Doors at 6 A.M., ribbon at noon: Murfreesboro's Buc-ee's gets its opening day. For more than a year, the corner of Elam Road and Joe B. Jackson Parkway has been a construction story: dirt, concrete, a crane or two, and a steady parade of curious drivers slowing down on I-24 to look. On Monday, Nov. 16, it becomes a destination. The Buc-ee's travel center at 3355 Elam Road opens its doors at 6 a.m., and a ribbon-cutting follows at noon. The ceremony is set to include Murfreesboro Mayor McFarland, Rutherford County Mayor Allen and members of both the Murfreesboro City Council and the Rutherford County Commission, a fair sign of how much local weight this project has carried since ground was broken on Oct. 15, 2025. Murfreesboro first told you the store was aiming at a November opening; that target has now hardened into a date, a time and a guest list. What is actually being built. The numbers are the first thing anyone mentions. The building is about 74,000 square feet, sitting on roughly 47 acres, with 120 fueling positions out front. That makes it less a fill-up stop than a small village with a canopy. Inside, the company's calling cards are all accounted for: Texas barbecue, homemade fudge, kolaches, fresh pastries, jerky and the chain's signature Beaver Nuggets snack. Buc-ee's also bills its restrooms as the cleanest on the road, a claim that has become half the brand's reputation and the reason some travelers plan their stops around it. Jobs and pay. The company says the Murfreesboro store will employ more than 250 people. It describes starting pay as well above minimum wage without giving a figure, and lists full benefits, a 6 percent 401(k) match and three weeks of paid vacation. Closing hours had not been announced at the time of writing. A Texas story with a Tennessee address. Buc-ee's began in 1982 and is still headquartered in Texas, where most of its stores are located. The company counts Murfreesboro as its third Tennessee location, and it sits right off one of the busiest interstates in the state. Getting there without losing your morning. Opening-day crowds are the obvious question mark. The good news is that the roads around the site have been rebuilt for exactly this moment: three new traffic signals now control the intersections at Elam Road, Butler Drive and both I-24 ramps. Even so, anyone who has to be somewhere else on Monday morning should leave extra time, and anyone who wants a quiet first look may want to wait a few days for the novelty to settle. If you are planning a weekend around the opening, or hosting out-of-town family who will insist on seeing it, book your stay early, since opening week is likely to bring extra visitors to town. The short version: Monday, Nov. 16. Doors at 6 a.m. Ribbon-cutting at noon. 3355 Elam Road. Photo: a Buc-ee's travel center storefront.

Buc-ee's plans to open 12 new stores through 2028, a spokesperson told FOX Business. Each location employs around 250 people, which makes one store a major hiring event for a small county. The travel centre chain lists a starting wage of $20 an hour for cashiers, warehouse workers, maintenance staff, and stockers. Indeed estimates the average US gas station worker earns about $15, so Buc-ee's pay is about 33% higher, or $800 a week before taxes. Planned sites include San Marcos, Texas; Benton, Arkansas; and Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The chain is also moving into Midwestern markets such as Kansas City and Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Nearby fast-food, grocery, and convenience employers may have to raise pay or lose staff.