Buc-ee’s closes land deal for first Mississippi location

HARRISON COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) - It’s now official! The Menge Ave. exit will be home to Mississippi’s first Buc-ee’s.

The deal closed this week on the 43-acre property. The location is on the northwest corner of Firetower Rd. and the I-10 interchange, right across from a Chevron. And the land owners have another 140-acres available in that area.

No word yet when ground will be broken on the highly anticipated project.

Back in July, Harrison County development leaders announced that Buc-ee’s was set to invest $50 million into its first-ever Mississippi store. The Board of Supervisors then agreed to invest an additional $15 million into infrastructure at the location to help support the 80,000 square foot business.

Improvements will include expanding Menge Ave. from two lanes to five lanes and lengthening the ramps entering and exiting the interstate to handle the expected traffic increase.

Buc-ee’s, which is a Texas-based business, has become a bit of a cultural phenomenon, offering an expansive building stocked full of beaver-themed merchandise. Nestled amongst the apparel and souvenirs, the popular convenience store sells a variety of beef jerky, freshly made fudge and barbecue, as well as its famous beaver nuggets.

The business has several locations in Texas but in recent years has begun expanding throughout the Southeast. The closest location to South Mississippi currently is the Buc-ee’s in Robertsdale, Ala., which can be on I-10 going towards Gulf Shores.