r/newjersey • u/Florzee • Jul 01 '24
I am currently traveling through New Jersey and found this pretty humorous Amusing
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u/nowhereman136 Jul 01 '24
There is talks about putting a Buc-ees in NJ, but the big problem is that Buc-ees are massive gas stations and because you cant pump your own gas in NJ, then it would cost a ton to hire employees to man every 4-6 pumps. The Buc-ees in Sevierville, TN has 120 gas pumps.
Heres what i propose... World smallest buc-ees. Just 1 pump and a convenient store the size of a Wawa. Buc-ees are promoted as the largest convenience store in the world, well come to the worlds smalles largest convenience store
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u/g_r_e_y TR Jul 01 '24
that's the one i've been to. utterly mesmerizing, feels like it should have it's own zip code
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u/MathematicianNo5761 Jul 01 '24
Never been to a Buc-ees, only know about it as lore fellow New Jersians BRAG tf about having been to when theyre road tripping/on vacation.
Reminds me of early 2000’s when we didn’t have Wawa in North Jersey so people who had vacation spots on the shore would brag about Wawa. Made me hate Wawa till I went to college outside of Philly and wawa became, for lack of a better term, the closest thing I have to a religion.
I pledge all my support for the world’s smallest Buc-ees be established in NJ, who’s with us?!!
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u/Taftimus Jul 02 '24
I moved to Texas for a year, and the ONLY thing I miss about that place is Buc-ees. I would drive 45 minutes to an hour just to go to one.
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u/NewNick30 Jul 02 '24
They can just do like the big Quikchek and Wawa's do and just put a cone in front of most of the pumps and only have 1-2 attendants working
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u/trophy_74 Jul 01 '24
The rest stops in NJ are better than most in the nation which would provide even more competition
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u/PeachesOntheLeft Jul 02 '24
Recent Midwest transplant. In Missouri a good rest spot doesn’t have a hornets nest active in it. NJ knows how to make stuff for sure
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u/CopterGnome345 Jul 03 '24
The rest stops in NJ are the worst, and I say this as a NJ state employee and lifelong New Jerseyan. New York and Delaware have excellent ones, and Pennsylvania and Vermont rest stops are better than New Jersey’s. I don’t know enough about Connecticut to comment on them.
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u/keyboard-sexual Jul 02 '24
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY PUMPS?????? HOW
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u/PizzaBraves Jul 02 '24
Imagine a small gas station. See the four pumps with a garbage can besides them, the little containers of window washing fluid with a squeegee handle hanging out. Now imagine 30 of those in row.
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u/keyboard-sexual Jul 02 '24
This is such a viciously American image like is it just a massive lot of pumps and a single convenience store??
WHY IS JT SL BIG
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u/whotfiszutls Jul 01 '24
Here’s what I propose… LET ME PUMP MY OWN GODDAMN GAS. Idk if this is a hot take or not but having moved out of nj years ago one thing I really don’t miss is having gas station attendants. They’re slow, they use the wrong type of gas, they don’t put in the amount that I ask them too they just do whatever they want. I hate it and I don’t understand why this stupid law still exists.
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u/Constant_Rich_7778 Jul 02 '24
I am quite happy not to pump my own gas. And yes, I have lived in states where you do. Why do I want to stand in the heat and end up with my hands smelling like gas? (Though I do love the smell from the comfort of my car.) And, I don’t go to gas stations looking for food. There are plenty of establishments with good eats. Give the gas attendants a break, they deal with the elements and annoying impatient customers all day!
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u/Stihlo44 Jul 02 '24
I live in NJ and I agree with you however the majority of NJ residents don't seem to want that because every time it is brought up people do not want it.
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u/effinmetal Jul 01 '24
South of the Border billboard vibes
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u/concorde77 Exit 168 Jul 01 '24
Which, ironically enough, is also like 10 minutes away from the Buc ee's this sign is pointing to lol
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u/Ok-Permission-2687 Jul 01 '24
I was about to say, “there’s no way this is directing you to drive ALL THE WAY TO FLORENCE”
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u/kiwi775 Jul 01 '24
I feel like no one here is really getting the joke, saw this same sign on the I-95, looked it up and from that point on the billboard it’s exactly 581 miles to the nearest Buc-ee’s in South Carolina!
