Is Costco Opening A Buc-ee’s Style Gas Station in Grand Rapids?
As a southern transplant to Michigan, there is nothing I miss more than my trips to America's biggest (in size) gas station chain, Buc-ee's. If you've never been inside, this convenience store chain offers everything from brisket to a huge selection of drinks, snacks, clothing and home goods for you to shop while you pump gas.
But unfortunately, the truck stop chain doesn't quite make it to the mitten state. So, we only get to take advantage of their insane selection of things no one needs when we travel south. So, when I saw a recent viral TikTok video that promised we might be getting our own version, I immediately freaked out.
Is Costco opening a competing gas station chain to Buc-ees?
The post from TikTok user Dylan Bickel claimed that Costco would be opening their own large scale gas station chain in the north called "Coco Oasis", which would have a slurpee island and brisket board just like Buc-ees. And the best part? Their first location would be opening in Grand Rapids, Michigan!
But as I started to dig around I realized there was no information about it on their website, social media, or really ANYWHERE on the internet. It turns out, this TikTok influencer is notorious for posting fake news. He has other stories on his page about things like "Manhattan is getting moving sidewalks" and that Chuck E Cheese is changing their name to "Rizzo The Rats".
Obviously, some of his stuff is satire you can't mistake. But this Costco post? Absolutely believable in passing. The only thing that gave it away for me was the "source" at the top, FCFC news, which isn't a station. It's also not the right letters to be one, since all broadcast stations in the US start with W or K, depending on their location. But, I wasn't the only person who was annoyed based on the comments.
So no, we aren't getting a Costco knockoff of Buc-ees here in West Michigan, even though I'm pretty sure it would DOMINATE. It turns out, just like most things on the internet, you should never believe anything that sounds too good to be true.