Long-awaited Buc-ee’s opens its doors
Published 3:15 pm Monday, June 24, 2024
- After breaking ground in July of last year, the long-awaited Buc-ee’s location in Smiths Grove opened its doors on Monday at 6 a.m. Smiths Grove, with a population of 752 during the 2020 census, is the smallest community in which the Texas-based convenience store chain has opened a location. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on-site at noon Monday, with elected officials, members of the public and staff of the store in attendance.
SMITHS GROVE — “This is American capitalism at its finest.”
That’s what Bowling Green resident Tom Longley had to say as he walked through the doors of Smiths Grove’s new Buc-ee’s, the national gas station sensation that opened its second Kentucky location off I-65 on Monday.
Longley was one of many Buc-ee’s faithful that made their way to opening day. He said he was very happy to have a location in Warren County as he had previously made the trip to Athens, Alabama, just to fuel his fandom.
“My wife thinks I’m nuts,” Longley said.
Julie Calkin and her husband made the over four-hour trek to Smiths Grove from their home in east central Illinois. Calkin, who arrived at the store at around 3:30 a.m., sat out in the parking lot with what she said was “around 100 people” waiting for the opening.
“It makes me feel so good when I drive up and see just a jam-packed parking lot,” Arch “Beaver” Aplin III, co-founder and CEO of Buc-ee’s, said. “That kind of welcoming that we received, I just can’t tell you how good it makes me feel.”
The 53,000 square foot, 120-pump store, which broke ground a year ago, brings store-goers “food, drinks, whatnots and clothing,” Campbellsville resident and Buc-ee’s advocate Peggy Dudgeon said. She made the trip with April Dudgeon, whose visit to the grand opening marked the fourth Buc-ee’s location opening she has attended.
“For this small town, it’s going to bring a lot of revenue and interest in Smiths Grove,” April Dudgeon said. “I’m glad they’re putting them in small towns … not a lot of people know anything about Smiths Grove.”
Store Opening Manager Tim Earley said Smiths Grove is the “smallest town a Buc-ee’s has ever been in” with a population of 752, according to the 2020 census. Earley said that bringing stores to small towns is “something unique to Buc-ee’s.”
“I would think it would be a tremendous boom for the economy (of Smiths Grove),” Aplin said. “If nothing else just the sheer employment, the people that we will hire, the wages we pay … it will be a tremendous boom for the community.”
Aplin said that the new locations bring “200-250 jobs instantly” with wages all the way up to $225,000 for general manager positions.
The opening of the store at 6 a.m. was followed by a ceremonial ribbon cutting for the store at noon. Among those in attendance were Kentucky State Representative Michael Meredith, R-Oakland, and Sen. Rand Paul.
“It’s a beautiful day, I think it went great,” Aplin said of the opening. “I think everybody here in Smiths Grove, Kentucky, and surrounding areas are excited about us.”