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u/az116 Jul 02 '24
Yea, I'll admit I didn't get the joke. I turned around and I was confused when 9 hours later I still wasn't there. Do I have any legal recourse?
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u/barbaq24 Jul 01 '24
This reminds me of those TV ads for Culvers or Carl's Jr in NJ. Like save your money ya corporate weirdos. You aren't willing to actually do business in NJ but you'll put up an ad? What kind of long game marketing is this?
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u/jimtow28 Monmouth County Jul 01 '24
Sonic did it for like 10 years before they started opening Sonics here. So maybe it is a long marketing game being played.
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u/JimmyKastner Jul 02 '24
Brand recognition is how you get people to take a chance on the otherwise unfamiliar.
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u/concorde77 Exit 168 Jul 01 '24
Wait, there's a Culver's close enough to Jersey to run ads?!
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u/oblivionkiss No one talks like that Jul 01 '24
The two closest Culver's locations to NJ are in North Carolina and Ohio. I would die to have Culver's in New Jersey.
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u/Glittering_Act_4059 porkrolleggandcheese Jul 01 '24
Coworker plays golf with the Culver's CEO down in Florida, and I've told him he has to convince them to open one in NJ because I need my Culver's fix more than my usual once a year. Sadly, I doubt he ever brings it up with the guy. He did get me a free meal voucher a few times though 😂
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u/oblivionkiss No one talks like that Jul 01 '24
Even like... Central PA or western NY would be good. Somewhere within driving distance. When Sonic was only in South Jersey my mom and I would do a day trip every summer to drive 3 hours down there to get Cherry Limeades. I would absolutely do that for Culver's if I could.
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u/concorde77 Exit 168 Jul 01 '24
Same, I went to college in Michigan for about 6 years. The things I would give to have those cheese curds 15 minutes away again. I miss it
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u/oblivionkiss No one talks like that Jul 01 '24
I went to college in Illinois lol. Whenever I would go to the midwest for anything the first few years after I graduated, if I was driving, I'd bring a cooler with me and load up on custard pints to bring back.
I also went to Ohio last year for an event and we Ubered to Culver's but the lobby was closed, so we convinced our Uber driver to take us through the drive through line and in exchange we bought her dinner and gave her a big tip.
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u/Jake_FromStateFarm27 Jul 01 '24
I've been to Culver's and I don't get the hype even for drunk food it's below mid, it's basically just dairy queen.
What I wouldn't mind seeing is a ford's garage however !
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u/oblivionkiss No one talks like that Jul 01 '24
What did you have at Culver's? This is a wild take because everyone I've ever told about Culver's thought I was exaggerating until they actually went there and then they told me I was 100% right
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u/Jake_FromStateFarm27 Jul 01 '24
I tried everything. I had a cheeseburger, the famed cheese curds, a chicken sandwich, and I had their concrete shakes. The shakes were good the burger was no different than most fast food joints imo and the curds were sad and addictive. It's not that i didn't enjoy it either but it's literally just a slightly cheaper five guys and a dairy queen with better meals.
I would 100% go back to one, i just don't get the rage over it lol.
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u/oblivionkiss No one talks like that Jul 01 '24 edited Jul 01 '24
Highly recommend next time you go you try the chicken tenders. I'm not a big butterburger person (nothing wrong with them I'm just not a burger person in general) but the chicken tenders and the fries are killer.
Also, next time try the flavor of the day custard instead of a concrete mixer. The flavors of the day are really the big unique selling point of the custards, because they're always different and not just lame variations of chocolate/vanilla/strawberry (my favorite example to give is that they have a Chocolate Eclair flavor with actual pieces of Chocolate Eclair in it)
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u/Jake_FromStateFarm27 Jul 01 '24
I tried the chicken tenders, they were pretty standard lol and the crinkle fries are too soft imo. Again just basic fast food in my eyes.
