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Buc-ee's, the Texas-based chain of travel centers with a huge fan following, is reportedly interested in its first Kansas site.
The company submitted a proposal for a site at the northeast corner of 110th Street and I-70 in Kansas City, Kansas, to the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Flatland reports. The project is expected to go before the City Planning Commission on June 10.
The potential expansion comes as the travel center giant considers building a location in San Marcos south of Austin after securing $4.2 million in incentives.
Buc-ee's is known for its absurdly large number of gas pumps and restroom stalls as well as beloved products such as Texas barbecue, homemade fudge, kolaches, jerky, fresh pastries and "Beaver Nuggets," which is a sweet corn puff snack.
The Kansas City property sits adjacent to Kansas Speedway and Hollywood Casino. It also would be near Legends Outlets, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Bass Pro Shops and Children's Mercy Park as well as the nearly 400-acre Homefield youth sports complex and related development, the under-construction Margaritaville Hotel and the recently proposed Mattel-themed amusement park and other attractions.
One of the company's newest openings was a 53,000-square-foot travel center at 3284 N. Mulroy Road in Springfield — its first site in Missouri — in December 2023. Most Buc-ee's locations employ about 200 people.
In scouting potential locations, Buc-ee's looks for sites along freeways that are "well-traveled" by cars, as its travel centers are part of road trips and not truck stops, Director of Real Estate Stan Beard previously told the St. Louis Business Journal.
"Our typical customer comes from over 100 miles from the store," he said. "We're not a local convenience store at all. Most of our customers know they're going to stop at Buc-ee's before they ever get in their car to go wherever it is they're going."
The company invested around $40 million in its Springfield location, which is what Beard called Buc-ee's "basic template for stores."
However, the company also has been opening significantly larger locations. When the Sevierville, Tennessee, location opened in June 2023, it was the company's largest store yet, at 74,000 square feet, but that title will soon be challenged by locations in Luling, Texas; the Dayton suburb of Huber Heights, Ohio; and potentially Goodyear, Arizona.
Founded in Lake Jackson in 1982, Buc-ee's offers fueling and electric vehicle charging stations along with the company's famously clean restrooms and beloved products such as Texas barbecue, homemade fudge, kolaches, jerky, fresh pastries and "Beaver Nuggets," a sweet corn puff snack. Stores are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Although Buc-ee's is still partially based in Lake Jackson, the company moved parts of its headquarters to Pearland in 2015 and inked a lease in 2018 in Austin's Firmspace, a luxury coworking startup that caters to executives.
The company opened its first out-of-state location in 2019 in Robertsdale, Alabama, and has since expanded to Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri and Colorado as well. Buc-ee's currently has 47 stores, most of which are in Texas, according to the company's website. The most recent opening was in Johnstown, Colorado — the company's first location in the state — in March.
The next groundbreaking could be in Huber Heights. On April 25, Mayor Jeff Gore posted on Facebook that construction could begin soon:
Many of you will be pleased to know that BUC-EE’S has submitted their final detailed development plans to the city and will be presenting their plan to the city planning commission on Tuesday May 14th. ODOT has approved their plan and Montgomery County has issued permits, so this is the last piece of the puzzle and we should see grading and construction beginning on the site soon! Brisket Sandwiches and The Best Beef Jerky you’ve ever had are closer than ever!
In April, multiple sources confirmed to the Memphis Business Journal that Buc-ee's has chosen a site near Memphis for its next Tennessee location. Other locations are proposed or under construction in Hillsboro, Luling and Amarillo, Texas; Pass Christian, Mississippi; and the Village of DeForest, Wisconsin.
Late last year, Mercedes-Benz USA said it would open electric vehicle charging hubs at Buc-ee’s across the South.
