MOUNT CRAWFORD, Va. (WHSV) - After nearly two years of planning, Buc-ee’s has opened its first location in Virginia right off Interstate 81 in Rockingham County.

From the food, to the merch and even the restrooms, thousands of people from the Valley, other states and even other countries traveled to Mount Crawford for opening day of Virginia’s first Buc-ee’s.

The store — located off I-81’s exit 240 — opened its doors at 6 a.m. after many visitors lined up outside the doors in the early hours of the morning. Thousands more cycled in and out of the center throughout the day.

“This is part of my birthday present. My birthday was last week and I said for my birthday ‘I want to come to the grand opening and buy whatever I want,’” one Buc-ee’s visitor said.

“This is worse than Costco on a Saturday morning,” another customer told WHSV.

After nearly two years of planning, Buc-ee’s has opened its first location in Virginia right off Interstate 81 in Rockingham County.

Bringing Buc-ee’s to the Valley

At 10 a.m. Monday, the travel center celebrated the grand opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Notable attendees and speakers included Buc-ee’s CEO Arch “Beaver” Aplin III, Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, Rockingham County Administrator Casey Armstrong and more.

Speaking at the ribbon cutting, Youngkin said he could not miss out on watching the growth of Virginia’s workforce.

“Listen, folks, if you didn’t know it, Virginia’s got job — lots of them. And so all you folks who are from out of state, not only should you move here because it’s the best place to live, work and raise a family, we got jobs for you, so come on and take them, because Virginia is ready,” Youngkin said.

Aplin said expanding into Virginia marks a major milestone for the Texas-based company.

“For those of y’all that haven’t been here, I mean my commitment and promise to you is to provide exceptional experience and exceptional service as you travel down the highway,” Aplin said. “Our job, if we do it right, is to stop as many people as we can off Interstate 81 and have them come here and shop locally.”

When it came to picking the location for Virginia’s first Buc-ee’s, Aplin said they couldn’t think of a better place to build than Rockingham County. Youngkin said that when he spoke with Aplin, he knew getting a Buc-ee’s to Virginia was a big priority to him.

“We looked at all of the interstates up and down, and we have multiple locations we’re working on, but we just felt like this was a wonderful interstate — the hiring the amount of people here, the quality of people here, the visibility on the interstate. As you can see, you can see it coming either way, north and southbound,” Aplin said.

“When you have a chance to recruit a company like Buc-ee’s to come you want to throw your best pitch. Interstate 81 right here was our best pitch. We have a great workforce. We have a great business-friendly environment, and most importantly, we got a lot of people who drive by every day,” Youngkin said. “This became not just a county and local effort, but a statewide effort to recruit. I gotta tell you, it was beautiful to watch it happen.”

Youngkin and Aplin said the Rockingham County location is not the only Buc-ee’s they have planned for Virginia, as they are already looking into more spots around the Commonwealth.