The year was 2012 and excitement was building. Cintas, a corporate supplier to the service industry, was about to announce the winner of its annual nationwide restroom contest. Gathering nominations from the public, the judges would then select 10 finalists based on cleanliness, visual appeal, innovation, functionality, and unique design. Final voting would be open to the public, allowing them to choose which upscale venue would take the throne for Cintas’ America’s Best Restroom Award.
That year, the Academy Award of Lavatories went to Buc-ee’s in New Braunfels, Texas — at the time the world’s largest convenience store. Set on 18 acres, the 68,000-square-foot store that featured 60 fuel pumps and 1,000 parking spaces emerged into the national spotlight.
A SHREWD BUSINESS PLAN
In 1982, Arch “Beaver” Aplin had just graduated from Texas A&M and started working at his father’s construction company. He decided to open a standard 3,000-square-foot convenience store in his hometown of Lake Jackson. With no actual plan in mind, it was when he met Don Wasek, another nearby convenience store owner, that the magic began.
They decided to team up, opened their first store together in Clute, Texas and began adding more across the state. The name Buc-ee’s was a combination of Beaver’s childhood nickname, his dog’s name, Buck, and the then Ipana toothpaste mascot, Bucky the beaver.
The term “travel center” seemed like a better name for the expanded version of the store that Beaver and Don opened together in Luling, Texas in 2003. The 35,000-square-foot store sparked the concept for their new enterprise:
- “Clean, friendly, and in stock” was their new motto.
- New locations would be modeled after truck stops, imitating their size and volume. Ironically, commercial trucks would not be allowed at their gas pumps.
- Their target audience would be the affluent market segment.
- Private label merchandise would allow for bigger profit margins.
- Discounted products would not be offered.
- Bargain-priced real estate and low interest rates at the time would finance expansion.
- Customers would be lured off the road with the combination of gas pumps and fabulous restrooms.
The owners of the privately owned chain tend to stay away from the spotlight. Beaver and Don each own 50 percent of Buc-ee’s Holdings, Inc., and have clearly defined roles. Beaver, the more animated of the two, focuses on construction, expansion, and marketing while Don, who shuns publicity, manages operations.
A CULT FOLLOWING
The metal sculpture of Buc-ee outside every store stops most in their tracks for a photo op. In keeping with the slogan that “everything is bigger in Texas,” the super-size store overwhelms many with the sheer breadth and scope of the product selection, with most featuring Buc-ee’s smiling face. Baked goods, tacos, fresh sandwiches, and self-serve drink and coffee stations surround the fresh brisket, turkey and pulled pork continuously being sliced at the big horseshoe-shaped “Texas Roundup” barbecue stand in the store’s center.
The restrooms are a particular source of pride to Beaver, who designed them himself, with walls rather than stalls, metal doors, and a 24-hour, year-round cleaning staff. He keeps on top of new innovations and is always working to perfect the original design.
In 2018, the company began expanding outside of Texas. Since then, Buc-ee’s locations total almost 50 and can be found in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Every few years, Buc-ee’s keeps the folks at the Guinness Book of World Records on their toes:
- In 2012, the New Braunfels location was named the largest convenience store in the world at 68,000 square feet.
- Then in 2023, Sevierville, Tennessee took the title with their new 74,707-square-foot Buc-ee’s.
- Now, as of this past June, the largest Buc-ee’s in the world resides in Luling, Texas at 75,000 square feet with 120 gas pumps.
At the Luling Texas opening, one customer waited patiently in line all morning to be able to say he had visited every one of the Buc-ee’s locations. When interviewed, he noted that he was traveling one day, stopped for gas and a bathroom break, and was hooked from then on. Another customer mentioned the downside of living in the same town as a Buc-ee’s. He said he was sure he and his family would be welcoming more houseguests who would invite themselves to visit so they could tour the famous addition to their town.
For more information about Buc-ee’s, go to: buc-ees.com