South of the Border was developed by Alan Schafer in 1950. He had founded South of the Border Depot, a beer stand, at the location in 1949 adjacent to Robeson County which was a dry North Carolina county. Business was steadily expanded with Mexican trinkets and numerous kitsch items imported from Mexico. In 1964 it was announced that the route for I-95 would pass right by and the facility would be next to two exits, within view of the highway