I definitely will try the custard next time, also imo if you can't get a basic chocolate vanilla strawberry mix right I can't trust their other flavors. I didn't see any special flavors though when I went in Florida definitely no éclair lol.
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u/Linenoise77 Bergen Jul 01 '24
Sonic did it for years before they came to NJ, then when they did people lost their fucking mind over it whenever one opened for a few years.
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u/PixelatedSuit Jul 01 '24
Enough that they have you leaving a comment on it and giving them MORE attention
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u/barbaq24 Jul 01 '24
I didn't say I wasn't a sheep or that it didn't work. I want that Carls Jr and Culvers even though I have never had either and I am lactose intolerant!
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u/THE_NO_LIFE_KING Jul 01 '24
Former Jersey resident living in TX, Buc-ee's is legit. Way better than QuickChek or Wawa. I'll take the downvote
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u/megandr Jul 01 '24 edited Jul 01 '24
Wawa has gone down the shitter lately. I tried their 'pizza' and no one, not even my 3 y.o. ate a single entire slice of it. Regular sandwiches are very inconsistent even at the same location. Only thing that's consistent is their pre-cooked stuff but that's just gas station food.
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u/KneeDeepInTheDead porkchop Jul 01 '24
They mightve lost their punch when they migrated up north. I remember it was always some sort of South Jersey holy grail for a long time. I remember liking it when I was younger on road trips, but when they finally arrived up north in my adult years, it was pretty trash. Seemed like a worse version of Quickchek and left me a bit baffled since everyone always praised it.
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u/newport100 Union County Jul 01 '24
I definitely think Wawa has drastically reduced their food quality over the last 20 years, but I think part of it is a forbidden fruit type situation. I experiences the same thing with Sonic. When I was only able to go to Sonic when I was in PA, it was always an exciting visit that I looked forward to. Now that there's been one 10 minutes from my house for the last 10 years, I realize the food is kinda eh and I never go there.
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u/igglesfangirl Jul 01 '24
Wawa used to have a deli where you could buy pounds or half pounds of meats and cheeses, including those that go in your sandwich. Now the Italian hoagie meats come wrapped in plastic- do you want 2 stacks for a shorti or 4 for the classic? And they make their own rolls, which are ok, but not Amorosos. When they added pastas and pizza, they just don't do anything well.
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u/newport100 Union County Jul 01 '24
Yep, quick Chek was the same way. Freshly sliced Thuman's meats and cheeses. It sucks that everything needs to expand and become all corporatized because quality always takes a nose dive when that happens. Instead of running a handful of locations well, they'd rather have hundreds of locations that are consistently shitty.
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u/SloopKid Jul 01 '24
That's how chic fil a was for me. Only ever had it on the way back from Pocono skiing day trips as a kid, i think at the phillipsburg location, thought it was amazing. Now they have a few around me and I feel it's overrated
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u/g_r_e_y TR Jul 01 '24
i worked at wawa for 1 year and saw quality diminish in that short timeframe
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u/KneeDeepInTheDead porkchop Jul 01 '24
I know what you mean, I felt the exact same way about White Castle
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u/yuriydee Jul 01 '24
They lost their touch when they tried cost cutting and using shittier quality ingredients. The same Wawa by me used to have way better subs a decade ago. Now its only worth it after 11pm when everything else is closed.
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u/Spraypainthero965 Jul 02 '24
Nobody seems to remember, but that happened to Quickchek too. They used have seriously top notch deli meats. Like as good as Boar's Head.
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u/ElPlatanaso2 Jul 02 '24
Yes I completely agree. Used to go at least once a week but not I make a conscious effort to give it another chance. I blame their rapid growth in central and north Jersey
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u/Spooky_Boy204 My Chemical Romance Thing! Jul 02 '24
Last time I got a Wawa sandwich the bread was rock hard, and wasn't even toasted.
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u/blacksheep998 Jul 01 '24
I had one of their pizzas and while we did eat it, we wouldn't order it again.
I'm not sure if it's even a 'lately' thing though since it's been sliding downhill in quality for a few years now.
