Life in the Shadow of Big Beaver

This story is published in partnership with The Food Section.

The corporate marketing team at Buc-ee’s wants you to start thinking about their travel center hundreds of miles before you reach the interstate exit. “Only 262 miles to Buc-ee’s,” the billboards announce. “You can hold it.” 

In addition to their 100-plus gas pumps and interior spaces stretching larger than a football field, the Texas-based company is largely known for its prepared foods and snack offerings: brisket sandwiches, breakfast tacos, chopped beef, fresh-baked kolaches, warm tortillas, fudge, jerky, boudin.

With Buc-ee’s first North Carolina location expected to open in 2027 along I-85 in Mebane, we decided to visit the next closest Buc-ee’s location in Florence, South Carolina. Our destination was not the travel mecca itself. In this part of the South with a longstanding tradition of great gas station food, we wondered, “Are fresh beaver nuggets enough?”  

Photographer Kate Medley, who chronicled gas-station gastronomy in her book Thank You Please Come Again, traveled the region to talk with local store owners to learn how the arrival of Buc-ee’s has affected their business.

Crossroads #2 Becky’s Place

4792 Lamar Highway, Lamar, S.C. 29069

Becky Duke purchased the Crossroads #2 gas station in Lamar, South Carolina, in the early 1990s, renaming it Crossroads #2 Becky’s Place. She quickly made the business decision to phase out gas entirely, and instead focus her resources on hot food, grocery supplies, and other sundry items. “I sell anything that’s legal,” Duke says. This includes holiday decorations, baskets of candy, cleaning supplies, housemade “meat skins,” hoop cheese, and boiled peanuts. But Crossroads #2 Becky’s Place is perhaps best known for breakfast, which they begin serving at 5:30 a.m. The biscuits are made by hand each morning, using lard. When asked about the Buc-ee’s in nearby Florence, and how it has affected business, Duke scoffed. “I know all my customers by name. They’ll never stop coming.”

Eliza’s Vegan Cafe in a Shell station

1832-B W Lucas Street, Florence, S.C. 29501

“My customers say, ‘Freak Buc-ee’s, I’d rather eat healthy,’” says Markeyshi K’Patrick, owner of Eliza’s Vegan Cafe inside a Shell gas station near Interstate 95 in Florence, S.C. Serving burgers made with hand-pattied pea protein, “tunafish” made with mashed chickpeas, and “beef” stir fry made with marinated soy chunks, Eliza’s aims to reach travelers who want an alternative to fast food. When K’Patrick lived in New York, she regularly traveled to South Carolina to visit family, and lamented the lack of vegan offerings along the way.

After moving to South Carolina, K’Patrick started a food truck and named it for her grandmother, Eliza Jenkins. “Grandma was not vegan, but she was a huge fan of healthy eating,” says K’Patrick. “I simply created a veganized version of Grandma Eliza’s most popular recipes.” K’Patrick says her clientele is mostly travelers, most of whom are not vegan. “You could stand here on a Saturday and my dining room looks like the United Nations. People from all backgrounds come to Eliza’s because I know how to season my food.”

Holt Oil

116 Olanta Highway, Effingham, S.C. 29541

Located in a part of Effingham, S.C. that is home to many warehouses, Holt Oil is a gas station that explicitly and enthusiastically welcomes truck drivers. “We serve great food, have clean bathrooms, and allow our truck drivers to park overnight at no cost,” says Holt Oil manager Nikki Browder. This stands in contrast to the nearby Buc-ee’s travel center, which has a policy of not allowing tractor trailers onto the property.

According to Browder, business is soaring at Holt Oil, where they are most known for their brisket, ribs, and barbecue served with an in-house vinegar-based sauce. “We’re just a good old country store,” says Browder, “and that’s what our customers like.”

Tommy’s Superette

320 S Irby Street, Florence, S.C. 29501

“I know my customers,” says Danielle Grant, manager of Tommy’s Superette in Florence, S.C. “When I see them coming through the door, I already know what kind of cigarettes to have on the counter and what kind of hot food to fix. You don’t get that at Buc-ee’s.” Known locally as Tommy’s, this soul food cafe has operated in an Exxon station on South Irby Street for more than twenty years. Open for breakfast each day at 6 a.m., the bestsellers include salmon croquettes, fatback on a biscuit, fish and grits, Roger Wood sausage, and buttermilk biscuits. Lunch includes chicken livers, cornbread, neck bones, how maws, oxtails. “One of my regulars, he comes in every day, pushing a stroller with his dog named Gracie in it,” says Grant. “Gracie likes the Slim Jim’s. When they don’t show up, I know something’s wrong, and I start making calls.”

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