I wish we had Buc-ee's here out west.
For you folks that have never been, Buc-ee's is an American chain of country stores, gas stations, and electric vehicle chargers created and owned by Arch "Beaver" Aplin III, headquartered in Lake Jackson, Texas. The chain was founded in 1982 in Clute, Texas and began expansion with its first travel center in Luling, Texas in 2003. The company began expanding outside of Texas in 2018 with the opening of a location in Baldwin County, Alabama, and has since opened locations in Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Tennessee, with new locations planned for North Carolina, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
The chain is well known for the large size of its locations, alongside its product offerings of fuel, snacks (particularly beef jerky and candy), brisket, baked goods and commodities, tacos, fresh sandwiches, souvenirs, and travel items. It holds the record for the largest gas station in the world, as of June 2023 its Sevierville, TN location. The chain has also become well known for the cleanliness of its bathrooms, mascot, and the company's prohibition of 18-wheelers at their locations.
The chain has since developed a highly loyal customer base and often ranks among the most favorited gas stations in the country. Its bathrooms have also gained significant acclaim, winning the Cintas award for "Best Restroom in America" in 2012.
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It’s fucking awesome. Jerky and taffy and everything else worthwhile of western civilization.
They do have a beef jerky bar and a wall of prepackaged beef jerky. Or as I call it jerked beef.
The BBQ is like never ending it seems. They make a zillion sandwiches and put them under the heat rack and they are gone.
If you like fudge, they have shit ton of that too.
The bathrooms are clean and huge. So, if you need to take a dump, know that it is generally pretty clean.
And they have the clothing and gear. coolers. chairs, and other stuff too.
I always take out-of-towners for a visit since they love it. For me, I’ll hit up the QuikTrip and be back on the road in ten minutes.
Their cashiers are extremely fast. The gas prices seem to vary wildly locally, for some reason.
Buc-ee's is the shit. There's one in Bama about halfway between here and my Dads' house, we always plan a gas stop there. The brisket sandwiches match the hype and the burritos are underrated. Very worthwhile stop.
If you're doing the long drive thing thought a Buc-ee's is pretty much awesome and is a great spot to stop when you need to break up the drive and take care of the bathroom, buy some food/snacks, etc. It's a madhouse but frankly everything runs incredibly smooth ... it's Americana at it's best.
At least a couple of times a year I'm making the drive down I-45 from DFW to get down to the Gulf of Mexico and Buc-ee's (along with Woody's) is basically at the halfway mark. To say that they both cover what you need in a stop is an understatement ... Buc-ee's has better ready made items (the BBQ sandwiches are amazing ... I always recommend the jalapeno sausage kolache's and biscuits) whereas Woody's is amazing in that they have some of the better spice mixes that you can find in that type of environment and I'd argue that some of their bakery options are even better (downside is that the gas is probably 20-30 cents a gallon higher)
Now, if you happen to be in the Lake Jackson area where Buc-ee's HQs are then you'll find a lot of Buc-ee's that are much more like your typical gas station (or QTs for those that know) in and around the area. Those absolutely are fine to go to on a regular basis.
I'm a major fan