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Located in the heart of downtown, Junction on 70 is living up to the city's motto of "Positively Charming."

"I think we still have, especially in the downtown area, a very "Mayberry" type feel," said owner Steven Krans, referring to the fictional North Carolina town featured in the classic series The Andy Griffith Show.

Krans opened up the restaurant seven years ago and says his business has grown each year.

"The White Furniture building around here has been a massive direct impact to our downtown traffic and accentuated in the neighborhood on the north side of the tracks," said Krans.

He believes the Orange County side of the city is primed for more development, which is where Jeremy Mercer and his family recently moved to.

"We were in North Durham. We were renting. So we kind of put our heads down. We were saving up through the pandemic and everything. And then we looked up ready to purchase a house and realized that the prices weren't what we thought they were," said Mercer.

As construction crews finish work on homes for Mercer's future neighbors, he explained why his family ultimately chose to relocate to Mebane.

"We were just thinking of the growth potential. That was something that we had in mind when we decided to move out here. I work in Chapel Hill, so just kind of want to still be close, even though I'm remote. So those were kind of the deciding factors for us. And then affordability, of course," said Mercer.

"I think tax rates are much better than our adjoining counties. So that is an incentive for a lot of people, particularly young people, to move and located to Mebane. A lot of the homeowners, one may work in Durham and one may work in Greensboro. And so it's really have been a very popular site for developers," said Mayor Ed Hooks.

There are currently 1,000 approved residential units - and another 1,000 - 1,400 under the city's technical review committee process. However, the city is strict in only allowing 350-400 new units to be built each year, as Hooks lists infrastructure as his top concern.

"We're expanding our wastewater treatment plant and we're working very diligently with the state and with developers to put in the roads that are necessary for these developments," said Hooks.

Mebane is split between Orange County and Alamance County, with Mercer, who lives on the Orange County side, noting his daughter's school is currently overcapacity, another byproduct of the fast-rising population. According to the US Census Bureau, the city's population increased by about 70% between 2010 and 2022, now approaching 20,000 people.

The residential growth has come in the midst of an economic boom in the area. Three specific zones have attracted the bulk of the attention, comprising between them more than 3,000 acres of land: North Carolina Commerce Park, North Carolina Industrial Center, and the Buckhorn Economic Development Zone.

"We have prepared for industrial growth in a lot of ways and on the east side of Mebane, particularly in Orange County, there has been dynamic growth in the Buckhorn area. Years ago, Orange County passed some sales taxes that used the funds to provide water and sewer and infrastructure for industry. And it has taken off with Medline. We've had Thermo-Fisher Scientific. We have an industrial park out there being built with 5,6,7, 800,000 square foot facilities. All the land that is available for sale has been has been purchased and a lot of plans we foresee in the near future to be coming into Mebane. So that is a dynamic part of North Carolina and as a very popular industrial site for industry in North Carolina," said Hooks.

UPS, Thermo-Fisher Scientific, and Sunlight Batteries have plants under construction, while Lotus Bakeries is expanding their operations. Combined, the four companies will invest more than $575 million and create more than 850 jobs.

Hooks acknowledged the rapid pace could be difficult for some long-time residents to face, though emphasized city officials remain committed to the downtown sector, noting it received North Carolina Main Street Program designation for 2023.

"That is a very difficult situation. We have spent a lot of time and a lot of money on our downtown. We have a dynamic downtown and I think those individuals that have been here for the longest keep the continuity of the town," said Hooks.

"We're definitely trying to get involved in the community, in the neighborhood. We got a nice snow cone place that we go to in downtown Mebane, and the kids get involved with the softball and everything this past spring. So it's been an enjoyable experience," added Mercer.

"There's always concerns about infrastructure, but we have a pretty amazing leadership team here in Mebane that is supportive of growth, development, revitalization," noted Krans.

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Texas-based Buc-ee’s is eyeing a different exit off Interstates 85/40 for its popular travel plaza and gas station destinations after being spurned by Orange County in 2021.

The company has filed plans for a 75,440-square-foot store with up to 120 gas pumps and eight diesel exhaust fluid pumps, which can be used in some cars, but also delivery trucks, tractor-trailer trucks and recreational vehicles.

Buc-ee’s usually does not serve 18-wheelers, however.

The Alamance News first reported Buc-ee’s’ plans for the 32.5-acre site at 1447 Trollingwood-Hawfields Road on Wednesday. The planned site is part of the 1,200-acre N.C. Commerce Park.

