An intriguing billboard has captured the attention of drivers along Interstate 96 in west Michigan.
The sign, bearing the mascot and logo of the Buc-ee’s chain of convenience stores, reads only "444 miles" causing many people to wonder.
We’ll do the math for you. From Lowell, Michigan, traveling 444 miles will bring you to Richmond, Kentucky, which is the nearest Buc-ee’s location.
But is the popular business, with its cult-like following, teasing us about a future Michigan location? Some are speculating that the billboard is an elusive way to put the state on notice of an impending Buc-ee’s.
“I hope it means they are planning a store in Michigan,” one Facebook commenter posted.
When similarly mysterious Buc-ee’s billboards recently appeared in New Jersey, a state without any Buc-ee's locations, company spokesperson Jeff Nadalo told the Asbury Park Press the signs were meant to “get people to think about Buc-ee’s between here and wherever they’re going.”
So if you have a trip south planned for this summer, perhaps a stop in Richmond is in the cards.
Stores are also planned in Huber Heights, Ohio and DeForest, Wisconsin, although opening dates have not been announced. The Huber Heights location would be a roughly three-hour drive from Detroit.
An e-mail seeking comment from Buc-ee's was not immediately returned.
The popular mega convenience store attracts visitors from hundreds of miles away, seeking out their popular Beaver Nuggets, brisket sandwiches and jerky. And be sure to check out the bathrooms, which are apparently the cleanest you'll find anywhere.
The Buc-ee's website lists 48 locations across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Colorado and Texas.
Here are some things you should know about Buc-ee's.
Bigger than your average convenience store
Buc-ee's stores can be more than 70,000 square feet, retail analyst Burt Flickinger III said.
That's the size of about two Whole Foods supermarkets, said Jeff Lenard, a spokesperson with the National Association of Convenience Stores.
"Beyond the restrooms, the conditions and standards for the stores are also best in the USA," Flickinger said. Buc-ee's also doesn't mess around when it comes to gas pumps, with space to accommodate 120 pumps at some locations.
It's not boring. It's an experience.
The parking lot's the size of a mall parking lot, where it's not unusual to take some time to walk to the door. At the entrance, there's a statue of Buc-ee, the company's beaver mascot. When you're inside, you can take a picture with Buc-ee, too.
In a traditional convenience store, you'll find food and stuff you to consume immediately. Walk into you a Buc-ee's and you might find a $1,500 gas grill for sale. The shopping possibilities are endless.
And then there's the bathrooms
Like the gas pumps, there's a lot of them. For instance, in the men's room, there may be three dozen urinals and just as many stalls.
Oh yes, and the food
Brisket sandwiches, a wall of beef jerky, roasted nuts, tacos, sausage, wraps, kolaches and a line of soda dispensers.
"It's food theater," Lenard said. "It's a lot to take in. You just have to be ready for it. If you want dull and quiet, you want to keep driving."
More to know about Buc-ee's
David P. Willis of the Asbury Park Press contributed to this report.
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Contact Elissa Robinson: erobinson@freepress.com.
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