(c) 2010 by Steve Martaindale---
“Do you remember Stuckey’s stores along the Interstates?” I asked my dad Sunday.
He didn’t, but he never traveled an awful lot and I doubt the big Stuckey’s billboards promoting pecan rolls were quite as enticing to him.
Stuckey’s stores are still around, but I don’t believe they are grandiose any more. I certainly don’t notice billboards like the travel store once had.
Next came Love’s ... at least in my experiences. It built itself as a dual-purpose stop, servicing both truckers and four-wheeled vehicles. Love’s seems to still be going strong.
Then Buc-ee’s materialized.
I’ve seen its clever logo – a grinning, cartoonish, buck-toothed beaver wearing a red baseball cap – on signs for a few years now, but never bothered stopping.
The billboard campaign has truly set Buc-ee’s apart, like “Only 262 miles to Buc-ee’s ... You can hold it” or “Ice. Beer. Jerky. All 3 food groups” or “Your throne awaits / Fabulous rest rooms.”
I mean, signs like that make me want to check out the place. Then, an old friend posted something on his Facebook page about the wonders of the store and other people joined in. I must visit Buc-ee’s, I thought. Alas, my travels had not put me near a store at a time I could stop.
Until last weekend.
Following church, I was headed to my dad’s in order to accompany him for his medical checkup Monday morning. The new Buc-ee’s store in Madisonville lay right on my path, so that was my lunch destination.
Sure enough, as promised, the parking lot was huge and I had no trouble finding a spot. I took note, while walking up, of the number of people sitting in their cars, but I didn’t think too much of it.
As I walked in through the side door, a cavernous world of travel shopping spread out before me. Frankly, it was more than I could take in.
There was stuff everywhere, so much that I couldn’t see it because my eyes were constantly moving. I was seeking the food area, however, and was having trouble locating it. There was a long line of deli-type display cases to my left but no ordering line. I couldn’t even find a menu except for something touting specialty drinks.
At the center was the entrance to the store’s Hall of Fame rest rooms.
Yeah, it was nice and the effort to keep things clean was obvious. One thing I really like was dispensers of hand sanitizer mounted everywhere. Maybe that will prompt more guys to clean their hands and help fight against the newest super-scary bacteria beginning to capture the attention of national media.
Back to roaming the store, I passed by the requisite junk food section, including a large selection of items carrying the Buc-ee’s logo. (A friend asked later if I tried the Buc-ee nuggets. I’ll have to find out what that is for my next visit.) An employee, seeking to assist me, advised that I visit the building next door.
There I found all kinds of things, most with an outdoorsy theme, one could justify buying ... but I didn’t.
Back to the main store, I was determined to find something to eat. That’s when I saw, across from the deli counters, a row of computer terminals. Above was a sign listing a rather small menu. Oh, I’m supposed to place my order on the computer.
Once I ordered a barbecue sandwich and got a receipt noting my number, it occurred to me why so many people were in their cars. There wasn’t anyplace to sit down and eat. In fact, they gave me my order in a bag and I paid for it at the checkout counter on my way out of the store.
Think of the space they saved doing that.
Bottom line ... it was a fun stop, kind of like a roadway amusement park without the rides, but it still comes down to the basics: gasoline, food and clean rest rooms, just like Buc-ee’s predecessors.
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(c) 2010 by Steve Martaindale
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