If approved, perhaps by this fall, major improvements are expected to surrounding roads, including highway ramps and the I-40/85 bridge. A traffic study submitted to Mebane estimated up to 800 vehicles could visit the travel center during peak weekday hours and up to 1,200 on the weekends.

Mebane, Graham and Alamance County have an agreement for the park, which gives each a share of tax revenues and input into water and sewer decisions. Existing tenants include Walmart, Prescient, Cambro and Lidl.

The I-40/85 exit is located between N.C. 119 in Mebane and Jimmie Kerr Road in Haw River, about nine miles west of the Mt. Willing Road site in Efland, where the company previously tried to build its first North Carolina store.

The 2021 plan for Orange County’s 104-acre site would have included up to 400,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and offices. It was expected to create 200 full-time jobs and up to $1 million in local property and sales tax revenues in the first phase.

Hundreds of Orange County residents and the county commissioners questioned the size of the proposal, as well as its potential impact on the environment, traffic and Efland’s rural character and small, local businesses.

The commissioners asked the company to consider a smaller travel center with fewer gas pumps and a 24-foot sign that would meet county rules, instead of the 80-foot sign it proposed.

Stan Beard, director of real estate for Buc-ee’s, responded in a letter following a contentious public hearing that the company was withdrawing its application, because “Orange County is just not the right fit for Buc-ee’s.”

Orange County’s planning department has since approved an 886,240-square-foot light industrial and warehouse project — 85 Forty North Industrial Park — for 304 Mt. Willing Road in Efland.

The Mebane travel center, as proposed, would be 11,440 square feet larger and surrounded by farms and homes.

While Exit 152 generates the least amount of traffic among Mebane’s I-40/85 interchanges, it already has two older travel centers and is located close to N.C. 119, where traffic has exploded in the past several years with the construction of new homes and a new county high school, expected to open this year.

Buc-ee’s project documents said the travel center could open by 2025.

Buc-ee’s founder Arch “Beaver” Aplin opened the first store in 1982 in Lake Jackson, Texas, and soon added a partner, vice president Don Wasek. The company’s name combines Aplin’s childhood nickname “Beaver” and the name of his Labrador retriever Buck.

Buc-ee’s now has 46 stores in Texas, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Florida.

The Alamance County store would be larger than Buc-ee’s largest, existing store in Sevierville, Tennessee. At 74,000 square feet, that store, which just opened, now holds the record for the largest convenience store in the world.

Another store in Katy, Texas, holds the world record for the longest car wash at 255 feet.

The story will be updated.

This story was originally published June 29, 2023, 1:59 PM.

Spurned by Efland & Orange County, co. sets sights on Trollingwood Road exit on edge of industrial park

Buc-ee’s is back, this time with a proposal to build a travel plaza on 32.49 acres along I-85/40, at 1447 Trollingwood-Hawfields Road, which is within Mebane’s jurisdiction.

Headquartered in Jackson, Texas, Buc-ee’s has filed a preliminary site plan with the city of Mebane, seeking rezoning to build a 75,440-square foot store that would have as many as 120 gas pumps and eight diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) pumps.

UPDATE ON SIZE: At 75,440 square feet, the Mebane location would, at least temporarily, become the largest Buc-ee’s in the nation. A 74,000-square-foot Buc-ee’s recently opened in Seiverville, Tennessee, and a 75,000-square-foot site has been announced for Luling, Texas. But all will be eclipsed by an 80,000-square-foot store also on the drawing board for Ocala, Florida.

Buc-ee’s had unsuccessfully sought to build a travel plaza in western Orange County, along Mount Willing Road in Efland. The company ultimately withdrew its application for conditional rezoning in early 2021 amid vigorous opposition from neighbors.

“The site plan is likely to change before the project moves forward to [the] planning board and city council,” Mebane development director Ashley Ownbey told The Alamance News Wednesday. “A Special Use Permit is also required, but we have not yet received that application. A Traffic Impact Analysis was also submitted to the [state Department of Transportation] and city of Mebane…It is still under review.”

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Given the site’s location within the North Carolina Commerce Park, there would be a three-way split in revenues among Mebane, Graham, and the county, if the project is approved, Mebane city manager Chris Rollins confirmed for the newspaper Wednesday.

The site along Trollingwood-Hawfields Road is adjacent to I-85/40 and is technically part of three separate parcels owned by Sarah S. Bradley of 917 Arrowhead Lane in Mebane. The property, which is vacant, spans a combined total of 89.89 calculated acres and has a total tax value of more than $5.2 million, according to Alamance County’s tax department.

