2 weeks Ago
HARDEEVILLE — A new location of an uber-popular, super-sized travel center-convenience store-roadside attraction is coming to the S.C. Lowcountry.
Hardeeville City Council on Nov. 7 preliminarily approved a development that will bring a Buc-ee's off Exit 8 of Interstate 95 near Hilton Head and Savannah. City officials will finalize the agreements Nov.
21. The only other Buc-ee's location in South Carolina is off I-95 in Florence , some 165 miles away. When Buc-ee's arrived, so did development.
This rural SC county is grappling with the growth. The Texas-based chain, with its signature buck-toothed beaver mascot, offers travelers a reprieve in the world's cleanest bathrooms (its claim) and a broad selection of food that includes tacos, kolaches and biscuits as well as Lone Star State-style barbecue, particularly a hefty chopped-brisket sandwich — perhaps to the chagrin of some pork and mustard-based barbecue sauce loyalists. (To be fair, Buc-ee's does have a pulled-pork sandwich, though with a tomato-based sauce.
) Buc-ee's chopped brisket sandwiches are prepared on June 4, 2022, in Florence. Parker Milner/Staff Buc-ee's wants to open in Hardeeville to attract drivers along the southern I-95 corridor in South Carolina, said Scott Ratcliff, the company's director of engineering. They hope to "pull in weary travelers," he said.
Diverging outcomes for Beaufort and Jasper counties' transportation referendums If the daily scene in Florence is any indication, this new location will have no problem doing that. Dozens upon dozens of gas pumps and hundreds upon hundreds of parking spaces are typically filled, sometimes with long waits for the aforementioned bathrooms, food stations and checkout counters — regardless of time or day. No big-rig, 18-wheelers are allowed.
"You're going to bring a lot of benefit to our area," Hardeeville Mayor Harry Williams told Ratcliff during the meeting. Hardeeville officials said the new Buc-ee's location will bring around 200 jobs. The company advertises pay scales from $16 an hour for cashiers and stockers, to $20 an hour for bathroom attendants and more than $100,000 for managers — with the general manager capable of earning more than $225,000.
The store will bring property, hospitality and sales tax revenues to Hardeeville's coffers. Plush Buc-ee's mascots are displayed in the Florence store on Aug. 29, 2023.
Buc-ee's opened its South Carolina location in May 2022, and it is a popular travel stop destination. Macon Atkinson/Staff The build is part of the S.C.
Department of Transportation's effort to revitalize a 10-mile stretch along the interstate, from the Savannah River to just north of U.S. 278, which carries travelers into Jasper County and parts of Beaufort County, including Bluffton and Hilton Head.
Among the improvements are widening the highway from four to six lanes, replacing bridges and enhancing two exits, including the egress where Buc-ee's will stand. This is intended accommodate the traffic that the stop will attract. Fresh roasted pecans, cashews and almonds at Buc-ee's on June 4, 2022, in Florence.
Parker Milner/Staff Buc-ee's still needs to acquire the land from the current owner, navigate the town's permitting process and hire contractors before construction begins. Williams said he expects the rest stop to open in 2028. That will coincide with SCDOT finishing its I-95 improvement project.
SC's second Buc-ee's still a few years and millions in roadwork away The Upstate for years has expected to land a Buc-ee's location off Interstate 85 in Anderson County. That store was reported to open next year. Construction still has not begun.
Buc-ee's founder Arch "Beaver" Aplin opened the first location in 1982 in Clute, Texas. Buc-ee's Holdings Inc. now has 50 locations around the Southeast, with 35 of those in Texas.
Stores are open around the clock and calendar. The company will join a rapidly growing area of South Carolina. Jasper County was recently the fastest growing county in the state, thanks to quickly growing Hardeeville and Ridgeland, and Sun City, a retirement community.
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