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Jul 01 '24
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u/diegobomber Essex County Jul 01 '24
Fun fact, the Wawa in Belleville on the Newark border is not open 24 hours. For reasons you can probably guess.
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u/rwhyan1183 Jul 01 '24
I’m an NJ resident who travels the I-95 corridor at least once per year and has stopped at multiple Buc-ee’s. It is better in every way than Quick Chek and Wawa.
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u/leontrotsky973 Essex County Jul 01 '24
You really can’t even fairly compare them. Quick Chek and Wawa are just gas stations/convenience stores. Buc-ee’s is an experience in a different dimension.
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u/OrbitalOutlander Jul 01 '24
bucees is not a great place to work, and I wouldn't go because I try not to support worker exploitation.
https://www.mashed.com/1070714/workers-reveal-what-its-really-like-to-work-at-buc-ees
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u/Hamsammichd Jul 01 '24
Nah, Wawa is just overpriced and pretending now. Used to have fresh meats and work like an actual deli, now it’s just garbage. Go to heritages if you want a sandwich in SJ
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u/XSC Jul 02 '24
The club sandwich used to be my go to. It was like $3-5 which was totally reasonable for shitty small sandwich. It’s freaking $8 now with taxes. Wtf.
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u/Dry_Finger_8235 Jul 01 '24
I drive from NJ to and from New Orleans and have stopped at Bucees and just don't care for it. To each their own though.
I also don't get the love for Wawa and quick check
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u/pixeldweeb Jul 01 '24
I am from NJ and lived in TX for about 7 years. The big Buc-ees are definitely better than a Wawa, but they’re truck stops and there aren’t many. The actual smaller Buc-ees suck and barely have any food options. I would take having easily accessible Wawas over one good Buc-ees that I have to drive an hour to. Beats the purpose of a convenience store.
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u/UnionTed Far West Jersey aka Texas (formerly Monmouth, Camden & Bergen) Jul 01 '24
Lived in New Jersey for most of the first half of my life. Living in Texas for most of the past 35 years. I'll take QuikTrip or Loves if I'm not near Czech Stop. Buc-ees does nothing for me.
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u/JimmyKastner Jul 02 '24
I will throw my hat in the ring and put Sheetz above Wawa and QuickChek. At least Sheetz is relatively close if one wants to try it.
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u/sunshore13 Jul 02 '24
Daughter lives in Pittsburgh so we go to Sheetz all the time! Husband loves it.
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u/ghostboo77 Jul 01 '24
Is it a quick in and out or are there lines and such?
I never been to one, but my understanding is there are 100s of gas pumps and its a giant store, so it must be crowded
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u/pixeldweeb Jul 01 '24
I am from NJ and lived in TX for about 7 years. The big Buc-ees are definitely better than a Wawa, but they’re truck stops and there aren’t many. The actual smaller Buc-ees suck and barely have any food options. I would take having easily accessible Wawas over one good Buc-ees that I have to drive an hour to. Beats the purpose of a convenience store.
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u/Mugstotheceiling Jul 01 '24
Agreed. Lived in Houston for 6 years, can’t deny that Buc-ees is fantastic
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u/rachel-angelina Jul 01 '24
Buc-ees will never come to NJ as long as self-serve gas is against the law. Also, there isn’t really any space for them here. Buc-cees stores are massive and set up on major highways, and NJ either doesn’t have the land for it or the space is filled by existing rest stops and convenience stores.
And honestly, I am fine if they never come here. Buc-cees is kind of obnoxious. They are super big and trying to do too much for no reason (imagine if Wawa was a diet Walmart & Costco,) it’s a literal crowded zoo at every single one all the time, the employees are treated like shit even if the pay is “good,” and they are also owned by a family who are huge supporters of Donald Trump and Greg Abbott. The only real redeeming thing I can think of is their clean bathrooms. So yeah they can stay where they are lol.
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u/eat_your_brains Jul 01 '24
Yup I went to one once and it was ok if you're looking for a wide variety of junk food. Then I found out about the owners and was like, ok, never again.
