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This is the first Buc-ee's in Arkansas, but it won't be the only one for long. the company is planning a travel center in West Memphis as well.
Texas-based Buc-ee’s will soon begin construction in Arkansas for the first time.
The wildly popular chain of travel centers set Feb. 19 as the groundbreaking date for the location in Benton, Arkansas, according to multiple reports, though an opening date is not yet known. Benton Mayor Tom Farmer revealed the date in the Benton City Council meeting last week, Arkansas Money & Politics reported.
News that Buc-ee’s was likely the buyer interested in purchasing the 29-acre site for $77,586.21 an acre broke in July 2023, and the Benton Planning Commission approved the project in April 2024. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the project in a video that played before kickoff at the 2024 Salt Bowl in August 2024.
The travel center will be along Interstate 30 off Exit 114, within roughly 25 miles of Little Rock. It’s slated to be 75,000 square feet — the same size as the new Luling location, which is the company’s largest store thus far — and it will provide over 100 gas pumps and 225 jobs, local NBC affiliate KARK.com reported.
“The City of Benton and Saline County is thrilled to have been selected for the first Buc-ees in the state of Arkansas,” Matt Thibault, Benton’s communications director, said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. “This was a true team effort with so many different community groups coming together to make this happen. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership with the Buc-ees organization. This is truly a game changer for our city and surrounding area.”
The Benton location is the first Buc-ee’s in Arkansas, but it won’t be the only one for long. Buc-ee’s is planning a West Memphis location just before the Interstate 40 and Interstate 55 split.
Buc-ee’s was founded in 1982 in Lake Jackson and opened its first out-of-state location in 2019 in Robertsdale, Alabama. The company’s website now lists four locations in Alabama, one in Colorado, two in Florida, two in Georgia, two in Kentucky, one in Missouri, one in South Carolina, two in Tennessee and 35 in Texas.
Most recently, the company opened its Amarillo location on Dec. 16 and broke ground on its San Marcos location on Jan. 29.
Over the summer, Buc-ee’s opened its second Kentucky location — and 50th overall — in Smiths Grove on June 24. That location, at 4001 Smiths Grove-Scottsville Road, includes a 53,000-square-foot store and 120 fueling positions.
Smiths Grove is now the smallest city with a Buc-ee’s.
Wisconsin is another state Buc-ee’s is trying to enter. A previous application for a Buc-ee’s location in DeForest, near Madison, has been delayed as discussions continue on how to pay for road improvements required for the DeForest store. However, Buc-ee’s now has 29.6 acres in Oak Creek, near Milwaukee, under contract for purchase.
After opening a travel center in Johnstown, Colorado, in March, Buc-ee’s now has its eye on a location in El Paso County, between Denver and Colorado Springs, for its second location in the state.
The company also closed on a deal to purchase 42 acres of land on Louisiana Avenue off Interstate 10 for its first Louisiana location in Lafayette. Buc-ee’s also is planning a Louisiana location in Ruston along Interstate 20.
In the Kansas City area, plans are moving forward for the company’s first location in Kansas. On Nov. 7, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, approved a zoning request and development agreement to allow the gas station giant to build a travel center at 601 Village West Parkway. Buc-ee’s plans a 74,000-square-foot travel center with 120 gas fuel pumps and 12 electric-vehicle charging stations on about 25 acres between the Kansas Speedway and Interstate 70. The company hopes to begin construction in May and complete the work within 24 months, the Kansas City Business Journal reports.
In Arizona, the city of Goodyear recently confirmed that Buc-ee’s started site grading to prepare the property for utility work and construction. Buc-ee’s is expected to open its first location in the state along Interstate 10 by the end of 2025.
Other locations are proposed or under construction in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, and in central North Carolina. Earlier this year, the company broke ground on its first Mississippi location in Pass Christian as well as its first Virginia location in Rockingham County. Media in Oklahoma confirmed in June that the company is eyeing that state as well.
According to Buc-ee’s website, the following locations have anticipated opening dates:
Buc-ee’s notes that this information is subject to change.
Late last year, Mercedes-Benz USA said it would open EV charging hubs at Buc-ee’s locations across the South.
Previous Houston Business Journal reporting was used in this report.
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