Suburbs

There’s no doubt that there is a lot of anticipation for the future arrival of Buc-ee’s in Fayette County on the edge of Shelby.

Folks are excited about having the monster of highway convenience stores within driving distance. In most cases around these parts, the Buc-ee’s backers have to drive 25 or 30 miles out of the way to cross into the Buc-ee’s orbit around the country.

This week, reporter Michael Waddell provided an update on the timetable for construction, which could begin by the end of the year.

As I said in April when the announcement was made that the beaver would build at Gallaway just east or Arlington, the excitement was off the charts. A giddiness usually reserved for only big Grizzlies wins or an NCAA win for the Tigers.

While the customers were overjoyed with the upcoming arrival, their excitement probably has to be miniscule compared to that of Bobby Winstead.

You see, Winstead is turning a turf farm into a financial fiesta. He owns — or did own — the land just off Interstate 40 that Buc-ee’s decided was the nice location for their business on the road to BlueOval at Exit 42 in Haywood County.

I don’t know Winstead at all, and certainly not enough to ask about his personal business. But just logically, I would imagine Buc-ee’s buying Bobby’s tract had to mean a nice payday.

According to a profile of Winstead written in 2019 by Waddell, the turf farmer has dealt in sod and various other lawn carpets since 1978, when Winstead helped a friend grow grass on a small farm in Lakeland. That was about 11 acres to start, and had grown to more than 1,000 acres of Winstead Turf Farms.

That was five years ago. Now 27 acres is destined to transform from an open field on the northeast corner of Interstate 40’s exit 28 to a location that lured Buc-ee’s.

In Waddell’s profile, Winstead talked about growing Bermuda grass, zoysia, fescue and bluegrass. The various turfs were used for redoing golf courses, converting sports fields from artificial turf to natural grass. Enhancing home lawns. But I’ll bet even someone as innovative as Winstead could not have imagined when he planted that field that it would grow into the destination point of travelers across the Southeast.

Still, for the locals anxious to get their beef jerky, gas and brisket sandwiches at Buc-ee’s, just remember this, if you live in Midtown or even East Memphis, you’re still going to drive 20 miles or so out of your way to get there. - Suburbs editor Clay Bailey

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