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Buc-ee's gas station breaks ground north of Dallas, in Melissa

No need to stockpile Beaver Nuggets for next winter — the Buc-ee's travel center location in Melissa has broken ground. Buc-ee's hopes to be done and ready to open in about a year.

The convenience-store chain, recently named the No. 1 gas station in America by Gas Buddy, broke ground at the northeast corner of Highway 75 and Davis Road on Monday.

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News of the Melissa Buc-ee's first broke in early 2017, with reports saying construction was planned to begin around May or June of that year. There was a delay, however, in getting a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which controls a mitigation area on the property. Buc-ee's had to work with them on a site design that would ensure the area was protected in a way the would meet the Corps' approval.

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"This is exciting for our community. It's been a long time coming," says Melissa City Manager Jason Little. He's optimistic that the arrival of the Buc-ee's will attract not only visitors, but other businesses. "Buc-ee's attracts 10-plus thousand people a day, and for people to stop there gives a lot of traction and interest in the adjoining properties and the corridor of 75 in general, because people are going to stop, and if they stop once, why wouldn't they stop for something else?"

Stan Beard, Real Estate Director for Buc-ee's, says that they are still very early in the construction process, but that such projects usually take about a year to finish. This would mean the Melissa location will open in or around Feb. 2019. It will still be a little while before you see bulldozers out there, he says, but "It's started, and we won't be finished until we're selling Beaver Nuggets.

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"I want to give thanks to the city," Beard adds. "They've done a really great job, Jason and his folks. They have been and continue to be a pleasure to work with."

Why do people love a gas station so much? Famously clean restrooms, tasty snacks, tons of fuel pumps and an adorable beaver mascot, for starters. It's a rest stop that is appropriately Texas-sized.

In terms of the D-FW area, Buc-ee's is also expanding to a Denton location, which is on track to open this year. There are also locations in Fort Worth and Terrell. Here are 5 things to know about that Fort Worth location, which could help you prepare for the others.

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Updated at 3:11 p.m.: This story originally said that the hope was to open the Melissa location by the end of the year. Buc-ee's now tells us that a Feb. 2019 date is more likely.