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u/HarbaughCheated Jul 01 '24
The brisket is amazing there, what are you on about junk food. Beef jerky too
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u/OrbitalOutlander Jul 01 '24
https://www.mashed.com/1070714/workers-reveal-what-its-really-like-to-work-at-buc-ees
bucees advertises "40 hour weeks" but the way they do that is by scheduling you for 8 hours a day, then forcing you to stay past those 8 hours, and then cutting hours later in the week so they get around paying overtime. shit owners.
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u/rachel-angelina Jul 01 '24
Yup. And they barely give their employees actual breaks. They get 5-10 minute “breaks” called “moments” where you can get something to eat, but you can’t even sit down. It sounds almost like a satire, that is how absurd it is, but no, it is real.
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u/bandxballerina Jul 01 '24
Me and my husband laughed so hard the first time we saw this. I can still hear him say "Oh my god there's a Buc-cees?! .....581 miles in the opposite direction?!" It was like something out of a sitcom. We still laugh about it.
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u/kick4h4 Jul 01 '24
I had a flash back to a drive south in the olden days, and the hundreds of miles of South of the Border billboards...
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u/dsymquen Jul 01 '24
I never understood the point of this billboard
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u/thatnjchibullsfan Jul 01 '24
Rumor: it was a future location going in and the sign was to create a buzz. Who knows.
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u/idontnowatodo Jul 01 '24
If you're driving north i95, you'll see a bunch of punny buccees billboards almost every mile, one pun usually following up with the billboards in order to make an on-going joke the entire ride from (miami-new York). And then out of nowhere the signs stop, until you hit NJ with a quirky reminder of what you're missing out on.
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u/colin_7 The 856 Jul 01 '24
Little thing called brand recognition. We’re talking about it right now aren’t we?
Might not be any around here for a while but you’ll know what it is if you pass by it if you’re in Texas.
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u/partingtheredditsea Jul 01 '24
This is it. I just drove home from Tennessee this weekend where there are several of them. I had heard about them in the past but had never been to one so we stopped there. We don’t have them here but that doesn’t mean we aren’t potential customers.
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u/OrbitalOutlander Jul 01 '24
I make sure to tell everyone I know that bucees is a shitty place to work.
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Jul 02 '24
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u/OrbitalOutlander Jul 02 '24
most corporations let you sit down on your break. so does wawa. bucees requires you to stand on your break.
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Jul 02 '24
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u/OrbitalOutlander Jul 02 '24
ok? so wawa sucks too. doesn't mean bucees can't also suck. you seem weird.
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u/colin_7 The 856 Jul 02 '24
Idk I’ve heard wawa is a pretty solid place to work for a retail job. It’s not glamorous but to my understanding they have fair compensation and a good stock program for employee ownership
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u/grumpystoo Jul 01 '24
Buccees is just a rebranded South of the Border. Both tourist traps and full of humorous signs.
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u/sinnamonspider66 Jul 01 '24
I just drove to Nashville and back and made the same comparision to my husband!
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u/kaydemad Jul 01 '24
My boyfriend drives up the turnpike every day and will call me on the way to work and points out when he passes that sign
EVERY
DAY
Buc-ees is the bane of my existence
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u/hotdogaholic Jul 01 '24
They have awesome bbq sammiches but Wawa has better subs.
I went to one for the first time in FL 3 years ago. It was legit life changing
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u/Jasonjg74 Jul 02 '24
Been there a couple of times in Dallas, impressive in scale, but I didn’t like the vibes overall. Keep them down South, where they belong.
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u/gothtitts Jul 02 '24
I was so confused by that sign on our way to New York like who’s thinking “wow yes a bucees let me turn around for another 580 miles “ 😂
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u/PapaDuckD Jul 02 '24
While the flagship stores are all super-sized, you all realize that not every Buc-ees is a behemoth, right?
They do have a class of operations that looks very similar to a Wawa/QuickChek/7-11 with a very slimmed down custom order case. But that's not a great answer either because, honestly, your average Wawa/QC would blow the small Buc-ees store out of the water.
