Buc-ee's bigness
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I was planning to write a post on this chain of phenomenal gas stations cum country / convenience stores (gives a new meaning to that expression), so was tickled when jhh beat me to mentioning it in this comment.
Several days ago, i visited one in the outskirts of Dallas. As per many things Texas, it was BIG. Outside, it had more than 80 pumps, and inside it had more than 80 cashiers. The store stretched on and on and on, longer than a football field. I felt like I was in a Star Wars space ship cantina. The store-station was equal to ten of our biggest Wawa station-stores, which I treasure. It had a parking lot that accommodated hundreds of cars.
They had an incredible amount of food / snacks and merchandise (clothing, furniture), all sorts of nuts and jerky, fudge, jams, and jellies. They even had cotton candy in various colors and flavors. I headed to the barbecue station ("Texas Round Up") that was smack dab in the middle of the gigantic building and ordered a medium size brisket sandwich. The manager of that section asked if I wanted my meat to be sliced or pulled or a combination. I ordered the latter and said, "May I have cheese on my sandwich?" The big manager replied, somewhat indignantly, but still politely, "We don't put cheese on our brisket". Ahem!
I could have stayed in that Buc-ee's for hours, but it was getting dark, and we needed to get home.
Selected readings
KeithB said,
January 2, 2026 @ 8:19 pm
Never been to one.
However, in Needles, CA there is a billboard with the Buckee's Beaver with an enigmatic "864 miles", which I believe puts it in Amarillo.
Ron Irving said,
January 2, 2026 @ 9:33 pm
I read about Buc-ee's in the Washington Post a little over two years ago
(https://wapo.st/495o1Qa).
We had a trip planned in Texas the following April for the eclipse, so I checked locations and was thrilled to see that we would pass a Buc-ee's on our drive from Austin to San Antonio the day after the eclipse. Our stop exceeded expectations. On our return to Austin three days later, we stopped again. Nine days later (it was a busy month), on a drive from Raleigh to Charleston, we stopped at a Buc-ee's in Florence, South Carolina. It's rare that we are in Buc-ee's country. Yet, one year after that we were in Dallas, with Oklahoma City next. This allowed us to visit the Denton Buc-ee's on the drive up. My wife has had enough, but I'm hooked.
Alas, we have no upcoming trip that will take us near a Buc-ee's. Nor do I see plans for a Buc-ee's opening near Seattle. Sigh.
Here's another WP article, on a new location in Virginia:
https://wapo.st/4aJ3QJ2
Michael Nash said,
January 3, 2026 @ 12:55 am
How is Buc-ee pronounced?