North Carolina’s first Buc-ee’s is no longer just a cleared field and a collection of government approvals. The Mebane project held its ceremonial groundbreaking on June 10, building on the revised opening timeline for North Carolina’s Buc-ee’s debut. Site preparation work actually began in late 2025, so crews have been on the property for months.
The travel center is being built at 1425 Trollingwood-Hawfields Road near Exit 152 from Interstates 40 and 85. That location sits between the Triangle and Triad, giving Buc-ee’s access to traffic from Greensboro, Durham, Chapel Hill, Raleigh and communities throughout central North Carolina.
Plans call for a 74,000-square-foot store with 120 fueling positions, more than 20 electric-vehicle charging spaces and roughly 650 parking spots. Buc-ee’s expects the project to create more than 200 full-time jobs, with reported starting wages of $18 an hour for cashiers, restroom attendants and warehouse staff and $21 an hour for food service workers.
The latest opening timeline
Buc-ee’s currently expects the Mebane store to open in the fourth quarter of 2027, with a company spokesperson identifying November 2027 as the working target.
That is later than earlier estimates suggesting a 2026 or spring 2027 opening. The newer date reflects the scale of the building and the significant transportation work required around the interchange.
Drivers should expect construction activity well before they see brisket sandwiches and Beaver Nuggets. The North Carolina Department of Transportation is widening Trollingwood-Hawfields Road and building a diverging diamond interchange over I-40/85, work that officials expect to finish the summer before the travel center opens. Buc-ee’s is contributing toward the cost of those upgrades.
As always, the November target could move. Buc-ee’s generally confirms an exact grand-opening date only after construction, hiring and final inspections are far enough along to provide confidence.
Why Mebane won
Buc-ee’s originally pursued a site in Orange County, where the proposal encountered resistance and was ultimately blocked. The company eventually selected neighboring Alamance County and secured approval for the Mebane location.
The new site gives Buc-ee’s essentially the same strategic advantage: access to the heavily traveled I-40/I-85 corridor and a position between two large metropolitan regions.
It also places the store west of the Triangle, where it can attract college students, families, commuters and long-distance travelers. The closest existing Buc-ee’s for North Carolina residents is currently in Florence, South Carolina—and Mebane will be roughly 20,000 square feet larger.
At the groundbreaking, CEO Arch “Beaver” Aplin III pushed back on local traffic concerns, arguing that most of the traffic the store generates is already moving up and down the interstate.
Could more North Carolina stores follow?
Buc-ee’s is expanding aggressively, with new travel centers under construction or planned across more than a dozen states. But no second North Carolina property has been formally confirmed, and the company has not publicly named a follow-up market.
Communities along Interstate 95, on the eastern side of the state, would fit the pattern Buc-ee’s typically looks for: heavy long-distance highway traffic, large available parcels and interchange access. That is a reasonable read of the company’s strategy rather than a plan it has announced.
For now, Mebane is the only confirmed North Carolina Buc-ee’s. It is under construction, designed with 120 fueling positions and targeting late 2027. Additional locations may follow over time—but until land or permits surface, the rest of the map remains open.
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