Buc-ee's to Bring Largest Store Back to Texas, But We Have a Request

The largest Buc-ee's in the country will be in Texas, where it should be, not Tennessee. Lauren Drewes Daniels

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Last year, when Texas-based Buc-ee's announced they were extending their clean-bathroom world dominance in Tennessee and the new facility there would be their largest, well, that stung a bit. Like a blowgun dart to the ass. Ouch, Buc-ee's, thought you would be a little bit more of a homer. 

Leave it to the maker of Beaver Nuggets to right some of the wrongs in the world. Earlier this week, the mega travel center announced plans for a new, biggest yet, 75,000-square-foot Buc-ee's along Interstate 10 about an hour east of San Antonio.

This new mega gas station will be built next to its existing original location in Luling, which opened in 2003 and was the company's first family travel center. They're not closing the original until the new one is built, allowing for a smooth transition from one to the other. Construction is to begin in the fall.

Big Buc-ee's in Luling will have 120 fuel pumps, electric charging stations and is, again, 75,000 square feet. The soon-to-be-former largest Buc-ee's between Nashville and Knoxville is only a piddling 74,000 square feet, though it does have a car wash and the new one in Luling won't.

If you've been thinking about escaping the hustle of the big city, Luling might be a great place to resettle. It's surrounded by lush green fields, cows and the new Buc-ee's will hire at least 200 additional team members, with starting pay well above minimum wage, full benefits, a 6% 401K match and three weeks of paid vacation.

Since its inception, Buc-ee's has single-handily raised the bar for bathroom cleanliness while on the road. If you ever tried to hold a three-point stance while dangling a toddler over a seat at the back of a gas station, you'll appreciate this. A dedicated bathroom sanitation crew ensures the stalls are constantly cleaned, and there are also seat wipers and hand sanitizer inside each stall for a bit of DIY. Previously an afterthought, a clean bathroom is now an expectation. Many other travel centers and gas stations try to mimic the sanctity of a Buc-ee's toilet seat, but none have been as successful.

Just one request, Buc-ee's: stop selling the gun shirts. Celebrating gun culture with the tone-deafness of "messy buns & guns" has proven to be a harrowing way to live. To have these shirts on display near the cash register just days after the Robb Elementary shooting in Uvalde where 19 children and two teachers lost their lives was repugnant at best.

click to enlarge

A shirt in Buc-ee's near Temple days after the Uvalde school shooting.

Lauren Drewes Daniels