Dive Brief:
- Buc-ee’s received unanimous site plan approval from the City of Benton Planning Commission for its first store in Arkansas on Tuesday, the city’s planner confirmed via email.
- The famously large convenience store chain’s new site would be located off exit 114 of Interstate 30 in Benton.
- Once built, this will represent Buc-ee’s 17th state of operation, as the company continues a multi-year expansion across much of the Southeast and other pockets of the country.
Dive Insight:
While other convenience retailers have added more total stores in the past couple years, few have shared plans to introduce their brand to more of the U.S. geographically than Buc-ee’s.
The chain now has stores open in eight states outside of its home state and plans to open in eight more, with debut sites currently in various stages of construction or approval in Mississippi, Louisiana, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Arizona in addition to Arkansas.
Specifics of the latest site, including the size of the store and the number of fueling positions as well as an estimated construction timeline could not be confirmed by press time. Buc-ee’s sites are usually between 50,000 and 80,000 square feet and have more than 100 fueling positions.
Mapping Buc-ee's store footprint beyond Texas
With a site in Arkansas, Buc-ee’s has now set its sights on almost every state in the American South. This broad expansion has come in just the last five years, starting with Buc-ee’s opening its first store beyond Texas in Alabama in 2019.
The Benton Planning Commission approved the site and utilities plans and landscaping variance requests, though a request about the height of the company’s sign was tabled for future discussion, as originally reported by THV11.
Founded in 1982, Lake Jackson, Texas-based Buc-ee’s operates 47 stores across Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and South Carolina. Its stores have gained notoriety for their large, clean bathrooms, wide array of branded merchandise and proprietary food, including made-to-order sandwiches and fudge.
