If you have ever taken I-95 just south of the North Carolina border, undoubtedly you have noticed this retro-looking tourist trap -- how could you miss it after the hundreds of billboards leading up to it, starting 175 miles away? WRAL reports (12/20) on South of the Border's interesting story.
The place started as a beer distributor in 1949. Alan Schafer's family business thrived as people traveled from dry counties in North Carolina to fill up on alcohol. [...] With its success, the beer stand evolved into a square-mile-wide, self-sufficient community.
"We're like a city. We have our own fire department and post office," Pelt said.
From the '50s to the early '90s, with the introduction of video poker, South of the Border was a booming business. But in 2009, [...] Many of the structures are in bad condition and the legendary motel, coined Pedro's Pleasure Dome, appears run down and deserted.
Wikipedia also has a page devoted to South of the Border and its many billboards, including this factoid I had forgotten:
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, originally from nearby Dillon, South Carolina, worked for a summer as a poncho-wearing waiter at South of the Border to help pay his way through Harvard.
