How Buc-ee's Became a Roadtrip Destination Store

Texas-born Buc-ee's is changing the way people think about gas stations and convenience stores. This chain is known for its huge stores along highways, some with over 100 fuel pumps. With its funny billboard ads, award-winning clean bathrooms, and branded items Buc-ee’s is hard to miss.

The company started in Texas in 1982 with just one small store. Over the years, founder Arch Aplin III grew the business within the state, making the stores bigger and better to the point when in 2019, Buc-ee's opened its first store outside of Texas, in Alabama. Since then, it has added 15 more locations in other states, bringing its special approach to gas stations to new customers.

The company wants people to actually plan to stop at Buc-ee's during road trips, not just go there as a last resort. And it's working - the chain has a huge fan base, with Facebook groups dedicated to Buc-ee's having hundreds of thousands of members.

According to Jeff Lenard from the National Association of Convenience Stores, what makes Buc-ee's so special is the customer experience. Buc-ee's makes usually boring parts of road trips (like using the restroom or getting gas) - into something people can enjoy. The bathrooms are a big draw, and once people leave the restroom, they're pulled in by the sight and smell of fresh brisket being cut, the cute Buc-ee's beaver mascot, and all the fun merchandise.

"All of a sudden, you're just kind of swept away with, 'What am I experiencing? I'm not sure, but I want to spend more money here,'" Lenard explained. While most people spend less than 4 minutes in a regular convenience store, at Buc-ee's, they often stay much longer.

As Buc-ee's grows, the challenge will be living up to the high expectations of new customers who have heard great things about the chain. "The expansion will involve them having to continue to tell the story, and not only tell the story, but they have to get it right every time," Lenard said.

But Buc-ee's seems to have the right ingredients for success, according to marketing professor Gary Orosy. "The thing about Buc-ee's is there's nothing overly sophisticated about it," he said. "It just really excels at what it does."