Buc-ee’s however, is looking to develop a 32.5-acre portion of the property that Bradley owns, based on materials that the city of Mebane furnished Wednesday to The Alamance News.

Plans submitted in Mebane show 75,440 sq. ft. store, 120 gas pumps

Buc-ee’s earlier plans to build a gas station and retail store in Efland had divided northern Orange County residents into two factions: opponents, who worried about potential traffic congestion and environmental impacts; the proponents had hoped it would bring an estimated 200 jobs paying an average of $15 an hour, which proponents had said at the time was “equal and above the Orange County living wage.”

Opponents later formed a group, called “Voice for Efland & Orange,” circulated a petition that garnered signatures from some 6,000 purported opponents, and lobbied the seven Orange County commissioners to reject the rezoning request. Buc-ee’s voluntarily withdrew its application in 2021.

Buc-ee’s claims to have “the world’s cleanest restrooms,” citing a survey conducted in 2012 by the business supply company Cintas. The company has dozens of locations throughout the Southeast, including in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Tennessee, as well as its home state of Texas.

The newest location opened earlier this month in Sevierville, Tennessee, just over the state line, about an hour from western North Carolina. Buc-ee’s describes that travel plaza – which also features 120 gas pumps – is the first store to open in a planned commercial development called “The 407 – Gateway to Adventure,” according to a news report that ran earlier this week.

For some there is concern, and for others, it's all excitement.

MEBANE, N.C. — Buc-ee the beaver has its eye on the Triad and many are all ears after the proposal was announced that a corn field could become a Buc-ee's.

For some, there is concern and for others, it's all excitement.

The Buc-ee's buzz really started in 2021. That is when Efland was supposed to obtain a travel center, but that fell through.

Makenzie Bollinger lives in Mebane, but grew up in Efland and even works there.

Bollinger said the interstate is what keeps drawing Buc-ees this way.

"Buc-ee's kept saying that the I-85/40 corridor was really their main draw to the Efland exit, just because they can really maximize two main interstates at the same time," Bollinger explained.

She voted against it coming to Efland because she takes that exit every day for work and didn't think the town could handle all the traffic.

Not only that, but she was concerned it would be built on a watershed.

Buc-ee's was considering a 104-acre development known as Efland Station, adding 120 gas pumps, 64,000 square feet of retail space, and add up to 200 jobs that pay a minimum of $15 an hour.

After reaching out to the Orange County Commissioners about why Buc-ee's didn't go through with building the mega-gas station, Chair Jamezetta Bedford said she recalls that the board of commissioners was concerned about the number of gas nozzles in the project.

She said it would have been located in sensitive water areas and there were possibilities of leaks from the nozzles to the cars.

Bedford also said they asked about reducing the number and that's when the applicant withdrew.

Buc-ee's sent a letter to the Orange County Planning Department stating that the area is "just not a good fit," according to our CBS affiliate, WNCN.

Now that two years have gone by, Buc-ees has its eyes on a new spot.

According to the city of Mebane, the potential location for the store would be near Interstate 85/40 in Mebane on 1447 Trollingwood-Hawfields Road.

Bollinger now lives about two minutes from where the new Buc-ees will be. She said she uses this exit daily as well.

Her concern now, the exit won't be able to handle the traffic.

"Right now, Trollingwood, out of all three of those exits, is the easiest one to navigate. Despite having all the distribution centers there and the two travel stations that are there, despite all of that right now, it's the easiest one to navigate. I can't imagine having a gigantic gas station come in there," Bollinger said.

Annette Kimery has lived in Mebane for more than 50 years. She said she's concerned about traffic as well.

She lives close to where the gas station would go. Not only is traffic a concern, but she worries the local gas stations and businesses will go out of business because they already struggle with hiring.

"This exit right now is not horrible, it's tolerable, but with adding something as big as Buc-ee's and as popular as Buc-ee's is, and the traffic and stuff that will come, it's going to get as bad as Mebane Oaks Road," Kimery shared. "We've got businesses here that can't stay open for their normal hours because they don't have the help that they need."

She said there are tons of places that are not able to operate under normal business hours because there's no help available.

WFMY News 2 reached out to Love's and Pilot to hear how they are feeling about the possible addition of the gas station.

Love’s sent a statement saying "Love's has been a part of the Mebane community since 2017 and we’re excited to see growth in the town. We’ll continue to focus on getting customers, including professional drivers, back on the road quickly and safely, setting the bar for customer service."

Others in the community are celebrating the possible addition.

