with an announcement made in 2023.
Seated on the front row and recognized as a friend of the company was Ben Lloyd, who celebrated his 96th birthday yesterday, his son Craig Lloyd noted. It was Lloyd’s Efland property in Orange County which had been the original intended site of the company’s first North Carolina location.
Mebane mayor Ed Hooks, who served as master of ceremonies for the event, described the company as “Disney World with gas pumps.” Hooks commended the company’s commitment to the Mebane community.
Hooks noted that Mebane’s support for Buc-ee’s “honors [the city’s] small town chacter while embracing smart growth.”
Hooks also noted the company’s commitment to supporting local Mebane businesses downtown and otherwise, demonstrating that the city is place where “local businesses thrive along with national brands.”
State representative Dennis Riddell also lauded the company’s decision to place a memorial to First Responders at the entrance to the Mebane location. Aplin later noted during his remarks that First Responders would also be the first customers served as “taste testers” for the company’s signature brisket and Beaver nuggets prior to its opening.
Outgoing state representative Steve Ross noted that Buc-ee’s, with its 75,440-square-foot store and 120 gas pumps, would become the largest generator of sales tax revenue of Alamance County when it opens. Previous estimates have put the sales tax revenue as more than $1½ million annually. The store will also have 24 electric vehicle charging stations and 652 parking spaces.
Ross also noted that the most frequent inquiries his Raleigh office receives are from constituents and others wanting to know “when is Buc-ee’s going to open.”
State senator Amy Scott Galey joined in the festive occasion by sporting a Buc-ee’s tee shirt under her jacket. Galey pointed to the adjacent road, Sen. Ralph Scott Parkway, named for her late uncle, a long-time state senator representing Alamance County.
All three state legislators thanked the Department of Transportation for that agency’s cooperation in planning and subsequent work in widening the roads, exit ramps, and bridge at the Trollingwood-Hawfields exit.
Because the 32.49-acre tract is within the North Carolina Commerce Park established by Mebane, Graham, and Alamance County government, both Mebane and Graham, as well as the county, will share in property tax revenues from the site (which is on the Mebane side of the industrial park) at the entrance to the park.
[Story continues below photos from Wednesday’s groundbreaking.]
In addition to its sales and property tax impact, Buc-ee’s is expected to hire 200 full-time staff for the Mebane location.
When Buc-ee’s rezoning request was being considered in January 2024, the company outlined plans to widen roads in front of its site, add exit ramp lanes on both sides of the interstate interchange to accommodate traffic coming and going from its location, and widen the bridge over I-85/40, at a cost of $6 to $11 million.
The company’s total investment has been put at $60-$70 million. Additionally, during the construction phase of the project, it was estimated 831 people would be employed with an overall employment and other investment of $91 million.
[See other photos and the site plan below.]
