Buc-ee’s Schedules Multi-State Expansion Through 2028 Amid Local Economic Debate

For years, spotting a Buc-ee’s beaver sign above the tree line was mostly a Texas and Southeast thing. That is changing fast. A Buc-ee’s spokesperson has confirmed the chain will open its first-ever locations in at least seven new states, with openings scheduled between now and 2028. Arizona, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Kansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Ohio are all on the list. Ohio already has its first location open as of April 6, 2026, in Huber Heights. For the millions of Americans who have driven out of their way to find one, the map is finally starting to catch up.

What Buc-ee’s Actually Is for People Who Have Never Stopped at One

Buc-ee’s opened its first location in 1982 in Lake Jackson, Texas. It currently operates approximately 69 locations, including car washes, primarily across Texas and the Southeast. The chain holds the record for the world’s largest convenience store, located in Luling, Texas, at 75,593 square feet. Stores typically feature more than 100 fuel pumps, an enormous food operation with fresh brisket, banana pudding, and its signature Beaver Nuggets caramel corn puffs, and bathrooms that have developed a genuine national reputation for cleanliness. The company is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in the dining category in 2024.

The Locations Opening in 2026

Two new states are getting their first Buc-ee’s locations this summer. Goodyear, Arizona, and Benton, Arkansas, are both targeting summer 2026 openings. Ohio’s first location already opened on April 6 in Huber Heights, making it the most recent new-state debut in the chain’s history. Each of these locations follows the standard Buc-ee’s formula: large footprint along a major interstate corridor, positioned between two sizable cities, on land the chain can develop at scale. Arizona marks Buc-ee’s first push into the Southwest, a significant geographic expansion beyond its traditional southeastern stronghold.

The Locations Opening in 2027

Three more states are targeting 2027 openings. Oak Creek, Wisconsin will receive Buc-ee’s first location in the upper Midwest, planned for the southwest corner of I-94 and Elm Road, featuring 120 gas pumps across a 73,370-square-foot travel center. Ruston, Louisiana is targeting a mid-2027 opening at the intersection of I-20 and Tarbutton Road, spanning over 70,000 square feet with more than 100 fuel pumps. Kansas City, Kansas is also targeting 2027 with a 74,000-square-foot location planned near I-70 and West Village Parkway. Each location takes between 18 and 24 months to build once construction begins, so timelines can shift.

North Carolina and Arkansas Are Coming Later

North Carolina’s first Buc-ee’s is planned for Mebane and is currently targeting a late 2027 or early 2028 opening, a timeline that has already been pushed back from an earlier projection of late 2026. West Memphis, Arkansas, represents a separate location from the Benton store, and it has been delayed significantly, with its opening now pushed to June 2028, two years beyond its original target. Delays of this kind are not unusual for the chain. Buc-ee’s builds its stores to a specific standard and does not rush construction to meet an announcement date. Several other locations across existing states are also scheduled to open in 2029 and beyond.

Each New Location Brings More Than 200 Full-Time Jobs

Every new Buc-ee’s travel center brings more than 200 full-time positions to its host community. The company is known for offering starting wages well above the local minimum wage, three weeks of paid time off, full benefits, and a 6 percent 401k match. These are not seasonal or part-time roles. The employment package has made Buc-ee’s openings genuinely competitive hiring events in the communities where they arrive. The labor-intensive staffing model, with hundreds of employees working at a single location at any given time, is directly connected to the chain’s bathroom reputation: clean facilities require consistent attention, and consistent attention requires enough staff to provide it.

The Local Economic Debate That Follows Every Announcement

The arrival of a Buc-ee’s is not universally welcomed by local governments and residents, even in places where residents express enthusiasm. Communities often offer municipal incentives to attract the chain, and the financial trade-offs of those subsidies against the actual local economic benefits have been questioned in several markets. The traffic generated by a Buc-ee’s, while economically positive in some respects, can strain the roads, intersections, and infrastructure of smaller towns along interstate corridors. The chain’s formula of positioning between cities rather than inside them means that much of its customer base is passing through rather than coming from the surrounding community.

The BBB Rating That Tends to Get Overlooked

Buc-ee’s devotion among its fans is intense and well-documented. Less discussed is that the Better Business Bureau had given 28 Buc-ee’s stores an F rating as of March 2026, citing unresolved customer service complaints. People magazine reported that the BBB listed individual complaints as well as patterns of failure in responding to customers, including complaints submitted through Buc-ee’s own website. An F rating from the BBB typically reflects a company’s failure to respond to or resolve complaints, not necessarily the nature of the complaints themselves. For a brand with such a strong loyalty following, the customer service gap in formal dispute resolution is a notable contrast to its retail reputation.

Why the Expansion Is Happening Now and in These Specific States

Buc-ee’s location strategy is methodical. The chain targets inexpensive land along major interstates between sizable cities, which is why its expansion naturally follows the I-94 corridor into Wisconsin, I-20 into Louisiana, and I-70 into Kansas. The move into Arizona and the upper Midwest represents a geographic broadening beyond the chain’s traditional operating territory. The company remains privately held and has grown at a pace that reflects its internal capacity to staff and operate very large stores at a consistent quality level. The current expansion wave, while significant, does not represent a sharp departure from that measured approach. Seven new states over two-plus years is ambitious without being reckless.

The Map Is Growing. The Experience Is Staying the Same.

What Buc-ee’s fans drive out of their way for is not just the food or the fuel prices. It is the consistency. Every location operates on the same principles: enormous, clean, stocked, staffed, and open every day of the year. That experience does not scale easily, which is why each location takes up to two years to build and why the chain still operates fewer than 70 locations after more than four decades in business. The seven new states coming online through 2028 will bring that experience to millions of road trippers who have only heard about it from someone else. Whether the beaver logo above the highway becomes a regional landmark or a national one may depend on how well the chain maintains what made it worth the detour in the first place.