A 74,000-square-foot Buc-ee’s gas station has opened for business near Sevierville, Tennessee. Located along Interstate 40 outside of Knoxville, the rest stop chain’s newest location is the largest refilling spot in the world, featuring 120 fuel pumps, a massive shopping center that doubles as a rest area, and jobs for 350 locals.
Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it’s more than just a place to get gas. With one of the company’s massive beaver mascots shadowing the new location, fresh BBQ, and almost two acres of interior space, it’s a uniquely American tourist destination in and of itself.
It’s natural that the world’s largest gas station is a Buc-ee’s. Since opening its first super-sized rest stop in Texas in 2003, the chain has expanded to several nearby southern states. It currently has 58 locations, mostly in the south, although it has plans to expand to states like Colorado and Wisconsin as well. It’s known for its clean restrooms, relatively high employee pay, and its ban on 18-wheelers, which it says makes its locations safer for passenger cars and pedestrians. Many of its locations also offer ethanol-free gasoline, which is ideal for small engines.
The company’s Sevierville location won’t be its largest for long. A 75,000-square-foot Buc-ee’s is currently under construction along Interstate 10 in Luling, Texas, about an hour south of Austin.
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