Buc-ee’s has continued expanding beyond Texas as the travel-center chain adds large-format highway stops across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. In South Carolina, that expansion now points to two more projects beyond the Florence store that opened in 2022.
Hardeeville has the clearest second-site path
South Carolina currently has one open Buc-ee’s, the Florence travel center at 3390 North Williston Road, which Buc-ee’s announced would open on May 16, 2022. That store remains the company’s only operating South Carolina location, and Spectrum News reported this month that the Florence site is a 53,000-square-foot outlet that continues to draw interstate travelers.
The clearest next project is in Hardeeville. WTOC reported on November 7, 2024, that Hardeeville officials announced a new Buc-ee’s travel center as part of a broader I-95 area development plan. The Hilton Head Island Packet separately reported that Hardeeville City Council gave an initial green light to a 46.2-acre development known as Hardee Station, which includes a Buc-ee’s.
City documents add another layer of confirmation. A memorandum posted by the City of Hardeeville states that the Planning Commission recommended the project on September 18, 2024, and later council materials described incentives and transportation improvements tied to bringing Buc-ee’s into the city.
The second project is in Anderson County, but it is not ready to build
The other South Carolina project is in Anderson County, where local officials have spent months discussing what would be the first Buc-ee’s in the Upstate. FOX Carolina reported on June 10, 2025, that Anderson County Administrator Rusty Burns said the interchange work needed for the project carries a roughly $60 million price tag, with only $6 million committed at that point, including $1 million from Buc-ee’s and $5 million in federal funding secured by Sen. Lindsey Graham.
FOX Carolina followed that report on June 24, 2025, saying the Anderson County project had stalled because the county was still waiting to become eligible to seek help from the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank. That means the Anderson County site is still alive in public statements, but not yet at the construction stage.
What is not publicly clear is an opening date for either project. Hardeeville officials have tied the local timeline to larger roadwork near I-95, and Anderson County leaders have said funding for traffic upgrades remains unresolved.
Road access and traffic work are driving the timeline
The central issue in both projects is transportation infrastructure. In Hardeeville, city officials have linked the Buc-ee’s site to a wider effort to improve Interstate 95 access, including nearby work involving Highway 17 and U.S. 278. The Hilton Head Island Packet reported Mayor Harry Williams said related widening and signal projects led by the South Carolina Department of Transportation were expected to be completed by 2028.
In Anderson County, the constraint is more direct. Burns told FOX Carolina that the county needs tens of millions of dollars for interchange improvements before Buc-ee’s can move forward. In that reporting, county officials made clear that the store itself is not the only cost driver; the surrounding traffic network must be upgraded to handle the expected volume.
That fits a broader pattern for Buc-ee’s expansion. Recent approvals in other states, including North Carolina’s Mebane project, have come with large site plans, major fuel counts and roadwork discussions, underscoring how these travel centers are often as much infrastructure projects as retail openings.
What South Carolina drivers should expect next
For now, Florence remains the only place in South Carolina where customers can stop at an operating Buc-ee’s. The Florence site has functioned as a major I-95 stop since its May 2022 opening, and local Florence records describe the store as one of the city’s top utility customers, a sign of its scale and sustained traffic.
Drivers in the Lowcountry should watch Hardeeville as the state’s most advanced second-location project, because local approvals and city agreements are already on the record. Upstate residents should view Anderson County differently: officials have continued to speak positively about the project, but they have also said road funding must be secured before work can begin.
The practical takeaway is simple. South Carolina has one Buc-ee’s open today, one more with a documented municipal path in Hardeeville, and another proposed Upstate site in Anderson County that remains dependent on transportation funding and state-level infrastructure decisions.