OPEN FOR BUSINESS! CROWDS FLOCK TO THE OPENING OF THE ‘WORLD’S LARGEST CONVENIENCE STORE’ – A BUC-EE’S TRAVEL CENTER ALONG BUSY TENNESSEE INTERSTATE

• New Buc-ee’s store in Sevierville has been dubbed the world’s largest convenience store
• The shop is situated at Exit 407: Gateway to Adventure – a 200-acre Cherokee Indian development
• Fans reportedly camped out overnight for the public opening on Monday  

Crowds of shoppers camped out overnight for the public opening of the world’s largest convenience store – a Buc-ee’s travel center in Tennessee.

The store, located in Sevierville, is the first business to open at Exit 407: Gateway to Adventure – a 200-acre development owned and operated by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. 

The new site spans 74,000 square feet, boasts 120 gas pumps, a 250-foot car wash and has 400 full-time employees.

Fans reportedly began lining the streets on Sunday evening ahead of the opening at 6AM on Monday morning.

Local traffic officials previously warned that any new Buc-ee’s stores tend to attract a ‘miles-long line of cars.’

And news outlet Six on Your Side showed footage of shoppers excitedly hurrying into the store shortly after it unlocked its doors.

Both Tennessee Govenor Bill Lee and Servier County Mayor Larry Waters spoke at the grand ceremony – along with Buc-ee’s cofounder Beaver Aplin. 

Buc-ee’s director of operations, Josh Smith, told ABC13: ‘It’s fun. It’s exciting. There are so many people out here ready to go.

‘You got the crowd forming about midnight last night. So, we opened the doors and watched hundreds of people flow into the building with shock on their faces.’ 

The site is now the largest convenience store in the world, having taken the title from a 68,000-square-foot Buc-ee’s in New Braunfels, Texas.

But the Sevier site will only briefly hold the title of the world’s largest convenience store before it is overtaken by a 75,000 square foot Buc-ee’s planned in Luling, Texas.

Buc-ee’s is a Texas-based company founded in 1982 which now has super travel centers all across America. 

The store is most famed for its ‘beaver nuggets’ – a crunchy, sugar-coated corn nugget sold in bags. 

It also boasts of being home to the ‘cleanest restrooms in America.’

It is hoped the latest store in Sevier County will attract more visitors to the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Fox54 reports that the new store is set to attract 15,000 new car trips every day – prompting some criticism from local residents. 

The interchange already handled around 23,000 trips on an average day prior to opening.

Real estate developer Matthew Cross, CEO of OE Experiences, previously fold Fox54: ‘The intersection at 407 ‘fails’ design standards currently under peak traffic events. 

‘One Buc-ee’s opens, the intersection will fail much more frequently – even under average traffic conditions.’

The Buc-ee’s forms part of a whole entertainment district at Exit 407 – a $250 million immersive experience owned and operated by Kituwah, a subsidiary of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.