FORSYTH — What has long been a sleepy interstate exit about an hour south of Atlanta will soon enough be anointed American roadside royalty.
The rural I-75 exit in southern Monroe County will sport the crown of a grinning beaver, the symbol of the modern-day, travel-stop meccas known as Buc-ee’s.
Motorists across the country can’t seem to get enough of the Texas retail chain’s sprawling establishments, where gas pumps and snack foods seem endless and restrooms gleam.
The new Buc-ee’s, with a projected opening date of March 2027, was recently approved by Monroe County commissioners. It will be Georgia’s fourth Buc-ee’s, and it will be a bucktoothed behemoth.
At 74,000 square feet, it will be as large as the Buc-ee’s that recently opened along I-95 in Brunswick, and bigger than a pair of 53,000-square-footers on I-75 in Calhoun and Warner Robins.
The new Buc-ee’s at Exit 181 on Rumble Road in Middle Georgia will sit beside the I-75’s southbound lanes, one exit north of the split at I-475, the Macon bypass.
It will be the second Buc-ee’s within a 20-minute drive of Macon. But the new location likely seeks to reel in travelers between Savannah and Atlanta who travel along I-16. Those travelers miss the Warner Robins location on I-75 south of Macon.
The nearest town to the new Buc-ee’s, an unincorporated crossroads along U.S. 41 named Smarr, has a population of 218.
“That was one of the last exits that hasn’t been commercialized (in Monroe County),” said county spokesperson Richard Dumas. “It’ll be different for the people who live in Smarr.”
He said the store is expected to employ about 200 people with a minimum starting pay of $17 an hour.
“It’ll be a good stopping point for people traveling south from Atlanta or north from I-16,” Dumas said.
According to property records, Buc-ee’s recently acquired about 35 acres for the site at a cost of $13.5 million.
As massive as the new location will be, it won’t be quite as big as one in Luling, Texas, which measures 75,593 square feet and, the company says, is the world’s largest convenience store.
Credit: NYT
Credit: NYT
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