On a Facebook post asking about how people in Mebane were feeling about the news, Sisi Rose said "Think it's a great thing! It will bring more jobs to the community as well as something new for us to enjoy! I'm excited to taste all the Buc-ee's signature snacks!"

Danielle Shepherd said "Cannot wait!!! The jobs alone they will bring are exciting! Plus, BEAVER NUGGETS!!

The Mebane Development Director, Ashley Ownbey, said it is good for the area.

"We know there is a lot of traffic off the interstate," Ownbey shared. "It is exciting to think of Buc-ee's bringing more people to our positively charming city."

All of this is still a fluid situation and anything can happen, but people who live in Mebane hope for transparency.

"My hope is that they listen to the community that they want to build in and listen to their neighbors," Bollinger said.

"If the county does decide to do this, I hope they open up a public discussion to let the community voice their opinions on the pros and cons of having it here," Kimery said.

Mebane officials and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) are currently reviewing a preliminary site plan and traffic impact analysis. Once those are completed; it will move on to the Mebane Planning Board.

The Mebane Planning Board will consider the two requests and make recommendations to the Mebane City Council.

Public hearings will be scheduled before the City Council, and they will make a decision to approve or deny the requests.

If it does break ground, this would become the state's first Buc-ee's.

The hype behind the gas station comes for a few reasons. There are more than 100 gas pumps, their bathrooms are named the cleanest in America, and the gas station is considered the largest one in the world.

Lumos celebrated its launch in Mebane, North Carolina, with a ribbon cutting at the Mebane Historical Museum and co-hosted by the Alamance Chamber. The company's network will provide reliable, high-speed internet service to nearly 100% of homes within Mebane city limits. It will also be the first fiber-optic internet provider for many. (Photo: Business Wire)

HIGH POINT, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lumos, a leading 100% Fiber Optic Internet and Total Home Wi-Fi service provider in the Mid-Atlantic, celebrated its launch in Mebane, North Carolina, with a ribbon cutting at the Mebane Historical Museum and co-hosted by the Alamance Chamber. The company's network will provide reliable, high-speed internet service to nearly 100% of homes within Mebane city limits. It will also be the first fiber-optic internet provider for many.

Across Alamance and Orange County, Lumos is building an infrastructure that will pass nearly 70,000 homes, including those in Mebane, Burlington, Gibsonville and Elon. This expansion results from significant investment by Lumos and grant funding through the N.C. GREAT Program.

“We are excited to launch our service in Mebane and proud to provide coverage for nearly 100% of households within city limits,” said Brian Stading, CEO of Lumos Fiber. “Fast and reliable internet is no longer a nice-to-have, but a necessity. Our 100% Fiber Optic Internet will provide residents with a network advanced and fast enough for their work, school, health, and life needs.”

At the ceremony, Lumos honored East Carolina University student entrepreneur Elizabeth LaFave with a $1,500 grant for her company, Invenire, to work with the Mebane Historical Museum. Invenire is a digital platform that organizes, digitizes and advertises archival content for rural museums and libraries. The platform connects museums with a broader audience, showcasing the internet’s ability to educate and connect.

“Our future goal is for Invenire to be viewed as a digital learning resource reinforcing the importance of small museums and libraries,” said Lafave. “Our partnership with Lumos is a vital building block in our aligned mission for digital equality.”

Invenire will work with the Mebane Historical Museum to digitize its core exhibits to reach more North Carolinians and future generations.

“Today reflects the bridging of time periods for the benefit of Mebane,” said Mayor Ed Hooks. “We have Lumos Fiber bringing cutting-edge fiber optics technology to Mebane, but Lumos is also philanthropically partnering with Mebane Historical Museum by donating the Invenire App. This app will allow our historical museum to continue its mission of collecting, preserving, and exhibiting all manner of Mebane’s cultural and historical past via a new web-based technological approach, thereby making our museum as close to you as the phone in our hands no matter what part of the world we are in.”

To check if Lumos’ 100% Fiber Optic Internet is available at your address, please visit www.lumosfiber.com/builtforthefuture.

About Lumos: Lumos provides 100% Fiber Optic Internet, whole-Home Wi-Fi, voice and streaming services, to more than 225,000 homes and businesses across North Carolina and Virginia. We believe that the possibilities of tomorrow cannot be built on the infrastructure of yesterday. That’s why we’re building a 100% Fiber Optic network from the ground up for families, small businesses and communities, backed by local, expert customer service. An Internet built for that most hopeful of all things – the future. Because whatever the future holds, we make it faster. Learn more at www.LumosFiber.com.