Convenience store operator Buc-ee's is looking to further expand beyond Texas following its January debut in Alabama and Georgia is in its sights! Buc-ee's first opened in 1982 in Lake Jackson, a suburb of Houston, and while their original locations were typical of most other operators with a dozen or so fuel pumps and a basic looking convenience store of about 3,000 square feet, their next generation stores are anything but typical.
Buc-ee's, known for its "Texas sized" convenience stores, some of which can be 60,000+ square feet, its immaculate restrooms, and wide variety of products, is a tourist attraction of sorts in Texas, with patrons calling it the "Disney World" of convenience stores. [RaceTrac and QuikTrip convenience stores often measure 4,500-6,000 square feet, whereas typical Kroger stores measure 55,000 square feet.]
After expanding an existing store to 17,000 square feet in Luling, Texas in 2001, the company opened their largest location to date, a 68,000 square foot mega-travel center in New Braunfels, near San Antonio, in 2012. The store, located off Interstate 35, holds the title of "largest convenience store in the world" and features 120 fuel pumps, 83 toilets, 31 cash registers, 80 fountain dispensers and 4 ICEE machines. It also offers tubing and water gear for enjoying the nearby Guadalupe River.
Make no mistake though, Buc-ee's is NOT a truck stop and 18 wheelers are not welcome at any of the company's locations.
ToNeTo Atlanta in late 2017 visited the company's then recently opened travel center in Katy, Texas, in the greater Houston area. The 56,000 square foot store, located near Katy Mills [a large indoor outlet mall], opened in late August 2017 and features a Guinness Book of World Record title holding 255 foot long car wash and about 120 fuel pumps.
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| The record setting car wash at Buc-ee's in Katy |
In addition to the fuel, Buc-ee's sells a lot of not so typical c-store merchandise. In addition to plenty of soda and sandwiches, Buc-ee's sells multiple varieties of fudge, "world famous" jerky, sugared nuts, as well as Dippin' Dots ice cream, among other food offerings.
The store's offerings don't stop at food, however, with plenty of private label "Buc-ee's" branded merchandise [stuffed animal beavers, hats, shirts, stickers etc.] as well as home decor, books, and clothing and accessories from higher end brands like Oakley, Reef, Sanuk, Costa and Toms, among others.
Buc-ee's, whose tagline is "Clean, friendly and in stock" is perhaps best known for their immaculate restrooms. Arch "Beaver" Aplin, the store's co-founder, is keen on his restrooms being the cleanest and most readily available in the industry. To that end, restrooms are monitored 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by uniformed employees whose sole responsibility is to keep them pristine. Additionally, this past fall, the company partnered with "Tooshlights," a "restroom traffic management system." In the same way some malls and shopping centers have installed lights to indicate available parking spaces, Tooshlights indicates available restroom stalls, "eliminating the awkward experience of having to peek under stalls to see if they are occupied."
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| Assorted not so typical convenience store merchandise at Buc-ee's in Katy |
About one third of the chain's 34 open or pending locations have at least 50 fueling stations, with three open locations offering at least 120 fueling stations.
So when could Buc-ee's enter Georgia? That's not clear, but they are coming.
On the heels of their opening in Robertsdale, Alabama at the gateway of the the Baldwin Beach Express, Aplin mentioned a long awaited opening in Leeds, in addition to the idea that company is "looking" at sites in the Auburn area.
Leeds, a city about 30 miles east of Birmingham, will welcome Buc-ee's to a 15 acre parcel near The Outlet Shops at Grand River. Buc-ee's reportedly purchased the property for $9 million in early 2018.
Beyond Texas and Alabama, Buc-ee's stores are slated to open in St. Johns County, Daytona Beach, and Fort Myers, Florida. All three were at one point slated for 2019 debuts, but have all been pushed to 2020/2021 openings. Reports indicate that the company spent some $13.9 million to acquire 35 acres in the northeast quadrant of the I-95/LPGA Boulevard interchange for its planned 120 pump location in Daytona Beach.
"World domination" is how Texas Monthly described the Buc-ee's expansion effort in a recent cover story, which chronicles the beginnings of the company with Aplin.
The story describes a map in the corner of Aplin's office with thumbtacks where he sees additional locations beyond Texas. When the reporter commented that it looked like an invasion, Aplin didn't flinch. "It does kind of look like an invasion, doesn't it?" he said.
At least six thumbtacks circle suburbs of Atlanta where Aplin hopes to catch drivers traveling to and from Birmingham, Charlotte, Nashville and other nearby areas of interest. The thumbtacks on Aplin's map stretched into North Carolina too.
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| The Katy Buc-ee's |
The company, which registered "Buc-ee’s Georgia, LLC" February 1 with the Georgia Secretary of State's office, has reportedly hired Atlanta-based The Shopping Center Group to assist in site selection in Georgia.
One area Buc-ee's is likely to be looking in Georgia is in Locust Grove near the Tanger Outlets, given their preference for being near outlets, and since there are still large parcels available. Other potential areas could include places like Dalton (en route to Chattanooga or Nashville), Villa Rica (en route to Birmingham) and Lavonia (en route to Charlotte).
This coming October, the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) will hold its annual convention at the Georgia World Congress Center. Buc-ee's, like most major c-store operators, will have representatives at the show and while it's basically impossible that Atlanta will have a Buc-ee's by then, there is reason to believe it won't be too long before Georgians get to experience the Texas-sized c-store first hand.
If you'd like to learn more about Buc-ee's, this Forbes article is a great resource.
Check out our Instagram page (@tonetoatl) for more photos from our visit to the Buc-ee's in Katy.
Check out our Instagram page (@tonetoatl) for more photos from our visit to the Buc-ee's in Katy.
Have you ever been to a Buc-ee's? Where would you like to see Buc-ee's open in the greater metro Atlanta area? What is your favorite convenience store operator?
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