About twenty months after we first we reported they were entering the market, and about a year after breaking ground, Texas-based Buc-ee's is getting ready to open their first mega store in the state. The new 53,000 square foot Buc-ee's at 7001 Russell Parkway occupies a roughly 20 acre site at the southeast corner of I-75 and Russell Parkway in Warner Robins in Peach County. A company spokesperson says plans call for the new Buc-ee's to open Wednesday, November 18, a week before the potentially busy Thanksgiving holiday, and more than a month ahead of what was announced in 2019 to be an "early 2021" debut.
Lake Jackson, Texas-based Buc-ee's was established in 1982, and until their January 2019 opening in Alabama, operated exclusively in Texas. The Alabama opening, off I-10, between Pensacola and Mobile in Baldwin County, follows the company's current expansion strategy of locating large epic convenience stores and fuel centers just off the highway, between large cites and popular destinations.
"World domination" is how Texas Monthly described the Buc-ee's expansion effort in a March 2019 cover story which chronicles the beginnings of the company with co-founder Arch "Beaver" Aplin.
A second Alabama Buc-ee's is nearing completion in Leeds, off of I-20 exit 140, near The Outlet Shops of Grand River, just outside the Birmingham metro area. In addition, there are Buc-ee's under construction in St. Augustine and Daytona Beach, Florida, and a third still in the planning stage in Fort Myers.
Buc-ee's has also confirmed plans for a new site off I-40 in Crossville, Tennessee, between Knoxville and Nashville. The Crossville site could be the first to open in Tennessee and is slated to open in 2023, according to company officials.
Recently, plans were also uncovered for what could be the first Buc-ee's in North Carolina. Planned for Efland, a town of about 700, about forty miles northwest of Raleigh, the new 120+ pump Buc-ee's would be part of a 500,000 square foot mixed-use development. South Carolina is also slated to get a Buc-ee's with the company planning a new location in Anderson, outside Greenville.
Several other stores are said to be at various stages of development.
Have you ever been to a Buc-ee's? Do you plan to visit the new Buc-ee's in Warner Robins? Where would you like to see Buc-ee's open next?
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