In Michigan we have the Great Lakes, bumpy cake, Faygo pop and more Coney Island restaurants than you can count...but there is something we’ve always been missing -- a Buc-ee’s convenience store/gas station utopia.
All over America, when motorists need some gas or a bite to eat real quick, they are greeted by the sign of a giant beaver with giant teeth wearing a baseball hat with the word “Buc-ee’s.”
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When you pull into the insanely big Buc-ee’s gas station you can fuel up your car, use their shockingly clean restrooms, buy merchandise with the already mentioned adorable beaver plastered all over and even buy snacks that are named “Beaver Nuggets” or an obnoxious amount of beef jerky. In other words, it is heaven on Earth, yet we do not have one in Michigan.
I thought I would never get the opportunity to enter the pearly gates of Buc-ee’s because I have zero plans to take a 10-hour roadtrip anytime soon, but my luck may be changing thanks to a mysterious billboard that suddenly appeared on I-96 in west Michigan.
Reports of the alleged billboard started to trickle in, and I almost couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw social media posts of it. There, in all its glory, was the Buc-ee’s beaver (does it have a name? If so, let me know in the comments), surrounded by the words “444 miles.”
To quote Jennifer Lawrence from her “Hot Ones” interview, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN??”
Thanks to some people who are better at math than me, the closest Buc-ee’s that is open for business is 444 miles away from the billboard that is located in Lowell, Michigan.
So obviously Buc-ee’s is teasing Michigan motorists that the nearest Buc-ee’s is only 444 miles away. It’s not that long of a drive, right?
Buc-ee’s is keeping their beaver traps shut for now, but people in Michigan (like me) can’t help but speculate if this is their way to get Michiganders ready for an impending announcement.
Despite having a cult-like following of fans, Buc-ee’s only has 48 active locations throughout the country, which just goes to show how genius of a company they are. Their branding, marketing and very, very clean bathrooms turn ordinary Americans into super fans of a gas station.
A Buc-ee’s is opening in Huber Heights, Ohio, which is about a three and a half hour drive from Detroit. There is no opening date yet, but you can expect that people will be driving hundreds of miles just to get the Buc-ee’s experience.
The company teased drivers in New Jersey recently with a very similar sign, yet no plans have been announced of a Buc-ee’s in the Garden State. If this is just a tease to get Michiganders to drive hundreds of miles for beaver-themed merchandise, it’s certainly working! I’ve already texted my group chat of friends asking if anyone is down for a 444-mile roadtrip!
All I can hope is that this billboard is more than just a little tease from the company. Michigan has plenty of motorists that drive up and down the state all year round, so we deserve our very own Buc-ee’s! I want a Buc-ee’s shirt, shot glass, blanket and the Beaver Nuggets!