USA: Buc-ee's to open its first Mississippi store

After more than two years of negotiations, the traveler centers chain has plans to expand into a new state with one of its largest sites.

Buc-ee’s chain of travel centers will be expanding its footprint across the United States with the opening of its first Mississippi store. The new center is expected to be located in Harrison County, along the Interstate 10 highway and in line with its expansion from two lanes to five.

Although the company didn’t formally announce it, the news broke out after the closing of the sale for the site where it plans to build the center. According to an interview with Emily McDougall, of Mississippi South Realty, by the news site nola.com, the ground’s transaction was closed last Thursday.

McDougall specified that Buc-ee’s bought 43 acres of a 183-acre parcel on the northwest corner of Menge Avenue and Interstate 10. She also commented that negotiations for the new site have been in the works since July of 2019 and that one of the company’s largest stores will be constructed in the location.

As the chain’s first store in the state, the coming of Buc-ee’s coincides with Mississippi’s Department of Transportation investments to improve the highway’s accessibility for drivers. The plan is to widen it from two lanes to five through the Harrison County Development Commission.

The new store will join the Auburn center in Alabama, one of the most recent announcements by the company last October, which is scheduled to open this year. Buc-ee’s currently has more than 50 locations in Texas, Florida, Alabama and Georgia.