Buc-ee’s won’t open its Alamance County travel center for a few years, but anticipation is high and at least one wacky billboard reminds drivers it’s coming soon to an exit off Interstate 85/40.
Since the Mebane City Council approved the project for 1425 Trollingwood-Hawfields Road (Exit 152) in January 2024, there’s been a lot of planning for the thousands of cars that will be arriving at the destination travel center.
The city is still going through construction drawings, and building permits haven’t been awarded yet, Mebane spokeswoman Kelly Hunter said in December.
As the first Buc-ee’s in North Carolina, the travel center will transform the city’s western edge, which has stayed mostly rural, despite a 14.5% growth in Mebane’s population since 2020. The city has just over 20,000 people.
Most of the growth has been to the east, in Orange County, and on the southern border. The changes along Trollinger-Hawfields Road have been driven so far by millions of square feet in warehouses and distribution centers at the N.C. Commerce Park, including Walmart, Amazon, UPS and Lidl. Another 400,000 square feet is already cleared for industry next door to the Buc-ee’s site.
In December, the city council approved the first shopping center on the northeastern corner of Trollinger-Hawfields Road and I-85/40.
When will Buc-ee’s open?
Not until late 2026 or early 2027.
Until then, Triangle residents can get their Beaver Nuggets fix off Interstate 95 in Florence, South Carolina, or off Interstates 40 and 66 in Sevierville, Tennessee, just north of Pigeon Forge. Late next summer, another Buc-ee’s will open in Mount Crawford, Virginia.
What to expect?
▪ The 74,000-square-foot store will be less than half the size of Mebane’s Walmart Supercenter.
▪ The store will sell local products alongside Buc-ee’s traditional fare, from a wall of jerky to brisket and themed merchandise. An interactive kiosk will introduce visitors to other places they can visit in Mebane.
▪ The 32-acre travel center will be one of the largest Buc-ee’s in the United States, with 120 gas pumps (60 fueling stations), over 650 parking spaces, and 24 electric vehicle charging stations, with the potential for more.
▪ Tractor-trailer trucks won’t be allowed, but two older travel centers with truck stops are nearby.
Sliced brisket sandwiches are a popular item at Buc-ee’s in Florence, SC. Buc-ee’s is the world’s largest convenience store, a Texas-born phenomenon with a cult-like following.
What jobs and salaries will it bring?
▪ Buc-ee’s will hire about 225 full-time workers when it opens and could add more jobs over time.
▪ Typical pay starts at $18 an hour for cashiers, bathroom attendants and warehouse staff. Food service workers can start at $21, with management earning $25 an hour and up.
▪ Full-time employees also get benefits: health insurance, three weeks of paid vacation, and a 401(k).
Buc-ee’s sells fresh-made food, in addition to the usual roadside snacks, like these made to go tacos.
How will Buc-ee’s change the community?
▪ Existing businesses could lose some highway travelers they now serve, but Buc-ee’s will bring more people to the exit, officials have said. About 80% of Buc-ee’s visitors — roughly 5 million a year — travel 50 miles or more to reach a store, company officials said.
▪ It’s already attracting developers. A Koury Corp. project was approved Dec. 3 for land nearby. It will bring 299,565 square feet of retail and restaurants, four standalone outparcel sites, an office and medical campus, and 683 apartments and townhomes.
▪ Duke Health is building a medical office between I-85/40 and the Koury site.
▪ A hotel, retail and office project is under construction now behind the Lowe’s on N.C. 119, which is through the woods from Buc-ee’s. Lowes Boulevard could be extended to connect with Trollingwood-Hawfields Road in the future.
A largely vacant stretch of Trollinger-Hawfields Road in Mebane could be transformed as a shopping center and more businesses and homes are built near the future Buc-ee’s Travel Center, located just across the interstate.
How will Mebane handle the traffic?
▪ NCDOT data showed roughly 10,000 trips a day on Trollingwood-Hawfields Road in 2019. Buc-ee’s could add another 1,000 to 1,500 trips during peak weekday hours, and nearly 2,300 trips at peak hours on Saturdays, a traffic study found.
▪ A project to expand the bridge across I-40/85 and add more travel lanes could start in the spring and take about two years, NCDOT project team leader Brian Ketner said.
▪ Travel lanes could shift during the project to allow work in the medians, but shutdowns and detours aren’t expected, he said.
▪ The project could cost about $38.7 million. Buc-ee’s will pay $10 million of that cost, Ketner said. The state was already planning to do roadwork on Trollinger-Hawfields Road.
Are people excited about Buc-ee’s?
Not everyone. The Texas-based travel center has a loyal following, and some fans make regular treks to grab snacks, take pictures with the Buc-ee’s beaver and experience the award-winning bathrooms, which have dedicated cleaning staff.
However, a petition opposing the Mebane project had over 1,600 signatures and dozens of people spoke against it at public hearings.
Concerns included more traffic, lights and noise; how stormwater runoff might harm nearby Back Creek, which feeds into the Haw River; and how much of the water supply it would use.
The original project, at the Efland interstate exit in Orange County, raised similar concerns. It was pulled after the Orange County commissioners asked Buc-ee’s to consider a smaller plan.
