Dive Brief:
- Buc-ees plans to break ground on its largest-ever location, a 75,000-square-foot-plus c-store in Luling, Texas, on Nov. 16, according to a press release.
- In addition to the expected amenities like large, clean bathrooms and a variety of fresh food, the new location will also feature 120 gas pumps, nearly double the number currently on site.
- The new store is replacing the company’s first family travel center, which opened in 2003, at the site just off Interstate 10.
Dive Insight:
Once built, the Luling Buc-ee’s will unofficially be the world’s largest c-store, the announcement stated. The current largest c-store — also a Buc-ee’s — is its New Braunfels, Texas location, boasting 66,335 square feet and 120 gas pumps. By comparison, an average c-store is around 2,500 square feet, and even an average grocery store is around 51,500 square feet.
The current Luling Buc-ee’s stands at about 37,000 square feet, with 64 gas pumps, a spokesperson for Buc-ee’s said in an email.
The c-store is expected to employ at least 200 people, with “starting pay beginning well above minimum wage, full benefits, a 6% matching 401k, and three weeks of paid vacation,” according to the announcement.
Like most Buc-ee’s locations, this new c-store will feature “pristine bathrooms” and the previously mentioned 120 fueling bays, as well as a variety of food, drink and Buc-ee’s-branded apparel. Highlighted food items include “Texas barbeque, homemade fudge, kolaches, Beaver Nuggets, jerky and fresh pastries,” according to the announcement. All locations are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Construction will begin after a short groundbreaking ceremony on the property.
This continues a busy past few months for Buc-ee’s, which opened its first store in Missouri this summer and announced it will be expanding to Colorado in 2024.
Lake Jackson, Texas-based Buc-ees, which was founded in 1982, currently has 43 convenience stores across the South. In addition to its 34 locations in Texas, it also has a footprint in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee and sites under construction in Colorado and Missouri.
