SMITHS GROVE — Towering over Interstate 65, a baseball cap-wearing beaver sign welcomed motorists to its one-of-a-kind travel center in south central Kentucky for the first time Monday.
Drivers entered the beaver's residence to find an array of gas pumps and a sprawling storefront unlike any roadside stop in the region. There were inflatables, swimwear and pillows bearing the cartoon logo. Even a beaver mascot was in attendance, taking photos with joyful fans.
Buc-ee's, the popular gas station and convenience store chain rapidly expanding in the United States, settled in its smallest town yet — Smiths Grove. About 800 people live in what is usually a quiet community just outside Bowling Green, the city home to the National Corvette Museum and Western Kentucky University.
Monday's grand opening of the new travel center was anything but as hundreds of fans descended on the site on Smiths Grove-Scottsville Road. Among the line of eager customers waiting to enter the store at 6 a.m. was Karina Benitez, a first-timer at Buc-ee's. The pit stop in Smiths Grove was a pleasant surprise for her and her family, as they had no idea they were walking in to a brand new Buc-ee's location.
"We pulled up and I was like, 'Why is there a line? Why are there so many cars?' I wanted to know what the hype was all about and now I've seen it this morning, with all the other people in line," said Benitez, who was traveling from Houston to Columbus, Ohio with her son, mother and step-father.
Benitez said her parents had been to a Buc-ee's near Houston previously, so she pulled up to the Smiths Grove store with some knowledge about the chain's homemade brisket, beef jerky and friendly beaver mascot. She left Kentucky with a carload full of Buc-ee's merchandise, including a blanket, foldable lawn chairs, a stuffed animal and free t-shirts.
The most popular scene inside the new Buc-ee's may have been the "Texas Round Up," where chefs sporting cowboy hats chopped and sliced warm brisket, which they announced proudly by chanting "Fresh brisket on the board!"
Leading the barbecue stand Monday was Buc-ee's head pitmaster Randy Pauly. Pauly, who is based in the Houston area, came to Smiths Grove for two days to ensure the new staff could meet the company's standard for slow-cooked, Texas-style barbecue. New employees were also aided by experienced staffers who had worked at other locations across the country.
"We are constantly looking at the quality because it is the details that matter," Pauly said. "The details that are going to make that chopped brisket taco or brisket sandwich the absolute best, and that's what we are chasing because our guests deserve it."
Pauly, who pitched the "Texas Round Up" concept to Buc-ee's when he joined the company in 2017, said the chant is a central part of the barbecue pit because it shows how Buc-ee's is cooking brisket, pulled pork, turkey and other meats all day, no matter the time of day.
Deborah Yarberry and her daughter, Anna Hall, who are both from Bowling Green, grew to enjoy Buc-ee's brisket and the atmosphere inside the store when they stopped at travel centers in Leeds, Alabama and Richmond, Kentucky. For the grand opening in Smiths Grove, they both wore t-shirts featuring the beaver logo.
"We knew we were going to be here on opening day. We were so excited," Yarberry said, adding she and her daughter had caught up with the news of the store's opening through a Facebook fan page. They planned to buy Buc-ee's coffee mugs and try the fresh tortillas made in house.
Founded in Texas in the early 1980s, Buc-ee's has since grown into a 50-store chain, with at least four more locations set to pop up through 2026. The store in Smiths Grove is Kentucky's second after the Richmond location opened in 2022.
Buc-ee's seems to meet the "everything is bigger in Texas" standard of its home state. At just over 53,000 square feet, the new travel center in Smiths Grove has a wide footprint. Even the spacious bathrooms have earned high marks from road trippers.
The Buc-ee's store in Smiths Grove is staffed with over 200 employees, a company spokesperson said. The company still had some open positions as of Monday, according to its website.
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