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Description: Former Stuckeys stand
Location: Intersection of US 231 and I-65
near Remington, IN
Condition: Renovated
Photographed: March, 2001
 Once upon a time, there were
hundreds of Stuckeys outlets all over America. I can remember as a child stopping in to use the restroom, passing shelves full of tacky art, pecan logs, and
being tempted by the smell of greasy french fries. Billboards would announce the shops miles in advance, with their ads for 99-cent breakfast and $2.00 t-shirts.
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Locations of photos.
Click on any to zoom in.
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William Sylvester (Bill) Stuckey opened a small roadside pecan shop in Eastman, GA in 1936. Later
on, his wife began making some tasty treats from extra pecans that weren’t otherwise sold by Bill, and soon people were drving for miles to come get a taste of Stuckey’s. Bill expanded the store and
began offering other unique gifts and toys, and slowly began to franchise the concept to others. During the 1960s the chain underwent a massive expansion, spreading out of the south to open
outlets up and down the newly built interstate system - eventually expanding to over 300 stores. In the days before fast food outlets and gas stations sprung up at every exit, Stuckeys was “The
Stop That Keeps America Going.” An American icon began bloomed.
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 The grey former Stuckey’s.
(Click for larger photo)
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Alas, it wasn’t to last. The chain was merged into Pet, Inc. in 1964 (the same people who made Whitman’s Chocolate
Samplers), and there they languished. Time started passing these stores by, and one by one they started to close. By 1985, only about 75 stores remained open. This particular outlet goes back
to that 1960’s expansion - it is typical of the buildings of that era. It has a tall, peaked roof with a full glass front so that someone pumping gas could see all of the tempting treats
inside. Large vertical windows in the peak let the light in on even the gloomiest day. A “v” shaped awning still covers the place where four gas pumps once stood.
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 Looking through the west windows.
Front door is on the right, dining area in the back.
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The restrooms were in the back left corner as you walked in, forcing you to march past shelves of goodies and knick
-knacks on the way. The whole right side of the store was devoted to dining, with a long counter in front of which one could see your meal being prepared by the grillman behind.
Beyond the usual amazing array of “mexican rugs”, souvenir spoons, rubber snakes and Pecan Logs shipped directly
to the stores, the proprietor would sometimes contract local artisans to resell their crafts. This meant that no two Stuckeys were alike, and one could sample all of the local “flavor” before heading off on the next leg of
their long journey up the interstate, refreshed and wired with sugar.
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 The old kitchen and serving counter in the dining
room side of the long building. The shelves on the floor held fireworks for the last owner.
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After they began to close, many of the stores were sought after for reuse due to their convenient locations next to
interstates. Many became small home-cooking restaurants, and in Indiana, where many fireworks remain legal to this day - huge fireworks emporiums. This particular building’s last tenant was a fireworks store - the red, white
and blue foil fringe used to dress up the place still hangs in tattered pieces on the sides of the eaves. Inside the store the more recent owners added (now faded) streamers, stripped out all of the kitchen equipment, and
left the small office filled with hundreds of unused credit card charge slips. However, the exposed wood ceiling which slopes gracefully to a peak is still beautiful in its own way,
despite the tacky 1970s chandeliers hanging from it.
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 The house behind. It is attached through a storage room between it and the store.
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This particular store has a bonus: a small house hidden behind the building. This happened frequently: the owners of
the Stuckeys stands often lived right behind the building, with each member of the family taking turns “minding the store”. This house was abandoned as well, probably in worse shape inside as
it has been directly exposed to the elements through several broken doors and windows. Inside are 2 bedrooms, a small bathroom, a smaller kitchen and a living room. Some assorted broken chairs and various pieces of junk are
scattered throughout the house - and in the kitchen, a 1970s console TV sits on its side next to a refrigerator. The rest of the appliances, including a microwave and dishwasher are outside
rusting in the field next to the building.
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 The storage room from a missing door on the east side. Door on left opens behind the serving counter, door on right (not shown) opens into house.
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Off the storage room sandwiched between the house and the store is the furnace room, with all of the equipment still
intact. Long wooden shelves - now filled with junk - were no doubt once stocked with extra goodies and food supplies.
The most interesting thing found there was a ticket stub to the Darlington Southern 500 NASCAR race from 1969 and
a selective service registration card for that same year from the local board in Clinton, Tennessee for one Larry M., who had moved to Highland, Indiana by 1976 (from his voter registration card)
. The store itself remarkably clean, with very little broken glass. With a fresh coat of paint, some replacement shingles on the roof and a LOT of cleaning, it could reopen easily.
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 Welcome sight for the weary traveler.
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A rebirth of Stuckeys is underway, however. In 1985, Bill Stuckey, Jr., then a 5-term congressman from Florida, was dismayed by the
state of the chain and acquired it. An existing Dairy Queen subfranchiser (and owner of all franchise rights to Dairy Queens within a half-mile of an interstate!), he used his expertise
to relaunch the chain. He began by opening several Dairy Queen/Stuckeys combination stores, and now he has launched “Stuckeys Express”. This concept allows existing convenience store
operators to carve out some floor space to create a “mini-Stuckeys”, complete with their unique merchandise and the famous Pecan Log. Simultaneously, many of the old stores are being
rehabilitated into new full-service Stuckeys stores.
The future looks bright for this old familiar favorite, though maybe not for this particular store.
Stuckey’s Home Page 
Another Stuckeys Site
Stuck On Stuckeys
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