A North Carolina Buc-ee's Gets Closer To Becoming Reality

two travelers pose with the famous Buc-ee's mascot as Buc-ee's new location in Arkansas is announced

Two travelers pose with the famous Buc-ee’s beaver mascot. Buc-ee’s new location in Arkansas will be one of the largest.

Debbie Nance

My family and I love Texas-based Buc-ee's superstore convenience stop and fuel pump megaland. And, it looks like a North Carolina Buc-ee's is getting closer to becoming a reality. A few months ago we learned about the famous chain eyeing a possible spot in Mebane for a North Carolina Buc-ee's.

Well, according to CBS17, Buc-ee's submitted a site plan for the North Carolina store. The site in question is 32 acres at the corner of Trollingwood-Hawfields Road near Interstate 40/85. However, while some folks welcome the convenience of the larger than life Disneyworld of gas stations, others have concerns.

So, we visit the Florence, South Carolina Buc-ee's regularly. It's right along our route between Myrtle Beach and our home. And, anyone familiar with Buc-ee's knows the main selling point is the award-winning clean bathrooms. They definitely live up to the hype. Buc-ee's is a destination for travelers looking to refresh and refuel.

And, the number of fuel pumps astounds and amazes. Many locations have up to 120 of them. So, there's never a wait even though the place is always buzzing. Plus, go inside and you don't know which way to look first. Of course, you have to try the bathroom experience. In the ladies' rooms, there are attendants constantly tidying up. And, during busy times they direct traffic leading people to empty stalls as they become available. The stalls are solid door rooms with personal hand sanitizing stations in each one.

Then, you have to shop! Anything you need from clothing to house decor to groceries, charcuterie snacks, baked goods, homemade fudge and jerky Buc-ee's has it. And, you have to have the brisket. They cook, slice and and chop it up right in front of you. Then, they wrap it up in fluffy buns or wraps and serve it warm. I feel like I barely scratched the surface. But, once you go, you know.

So, we'll keep our eye on the progress of what happens with a possible North Carolina Buc-ee's. For more, see the full story.

What Are the Most Popular Barbecue Restaurants In North Carolina?

If there is one thing you can say about North Carolinians it's that we LOVE our BBQ. There are different styles, different meats of choice, and different sauces. But we do it all well. And no the term barbecue should never refer to the outdoor cooking of hamburgers and hotdogs- that's a cookout for your northerners. There are so many incredible barbeque restaurants in North Carolina, it's hard to say what the best is. And that's honestly a personal preference. Your choice may be different than mine which may be different from your coworker's. But while we can't objectively tell you the best barbecue restaurants in North Carolina, we can tell you the most popular.

Did you know that May is National BBQ Month? It is and in celebration, our friends at BetCarolina used Google Trends to determine the most popular barbecue restaurants in North Carolina. The data used in this analysis is from May 1, 2022-September 6, 2022. And there is a dominant winner that's right here in the Queen City. It's one that many celebrities choose to dine at when visiting Charlotte. And funny enough, when we told you about the best Charlotte BBQ Restaurants (per TripAdvisor) last year, it was also the winner. So even with different methods, it's still coming out on top.

Keep reading to see which that is, you'll also find the best Charlotte BBQ Restaurants list at the end of this one. You can read BetCarolina's full study and analysis here.

5. Buxton Hall BBQ (Asheville)

Location: 32 Banks Ave, Asheville, NC 28801

Search Volume: 2%

4. Skylight Inn BBQ (Ayden)

Location: 4618 Lee St, Ayden, NC 28513

Search Volume: 3%

3. Switzerland Cafe (Little Switzerland)

Location: 9440 NC-226A, Marion, NC 28752

Search Volume: 4%

2. Red Bridges BBQ (Shelby)

Location: 2000 E Dixon Blvd, Shelby, NC 28150

Search Volume: 8%

1. Midwood Smokehouse (Charlotte & Raleigh)

Location: View all Carolina locations here

Search Volume: 83%

The 15 Best Charlotte North Carolina BBQ Restaurants

Here in North Carolina, we love our barbeque. And we do it well if I may so so myself. There is no shortage of fantastic restaurants across the state and the Queen City is no exception to that. But if you only can eat at one which should you choose? While I have my favorite (and it didn't make this list near the top), I decided to turn to the public for their thoughts on the matter. A quick search on TripAdvisor led me to a list of 30 Charlotte BBQ restaurants. It included chains, multiple locations of some, the heavy hitters, and some I hadn't heard of before. For this list, I took the top 15 restaurants (combining anywhere that had multiple locations).

Trip Advisor compiles these rankings based on average rating and number of reviews. Therefore you will see a couple of places that are ranked higher with a slightly lower rating. This means they probably had a higher number of higher-rated reviews. I have to say for the most part I do agree with this list the top 3 didn't surprise me at all and I feel could have been ranked in any order. What's your favorite of the many Charlotte BBQ restaurants?

15. Let's Meat Kbbq

Address: 1400 S Church St, Charlotte, NC 28203-4114

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Reviews: 31

North Carolina Buc-ee’s Gets Closer To Becoming Reality

My family and I love Texas-based Buc-ee’s superstore convenience stop and fuel pump megaland. And, it looks like a North Carolina Buc-ee’s is getting closer to becoming a reality. A…

Debbie Nance

What Are the Most Popular Barbecue Restaurants In North Carolina?

5. Buxton Hall BBQ (Asheville)

4. Skylight Inn BBQ (Ayden)

3. Switzerland Cafe (Little Switzerland)

2. Red Bridges BBQ (Shelby)

1. Midwood Smokehouse (Charlotte & Raleigh)

The 15 Best Charlotte North Carolina BBQ Restaurants

15. Let's Meat Kbbq

14. Sweet Lew's BBQ

13. Bubba's Barbecue

12. Smithfield's Chicken 'N Bar-B-Q

11. Bill Spoon's Barbecue

10. Bobbee O's BBQ

9. The Q Shack

8. City Barbeque

7. Noble Smoke

6. Bar-b-q King

5. Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q

4. Sauceman's

3. Mac's Speed Shop

2. McKoy's Smokehouse and Saloon

1. Midwood Smokehouse

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