Mega convenience store with best bathrooms in America planned for Orange County
A Buc-ee’s Travel Center boasting 120 gas pumps and some of the “cleanest restrooms in America” could be coming to western Orange County, along with at least 400,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and offices.
“On a normal weekend, we’ll see tens of thousands of people coming through,” Buc-ee’s spokesman Jeff Nadalo said. Now, the Texas-based company is “very interested in Efland,” which would be its first North Carolina location, he said.
“In addition to the great location, the local authorities have been very welcoming to us, have been very supportive of our project, and that’s one of the critical pieces necessary in order for us to be able to do one of our large travel centers,” Nadalo said. “We have to have the support of the local community.”
Buc-ee’s Ltd. submitted plans for the Beaver Creek mixed-use development in August. The project is proposed for 104 undeveloped acres north of Interstates 85/40 and east of Mt. Willing Road in Efland, near the Orange County and Alamance County line.
A 64,000-square-foot Buc-ee’s Travel Center — larger than a football field — is the project’s centerpiece and could open by 2022, the company’s application noted. Also included is a 185-foot-long, automated car wash.
A second phase in 2023 could add a 120-room hotel, 8,000 square feet of medical office space, 30,000 square feet of specialty retail space, a 3,500 square foot bank, and 32,000 square feet of casual and sit-down restaurant space. Another 150,000 square feet could provide space for offices and manufacturing companies.
The retail portion is not expected to include larger stores, such as a grocery, the traffic report states. The application notes that roughly 30% of the land would be preserved as open space, and buildings could be up to 60 feet tall. County staff has asked that all buildings be at least 100 feet from neighboring properties and streets.
Still unsettled is whether there will be land for future transit facilities, such as a bus shelter or park and ride lot, and whether the city of Mebane can meet the project’s sewer needs.
Jobs, taxes; meetings planned
Beaver Creek would bring big change for the Efland community’s modest single-family and mobile homes, longtime farms and local businesses. Some residents are concerned how recently opened businesses and local landmarks like Missy’s Grill might be affected.
But for Orange County, the project also could mean over $2 million in needed property and sales tax revenues, helping to shift a little more of the burden of local government off homeowners, who now pay 80% of the county’s property taxes.
The other touted benefit is jobs, the application states, starting with at least 175 employees at the Buc-ee’s Travel Center. The developer did not say how many jobs might be created in the project’s second phase, which would depend on what is built.
The developer has ruled out more gas stations, convenience stores and fast-food restaurants with drive-throughs, but left everything else dependent on market demand for a type of real estate.
The developer expects to meet virtually with neighbors Sept. 16 and with the county’s Planning Board on Oct. 7. The first virtual hearing before the county commissioners could happen in early November.
The commissioners will be asked to approve a master plan and a conditional zoning district, which would let the board negotiate for traffic, lighting and other conditions. State officials will review the plan because it sits in a “High Quality Water” zone.
Once the plan is approved, county staff would review and approve each building as construction advances.
Traffic, road improvements
The main entrance would be across from Ben Johnston Road on the U.S. 70/I-40 Connector Road. Two right-in, right-out driveways could serve traffic on the service road that parallels I-85/40 West along the site’s southern border.
An additional driveway with a stop sign is recommended in phase two for Mt. Willing Road at Turner Road, north of the interstate.
A Kimley-Horn traffic study anticipated over 23,000 trips in and out each weekday, with over 800 drivers an hour stopping by on the evening commute and over 1,200 stopping during peak Saturday hours.
With the second phase of construction, another 4,700 more drivers could enter the site each day, the study showed, including up to 265 drivers an hour on the morning commute and over 330 drivers an hour in the evening.
At least 8,100 vehicles already travel north from the interstate on Mt. Willing Road, the N.C. Department of Transportation reported, and another 5,900 vehicles travel north from the interstate on the connector road.
Kimley-Horn has recommended several road improvements, including removing an I-85/40 West off-ramp at the Service Road and changes to existing turn lanes. Westbound drivers who need to access Mt. Willing Road would take the connector road exit and cross over to the Service Road.
Three traffic lights are proposed for the Connector Road intersections with I-85/40 and with Ben Johnston Road. A traffic light also is proposed for the Mt. Willing Road and Service Road intersection. County staff has asked the developer to also consider a traffic light at the I-85/40 off-ramp onto Mt. Willing Road.
Growing on worker, bathroom standards
Buc-ee’s founder Arch “Beaver” Aplin opened the first store in 1982 in Lake Jackson, Texas, and soon added a partner, vice president Don Wasek. The company’s name combines Aplin’s childhood nickname “Beaver” and the name of his Labrador retriever Buck.
In nearly 40 years, Buc-ee’s has grown to 41 stores in Texas and one in Alabama. It now is looking at Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina, and has 20 more stores in the works, Nadalo said.
The largest Buc-ee’s — at 68,000 square feet — is located in Braunfels, Texas, and holds the record for the largest convenience store in the world. Another store in Katy, Texas, holds the record for the longest carwash at 255 feet.
Buc-ee’s is not a truck stop, company officials emphasized, and customer service and clean facilities are key. In 2012, the company defeated five-star Las Vegas hotels to win the Cintas Corp. award for America’s cleanest restrooms.
Every Buc-ee’s toilet is enclosed in its own room with hand sanitizer and “tooshlights” technology that alerts customers to available stalls, he said. A full-time staff is “dedicated solely to making sure the restrooms are spotless.”
“You just have to see it. It is a pretty spectacular situation,” Nadalo said.
Employees “need to be friendly, hard-working, and conscientious,” company documents noted, and can’t have visible tattoos, body piercings or long hair for men. Smoking and chatting are prohibited. Workdays can be long — up to 10 hours, according to online job postings — with very short breaks and a culture that includes working lunches.
But in return, Buc-ee’s pays a living wage — $14 to $15 an hour is the starting rate for a lower-level job with no experience — and offers health, dental and life insurance, three weeks of paid vacation and a 401(k) program for full-time employees.
They want every customer to have the “Buc-ee’s experience,” Nadalo said, whether it’s a pit stop for gas and snacks or an afternoon browsing themed souvenirs and specialty items. A point of pride, he said, is the Texas Round Up barbecue, made with the company’s signature beef cattle and recipes perfected by eight-time world champion pitmaster Randy Pauly.
“Buc-ee’s sees more customers each year than all of the Disney properties combined,” Nadalo said, “and even with that volume, we’re able to provide a level of service so each customer feels like they’ve gotten a great experience, whether it’s through our freshly baked pastries to our homemade fudge to our really fantastic barbecue.”
This story was originally published September 4, 2020 at 9:07 AM.
