Dive Brief:

• Buc-ee’s is targeting western Tennessee for its next supersized c-store, according to a Facebook post from Tennessee State Senator Page Walley.
• The site, off Interstate 40 in Gallaway, is expected to include a 74,000-square-foot store, 120 fueling positions and more than 175 full-time jobs, according to the post.
• This would be the fourth store from the destination c-store in Tennessee, making it one of Buc-ee’s most popular states outside of Texas.

Dive Insight:

While Buc-ee’s is expanding its footprint into more than a dozen states, there are a few that have become particularly important for the company. Tennessee’s total of four planned or operating Buc-ee’s locations ties it with Florida and Alabama.

“Big news for Fayette County and our region,” Walley wrote in the post. 

Other sites in the state include Crossville, which opened in 2022; Sevierville, which opened in 2023; and Murfreesboro, which is expected to open later this year. No opening date was listed for the Gallaway site.

Buc-ee’s, which is known for its clean bathrooms, fresh barbecue and array of snacks, attracts customers from a wide geography, with 50% of the more than 5.2 million yearly visitors expected to come from outside the state and 80% from outside the county, according to the announcement Walley posted.

It also pays very well, with starting wages between $17 and $19 per hour. In a recent ranking by Business Insider, using data from employment website Glassdoor, the convenience retailer ranked fifth for the highest entry-level wages among retailers in the U.S.

“We are very pleased that the Gallaway project is taking shape in the planning and permitting processes,” Stan Beard, Buc-ee’s Director of Real Estate and Development, told local news station WREG. “We’ve still got some work ahead of us, but Buc-ee’s is continuing its process toward making Gallaway our first home in West Tennessee.”