MEBANE, N.C. (WGHP) — Buc-ee’s could possibly be building its first North Carolina-based store right here in the Piedmont Triad.

According to the City of Mebane, the proposed location would be located on 32.49 acres of land near Interstate 85/40 in Mebane on 1447 Trollingwood-Hawfields Road.

Trollingwood-Hawfields Road is Exit 152 on I-85/40 placing it in a stretch of the highway that connects the Burlington/Graham area and Orange County. The proposed location would be just over 20 miles away from the outer edges of Greensboro.

Buc-ee’s has already filed a preliminary site plan with Mebane to build a 75,400-square-foot store that would feature up to 120 gas gumps.

Aerial view of the area surrounding the proposed Mebane Buc-ee’s site
(Map Data: Maxar Technologies, U.S. Geological Survey, USDA/FPAC/GEO)

The site would be located within the North Carolina Commerce Park and revenues would be split three ways between Mebane, Graham and Alamance County.

Not the first attempt

This is not Buc-ee’s first attempt at breaking ground in the Tarheel State. There was once a proposed store to be built in Efland in Orange County.

That proposal did not come to fruition after a mixed community response. Those who opposed the proposal mentioned concerns about traffic congestion as well as environmental impacts.

The store would have been located near I-40 in between Mebane and Hillsborough, near the area where I-85 and I-40 merge/fork-off.

The proposed travel center would have featured 60 fueling stations at a 57,000-square-foot building. There would also have been a potential phase 2 of the plan that could have included a hotel, restaurants and office space, according to The News of Orange County.

What is Buc-ee’s?

Buc-ee’s is based in Lake Jackson, Texas and currently has 58 locations across the Southeast. There is a store located in Florence, South Carolina that is currently the only location in either of the Carolinas.

There are currently stores in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The chain, which first began expanding outside of its home base of Texas in 2018, has developed a very loyal customer base. Buc-ee’s was ranked as the nation’s second favorite gas station in a survey, according to KXAN.