| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail (Convenience store) |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Founder(s) | Arch "Beaver" Aplin III & Don Wasek |
| Headquarters | Lake Jackson, Texas, U.S. |
| Number of locations | 25 |
| Products | Fuel, Coffee, Beverages, Car Wash, Prepared foods, specialty gifts, Christian material, and foods |
| Website | buc-ees.com |
Buc-ee's, Ltd is a chain of convenience store/travel centers located in the Central & Gulf Coast region of Texas. The company is owned by Arch "Beaver" Aplin III & Don Wasek and is based in Lake Jackson, Texas, 40 miles south of Houston, Texas.[1]
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Aplin & Wasek opened their first store in Lake Jackson in 1982 on Old Angleton Road & Oyster Creek Drive, which still stands today. The Buc-ee’s brand soon became known for providing quality products at reasonable prices and the cheapest ice anywhere, as well as promoting clean bathrooms which have been cited as an appeal to the convenient store. A 20 lb. bag of ice is 99¢. Based on the success of their first store, Aplin & Wasek repeated the format throughout southeast Texas, mainly in Brazoria County, along the Texas State Highway 288 corridor catering mostly to neighbors, boaters and families headed to Lake Jackson, Freeport & Surfside Beach.[2]
In 2004, Buc-ee's opened their flagship store in Luling, Texas at the intersection of Interstate 10 & US Highway 90. The store put Buc-ee's on the map and has become a Texas institution. Due to the popularity, the store has been remodeled numerous times to accommodate the millions of customers that visit the store annually. Buc-ee's added 100+ additional parking spaces and another wing to the store which includes a new side entrance, additional cash registers, fountain/coffee machines, and Texas specialty gifts and outdoor/hunting equipment.
Buc-ee's opened two large scale travel centers in 2009 in Madisonville, Texas on Interstate 45 & Highway 21 and Wharton, Texas on U.S. Route 59 & FM 102. The Madisonville & Wharton locations have the same concept as the one in Luling with large restrooms and fueling areas (32 pumps) and a wide selection of beef jerky, pastries, prepared sandwiches, and tacos. Dippin' Dots and homemade fudge is also sold at these stores. Madisonville & Wharton both boasted the two largest stores in the company after their openings, but Luling once again took over the throne as the largest store in the company after the remodels in 2010.
Buc-ee's offers products found at most convenience stores such as fuel, cigarettes, tobacco, chips, drinks and soda at their smaller neighborhood stores. Their larger scale travel centers include a full-service deli, coffee shop, state of the art car washes, Texas themed specialty gifts and food, and an outdoor center which caters to hunters. Unlike many other convenience stores, in order to keep fast paced service, Buc-ee's does not sell lottery tickets.
Buc-ee's sells their own branded beef jerky, candy, trail mixes, granola, pralines and jarred vegetables, preserves, and salsa. Beaver Nuggets, which are caramel and butter glazed corn puffs, is a popular treat with customers and is Buc-ee's #1 branded product.
Buc-ee's is known for posting mass amounts of billboards across Texas interstates. The billboards are funny in nature and play along with what Buc-ee's is known for----clean restrooms, the Beaver mascot, and Beaver Nuggets. Buc-ee's also has a billboard planted in Florida on Interstate 10.
Advertising Slogans:
Ice, Beer, Jerky: The 3 Food Groups
It's a Beaver!
Beaver Believer
Peace, Love, Buc-ee's
My Overbite is Sexy
Meat Good, Jerky Better
Ever Had Beaver Nuggets?
Restrooms You Have To Pee to Believe!
If It Harms Beavers, We're Against It!
Beaver Nuggets!
The Top Two Reasons to Stop at Buc-ee's: #1 and #2