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Stuckey’s Pecan Log Roll online wallpaper in gold

Easily identified on the open road by its trademark sloped teal blue
roof and store filled with candy, novelty toys, kitschy souvenirs, cold
drinks, and hot snacks, Stuckey’s soon became a popular destination for
the entire family and an integral part of the post-WWII automotive
travel experience.

Marketing by Observation

Stuckey was a self-taught, hard-working observer, according to his
granddaughter, Stephanie Stuckey, the company’s current CEO. “He
laid out his stores to make sure that people were shopping and spending
money on candy and souvenirs. He deliberately had limited seating in
his stores and had a snack bar type of set-up to encourage people to
walk around and buy more things.”

so good that the following year, Stuckey was able to turn his roadside
stand in Eastman into a brick-and-mortar store. The year after that, he
lls opened another store in Unadilla, Georgia, and then in Hilliard,
Florida with each Stuckey’s making its own candy on-site, making
them popular roadside attractions along interstate highways. John
King, Stuckey’s faithful companion on the road, was also able to own
his own Stuckey’s store, which was not very common in the segregated
South. When integration in the South was still years away, black tourists
planned their travels so they could use restrooms at Stuckey stores.

Vintage image from
inside a Stuckey’s

According to an interview on the “Build Your Success” podcast with
Stephanie Stuckey, who has been everywhere on social media since
buying back the family business, her grandfather had made two basic
observations about human nature that he applied to his business:
“people would always walk in off the street to use the restroom and they
would be enticed by what they saw and so they might very well make a
purchase.” As a result, he designed his stores with a wall full of candy
Very early Stuckeys exterior leading to the restrooms.
“He would also plan where to put his next store simply by having
Expansion was the plan, as Stuckey saw the opportunities in some coffee and then driving until he felt like he needed to pull over to
automotive tourism travel but World War II forced him to put those use the facilities. This was a simple but scientific method.”
plans aside and, in fact, shutter most of his stores opened during this Stuckey’s vision for his company also extended to what is today
early expansion. Stuckey managed to stay afloat during the war by known as vertical integration to keep his costs in check. He owned
buying a candy-making factory in Jacksonville, Florida, and securing his own trucking company, sign painting company, distribution
government contracts to make candy for the troops. center, and candy plant – assets that allowed him better financial and
After the war, automotive tourism travel exploded with new operational control over his business, products, and branding.
interstate highways and an economic movement to get Americans into
a car and out on the road to see and experience their country. With Stuckey’s Souvenirs
these long-distance road trips came the need for more roadside stops
and attractions along the way. To meet that need, Stuckey’s began a Stuckey’s roadside popularity naturally lent itself to Stuckey’s
rapid expansion, adding new franchises along major highways, often branded souvenir items for sale, an opportunity not wasted on Stuckey,
paired with Texaco gas stations. By 1964, Stuckey’s had over 160 whose stores were stocked with kitschy souvenirs and novelty gifts.
stores in operation, mostly in the south, with hundreds more planned Stuckey’s branded items, from postcards—showing the numerous
for the decade. Stuckey’s locations that lined the highways of America from coast to

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