Dive Brief:
- A Buc-ee’s slated for Amarillo, Texas, is finally moving forward after over a year’s delay, according to a report from the Amarillo Globe-News.
- Construction on the $30 million project was expected to begin earlier this year. However, a land dispute delayed the final zoning approval until July 17, according to media reports.
- While Buc-ee’s has increasingly looked to bring its massive c-stores to other states, it has not abandoned its roots in Texas. This store is one of three expected to open in the state in the next few years.
Dive Insight:
The land dispute arose from needing more space to create an easement for a truck exit for a neighboring Speedco, owned by Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores, according to the Globe-News. The original plan for the site would have built over Speedco’s access road.
Buc-ee’s does not allow trucks on its property, saying its parking lots and driveways are not designed for the larger vehicles. The parking lots, the company says, are designated for the comings and goings of car travelers.
The Amarillo site still needs final approval from the city council after being initially approved on Feb. 8, 2022, in a 5-0 vote. This Buc-ee’s is expected to include a 53,000-square-foot store, 120 fueling positions and roughly 150 employees once it’s fully staffed.
Buc-ee’s also has a Hillsboro, Texas, location expected to open next year and one in Boerne, Texas, slated for 2025.
The convenience retail chain has been getting increasing attention lately for bringing its massive shops — some as much as 30 times as big as an average 2,500-square-foot c-store — to a handful of new states. Colorado, Louisiana, Missouri, Wisconsin and Virginia are all currently on the expansion map. The store also brings a wide variety of fresh-made and packaged foods as well as merchandise adorned with its beaver mascot, and features what it calls the “world’s cleanest bathrooms.”
Founded in Texas in 1982, Lake Jackson, Texas-based Buc-ee’s operates 46 stores across Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina.
