Gov. McMaster visits Florence as Buc-ee’s breaks ground on its first SC location
It might seem odd for the governor of a state to attend a groundbreaking for a gas station.
But it’s not just any gas station. It’s Buc-ee’s, an iconic part of Texas roadtripping culture that is now spreading across the country with expansions into Alabama, Georgia, Florida and as of Thursday, South Carolina.
Gov. Henry McMaster and half a dozen other elected officials visited Florence Thursday for the groundbreaking of SC’s first-ever Buc-ee’s gas station.
“It is a wonderful thing what is happening in South Carolina, and we can keep it up with the kind of leadership, we have,” McMaster said referencing recent economic development efforts around the state. “Buc-ee, I got to say, we never closed in South Carolina. We slow down a little bit, but we don’t close. And we’re almost fully back to full speed now. And you won’t have to worry about businesses being closed in South Carolina. We know how to be careful without doing that.”
The gas station, which is also part food court and shopping center, is known most commonly in Texas for having “the cleanest bathrooms” in the state. And that’s not just a self-given title. They’ve literally won awards for it.
The 50,000-square-foot business will share its development site with an expansion of Francis Marion University, the school’s new Fresh Water Ecology Research and Conference Center. Officials said the gas station should be open at the end of next year.
“When I think about what Buc-ee has brought here to our local area, I think about the fact that we have our community leaders working together, but also we have all the makings of a solid foundation that can elevate our city and our country and not only our state to a national level,” said recently elected Florence Mayor Teresa Myers, an alumna of Francis Marion University. “When I look at what we’re doing here today, the significance of this, it shows the ability of the city and the county and the state to work together. I believe that working together, we have more power than we do apart.”
Buc-ee’s will bring many of its favorite foods with it like Texas barbecue (brisket), homemade fudge, kolaches, Beaver nuggets (a sweet popcorn-like snack), jerky and fresh pastries. South Carolina barbecue will be served as well.
And despite typically selling Texas A&M garb in the Lone Star State, Buc-ee’s owner, Beaver Aplin, said there will be plenty of Clemson and Gamecock paraphernalia available.
Aplin said South Carolina reminded him much of Texas, part of why he was excited to expand into the Palmetto State.
“We’re all from the south and I just feel like down to the culture, the foods, even though the barbecue may be slightly different, I think there’s just a lot of things about the culture of the South that travels from Texas all the way up to South Carolina,” Aplin said. “This morning I have grits for breakfast right here. Well, we eat grits in Texas. Yeah. So it’s those kind of things. Not everybody in the country are grit fans, but in the South, we are.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 1:28 PM with the headline "Gov. McMaster visits Florence as Buc-ee’s breaks ground on its first SC location."