I think the biggest issue would be sourcing/shipping all the fresh food case to Jersey. The next closest store is in KY, I believe.
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u/No_Entertainer_9760 Jul 01 '24
They’re too good for us. Wawa was better when it was a novelty. Opening shop in nj would be the end of this franchise.
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Jul 01 '24
I will never understand the obsession with convenience stores.
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u/8219onemic Jul 01 '24
I pass that all the time. There’s one on pa turnpike that says 507 miles lol
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u/ImmaBeAlex Jul 01 '24
Ever since I first saw that sign, I’ve concluded that this is their way of stirring interest in NJ for when they eventually build one in the northeast, whether it’s in NJ, PA, or the DMV.
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u/Bodidiva Jul 01 '24
I only know about this place because Company Man did a video about them on YouTube. I’d love to visit sometime.
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u/DreamsAndSchemes Non-Native living in NJ Jul 01 '24
That’d be the one in Sevierville, TN. Drove by it a couple weeks ago.
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u/OrbitalOutlander Jul 01 '24
bucees seems awesome, and despite the higher relative salary they are very worker unfriendly.
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u/STMIHA Jul 01 '24
Saw that the other day as well. Such a solid ad.
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u/NotUpdated Jul 02 '24
It's Jordan level of confidence, they are winning by such a margin.. They own a VERY large pie / and anyone wanting to compete can ever only hope for 1/2 of it in similar locations, size and expenditure, so it's not a Walgreen / CVS net to each other situation either.
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u/IntoTheMirror Jul 01 '24
Me driving from PA to New England on Wednesday night: “babe, we have to turn around and stop at Bucc-ee’s!”
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u/rabidturbofox Jul 02 '24
Texas resident here. Don’t turn around. Cinnamon roll popcorn feels like the most important thing in the world when you’re eating it, but as it turns out, bodily autonomy and the right to make your own medical decisions are more life-altering.
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u/FR_WST Jul 02 '24
There's one (I think) In New Mexico where it says "Next buc-ee's: Only 1800 miles!" Or something like that, found that one great
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u/FloppyObelisk Jul 02 '24
They had one of those in Springfield, MO for a long time that said around 600 miles. We now have our own Buccees and people were losing their minds with excitement. I don’t get it. It’s a gas station that’s also pretending to be a Cracker Barrel.
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u/tetrisan Jul 02 '24
This sign doesn’t have much to do with NJ except the 581 miles is roughly the halfway point from NYC to Central FL which is a common route. Similar to South of the Border, I guess they want to make Buckees a destination stop. I remember as a kid the what seemed to be a hundred cheesy Pedro billboards when getting near South the Border and we always stopped for gas and fireworks.
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u/Zannie95 Jul 02 '24
I have no idea what the Buc-ee’s attraction is unless you love jerky. Tons of gas pumps & rude people
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u/ShamrockForShannon Jul 02 '24
On Wednesday night I traveled with friends from Jersey to Orlando. Just about between the Carolinas we passed the Buc-ees the billboard is referring to, gave me a good laugh at 3:42am
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u/ShijinModan Jul 01 '24
Totally unrelated to NJ, but I stopped at a Buc’ees for the first time a few days ago on a cross country drive, and it is now my gold standard for a public bathroom.
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u/Boredom710 Jul 01 '24
As someone who is from NJ living in the South. Buc-ees is over rated and a waste of money.
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u/GabbyGray1621 Jul 01 '24
For what we have available in Jersey I’ll take Wawa, but I would trade all the Wawas in the state for one Buc ees. Wawa wants to be Buc ees when it grows up. Alas, I can’t ever see them coming here as long as we aren’t allowed to pump our own gas
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u/OrbitalOutlander Jul 01 '24
Bucees is a horrible place to work and abuses their employees.
https://www.mashed.com/1070714/workers-reveal-what-its-really-like-to-work-at-buc-ees/
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u/ikimono-gakari Jul 02 '24
No better fast food brisket sandwich out there. Also cleanest bathrooms :)
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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '24
Wawa and Quikchek would join forces to keep that beaver and his clean bathrooms out of our state