FAYETTE COUNTY, Tenn. (WMC) – The world’s second-largest convenience store is coming to the Memphis area. Buc-ee’s plans to bring food, fuel and entertainment to Fayette County, creating hundreds of new jobs.
The popular Texas-based gas station chain plans to build a new branch on Interstate 40 at Mile 28 near Gallaway, Tennessee.
Just a 40-minute drive from downtown Memphis, it’s a brilliant move for Buc-ee’s, as the location is halfway between Memphis and the Blue Oval City campus in Stanton, Tennessee.
The sleek, oversized gas station is to be built on a 28-acre site along I-40 right next to the Shelby County border.
Memphis Business Journal reporter Stephen MacLeod took a closer look at the official documents and site plans this week.
He told Action News 5 that hourly wages at the new Buc-ee’s range from $17.50 to $38, and the average annual salary is around $45,000.
Buc-ee’s, MacLeod said, is known for its employees’ opportunities for advancement.
“Very good for jobs,” he said. “200 jobs directly from Buc-ee’s. Indirectly, it’s 44. And the Winstead Development, the mixed-use development next door, is expected to bring over a thousand jobs.”
The nearby $100 million Winstead Development could include new apartments, hotels, restaurants and retail stores.
Buc-ee’s in Fayette County would cost $82 million to build. At 75,000 square feet, it would be the second-largest convenience store in the world, along with the new Buc-ee’s in Sevierville, Tennessee, with 80 to 120 gas pumps and 70 restrooms.
It is a gas station for cars only; semi-trailers are not allowed.
And then there’s the food, from world-famous brisket to beaver nuggets. The new Buc-ee’s would be a bonus for travelers. The tax revenue from this project would be a windfall for the local economy.
“Based on Fayette County Board of Commissioners documents,” MacLeod said, “the total economic impact of the Buc-ee’s and Winstead development is expected to be $5 billion over a 20-year period.”
The new site is strategically located halfway between Memphis and Blue Oval City in Haywood County – Ford’s electric truck and battery plant is currently under construction.
The opening of the first Buc-ee’s in the Memphis area is planned for 2026, provided the company clears all hurdles.
MacLeod said Buc-ee’s will appear before the Fayette County Industrial Development Board next Monday, Aug. 12, to ask for approval of a 20-year TIF (tax increment financing).
If approved, the tax incentive would help offset the $17 million cost of building infrastructure, roads, water and sewer lines.
The Fayette County Board of Supervisors approved the project in June.
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