Starting next month, the world’s largest Buc-ee’s will be in Luling, Texas, replacing the current largest Buc-ee’s in Sevierville, Tennessee. However, they may not have much time to enjoy their title: an even bigger one is coming to Florida next year.
The cult-favorite Texas-based chain of gas stations, convenience stores and tourist attractions likes to make things Texas-sized.
The new store is more than 75,000 square feet and replaces the company’s first family travel center built at that location in 2003. It has a staggering 120 outside gas stations and a store famous for row after row of snacks from popular brands, Beaver Nuggets. , barbecue and jerky sandwiches made in-house, beaver-based t-shirts and decor, dozens of scrupulously clean bathrooms, and much, much more.
Of course, the one coming to Ocala in 2025 will have the same number of fueling points and an 80,000-square-foot building, according to planning documents from Gov. Ron DeSantis and Marion County, making it the new Bigger Buc-ee when it opens. but who’s counting?
In April 2023, DeSantis joined local and state officials and Buc-ee’s CEO and founder Arch “Beaver” Aplin to present a check for $4 million to help expedite the right-of-way purchase needed to Go ahead and throw beaver bags. nuggets to the press. No opening date has been announced yet, other than next year.
There are currently two Buc-ee’s in Florida, one in St. Augustine and one in Daytona Beach, and plans have been filed for a fourth for Fort Pierce in St. Lucie County. After the Luling store opens, Buc-ee’s will have 50 locations in nine states, according to a company statement.
Buc-ee’s is also partnering with Mercedes-Benz, the car company said in 2023, to add electric vehicle charging stations at most existing locations and all new ones starting this year. At least 30 Buc-ee’s are expected to have premium EV charging stations by the end of 2024, although locations have not been released.
How do the Florida Buc-ee’s compare?
Luling, Texas: 75,000 square feet, 120 service stations
San Agustin: 52,600 square feet, 104 service stations
Daytona Beach: 53,000 square feet, 104 service stations
Ocala (planned): 80,000 square feet, 120 service stations
Fort Pierce (planned): 73,000 square feet, 120 service stations
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When is Ocala Buc-ee’s opening?
Buc-ee’s founder Arch “Beaver” Aplin said in April last year that he is “ready to go.”
The project was targeted for 2025, but no official date has been set and it does not appear on the list of upcoming locations on the company’s website, which includes a new Buc-ee’s in Smith’s Grove, Kentucky this month and new locations in Yellow, Texas. and Brunswick, Georgia next year and Rockingham County, Virginia and Boerne, Texas in 2026.
Buc-ee may not know. The location cannot open until the new Interstate 75 interchange, where it will be located, is completed. The Florida Department of Transportation has said construction should begin in early 2025.
After all, it may not be as big as proposed either. There are currently no Buc-ee’s larger than 74,000 square feet in the works outside of Texas, according to a Buc-ee spokesperson in an email.
Do Daytona Beach Buc-ee’s have the longest car wash in the world?
No, sorry, that would be the 255-foot-long Buc-ee’s Car Wash in Katy, Texas, confirmed as the longest by the Guinness Book of World Records when it opened in 2017, with 17 blowers and 32 vacuum stations .
But the one coming to Daytona Beach Buc-ee’s will be 235 feet long, a nearly 80-yard-long tunnel of soapy goodness that will be the longest in Florida.
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What is Buc-ee?
It’s a convenience store gas station, the same way Disney World is a county fair attraction.
Buc-ee’s started in Texas in 1982 and remained in the Lone Star State for years, but the chain has been making inroads into the Sunshine State and elsewhere. The locations are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and serve as a one-stop shop for travelers and locals.
They are known for cheaper (cheaper) gasoline at the huge number of gas pumps in each location; stores larger than the average Publix; a wide variety of hot food, baked goods and sweets prepared on site; a wider variety of snacks, staples, short sauces and private label jerky; and a large section of home decor, cookware, clothing, grills, Florida souvenirs and more.
They are also rightly famous for their clean bathrooms, which are also huge. GasBuddy.com rated Buc-ee’s as having the cleanest bathrooms of any convenience store chain in the country. And for their starting salary, which is often clearly displayed on large signs outside when they hire.
New Buc-ee workers earn at least $17 per hour with benefits that include medical, dental and vision insurance, 401(k) match up to 6%, and 3 weeks of paid time off. Florida’s minimum wage is currently $12 an hour or $9.98 for tipped employees, and will go up another dollar this year thanks to the amendment Floridians passed in 2020.
In May, KeynoteUSA’s 10Best named Buc-ee’s the 10th best gas station brand and best gas station for food.
Contributing: Jim Ross, KeynoteUSA Network-Florida
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