A New Buc-ee’s in Kentucky May Be Good News for Lindale, Texas Rumors
Texans have a lot of pride in their favorite road trip stop of Buc-ee's. The Texas based company started small with stores along the gulf coast of Texas in the 1980's. In the early 2000's, Buc-ee's started thinking bigger and began working their way north in Texas building the behemoth stores we are accustomed to now. The road trip stops began popping up in Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida with proposed new stores in Louisiana and Colorado coming soon. A new store opening in Kentucky will be in the smallest town yet for the pit stop. Which means that this could be good news for those long running Lindale, Texas rumors.
A Lot of Pride in Buc-ee's from Texans
Buc-ee's is a company that a majority of, but not all, Texans take a lot of pride in. The company began in Texas and is still privately owned by Texas natives. They have restrooms so clean you could eat, or prepare, lunch in them. There are plenty of spots to fill up your car if the tank is empty. You can pick up some of the best snacks like Beaver Nuggets and beef jerky. The constantly rotating t-shirt designs make great additions to any weekend wardrobe. Buc-ee's is a lot of fun.
Often Imitated Idea
Since the company's humble start in the 1980's, they have grown to be an often emulated road trip stop. How many gas stations along the interstate do you see offering great food, a plethora of unique snacks and a bunch of gas pumps? There are a bunch. One example is at Highway 271 and Interstate 20 in East Texas with a Texas Best Smokehouse attached to the Shell station there. Great barbecue mixed with huge selection of sweet treats and you can pick up some cool or vintage art work for your home.
New Store in Kentucky
A new Buc-ee's being built in Smiths Grove, Kentucky will be the second location in the state. It will also be in the smallest town of any of the Buc-ee's locations. Smiths Grove only has a population of 752 (as of the 2020 census). The Buc-ee's will be 53,471 square feet and have 120 gas pumps.
What does this mean for Lindale?
So this is 100 percent speculation but if Buc-ee's can build in a town with a population of 752, Buc-ee's can build in town with a population just over 6,000 like Lindale. I still think the intersection of Toll 49 and Interstate 20 would be the perfect location for a Buc-ee's. But when looking into the land records for Smith County, Buc-ee's does not have any ownership of land in that area.
We'll just keep hoping that Buc-ee's makes the decision to add the popular pit stop to East Texas.