Buc-ee's - Expanding Near You?

Episode Description: Buc-ee's is an unconventional convenience store that has been trying to expand into multiple new areas throughout the country. This video focuses on what I believe to be the biggest reasons behind their success so far and why they could potentially achieve their goal of becoming a national chain.

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[nevereverr]

Cult Following is an understatement. In one of my High School elective classes, we were gonna travel from Austin to Corpus Christi, and more people were excited that we were gonna stop at Buc-ee’s than the actual destination

[JayLucienMachine]

It might be "gimmicky, " but everything at Buc-ee's is legit. The food, service, cleanliness, gas prices. All of it.

[tx]

A great thing about Buc-ee's is that they tailor their stores to the location. For example stores near the gulf have fishing gear sections and some in rural areas sell deer feeders and deer corn.

[bans]

I think part of what makes Buc-ee's successful is that its not just a rest stop, but an event and experience. People are excited to go in and enjoy a great overall product.

[jamestwigg]

My wife is a German citizen and we stopped at a Buc'ee's on a road trip. I didn't warn her or give her any information about the place before hand just treated it like a normal gas station stop. It was funny seeing her trying to process what was going on when she walked inside. She was utterly confused trying to grapple with what she was seeing lol

[prettypic]

As a woman who likes to go on road trips, i can't begin to stress the importance of safe, clean bathrooms.

[idimation]

He’s covered Bucee’s, he’s covered Whataburger, now he must cover HEB to complete the Texas trifecta.

[CJ_Espinoza]

I think one way Buc-ee’s could stay competitive nationwide would be to regionalize different location. For example, in Wisconsin they could rollout new products like their own version cheese curds only sold at Wisconsin locations. It’d keep the local population interested and even make it a travel destination for some people

[EZR]

Walking into the bathroom gives you like this weird feeling of entering a Valhalla of urinals

[joshmccollum]

Calling Buc-ees a convenience store is like calling a battleship a boat.

[markl.]

Several big things about Buc-ee's you didn't hit on.

1.) They make and bag their own ice on-site and is why they can sell 20lb bags for $0.99.
2.) They hold a patent for their soda fountain system and chill the incoming water very cold to reduce the amount of ice melt in the beverages.
3.) They are VERY strict on employees, and do not have places for them to sit in the back for break. You stand and eat your lunch, for example. They expect a LOT for what they pay, which is well above any other store.
4.) When they contacted ICEE to put machines in their store, ICEE was not convinced they needed more than once machine. Nobody ever needs more than one. They had to invite their ICEE representative to a store to show them the size and scale of the store to convince them. (This was told to me by a senior-level employee during a behind-the-scenes tour I was on, as I worked for vendor they used).

They do have a cult following, but it was earned. The jerky wall isn't just "a lot of beef jerky", it is dozens of flavors of very high-quality beef jerky. The sheer amount of food they make on-site is staggering - fudge, nuts, cookies, BBQ, kolaches, and so much more. And all of it exceeds any sort of "gas station quality" preconception you might have.

It only works because the two guys own it and refuse to lower the quality or cut costs on the good and services they provide. If they had shareholders to answer to, they would eventually cut costs and become another store with sub-par, "gas-station-quality" goods and services.

[brocklewis]

2 Aussie friends visited me in Houston and I planned a whole afternoon of things to do. An hour in, I scrapped all that and we spent over 2 hours driving to and walking through the buc-ees. They could not get over the sheer number of gas pumps and they both bought beaver onesies for their Halloween outfits that year. It was the greatest thing to experience 😂

[MrMassive]

We visited the Largest Bucees by accident when visiting Austin. I am from the NYC metro area. We have nothing like Buccees near here and i am truly jealous. It has literally everything. It’s everything positive about Texas personified. Big food, Good prices, outrageousness, and courteousness . When a store is a huge highlight of a cross country trip you know you made an impact. Greetings From NYC Buccees maybe one day you’ll be in my neighborhood.

[darknessoftruth]

As a Floridian, I stop at the Buc-ees along I-95 every time I go up to Georgia to visit family. It's always packed and it's not hard to see why. It has a kitchen and bakery you can see into to know what you're getting. They also have a gift shop, a mini-mart, and a massive selection of sodas, and a large cup's price is in the same ballpark as Circle K. Plus, being able to cater to big trucks, normal vehicles, and electric cars helps them out too. Overall, they have it all and is 100% worth the stop.

[TheZProtocol]

As a Puerto Rican, I visited the New Braunfels location thinking it was just a nicer 7/11 (which we also don't have) but I was so amazed and shocked that it felt like visiting Magic Kingdom when I was a kid. I had to go back. So, I literally made a hole in my vacation schedule and went back a couple of days later and spent like 2 hours inside. I bought the $25 cooler bag as a souvenir because I had to have something haha.

Everything is bigger in Texas is no joke.

[ms_cartographer]

I hope we can have them in Indiana. Also, I love that they pay at least $17 per hour for lower level employees, and they actually take care of their workers.

[missyr]

"Everyday is a new hell" -A Buccee's employee when we asked his opinion of the rubber chicken display that children were constantly playing with

[InfectiousGroovePodcast]

I lived in Michigan my whole life until about a year ago. Having moved to Jacksonville Florida, everyone kept telling me to go to Buc-ee's as soon as I got a chance. I finally went and now I totally get why there's so much buzz about them.

[AndreNDP]

I'm Canadian, and I demand that jerky wall, that bakery, that barbecue counter, all of it.

[jackwright]

Been to one once. It felt like I was in a Wal-mart but if everyone was really happy. I think I could do all my Christmas shopping at Buc-ee's. I walked around the store with a coffee in one hand and a big slushie in the other. It was fun. What's so funny is that if you described the concept of Buc-ee's as a potential business idea to someone, they would rightfully think you were crazy.