Buc-ee’s, the super-sized convenience store and gas station chain, known for its cheap gas, popular food selection and iconic, beaver-branded merchandise, is eyeing a new location in Southwest Florida.
Buc-ee’s reportedly plans to submit a development application to the Charlotte County Commission for a site located between Sarasota and Fort Myers, near Interstate 75 and Harborview Road in Punta Gorda.
Florida currently has Buc-ee’s locations in Daytona Beach and St. Augustine, with plans for new stores advancing in Ocala and Ft. Pierce. Additionally, the company is reportedly planning a new Buc-ee’s location off Interstate 10 near Tallahassee.
The Daytona Beach Buc-ee’s had an eye-popping 5.4 million visitors over 12-months (14,794 per day), the Daytona Beach News-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.
What has people so hyped for Buc-ee’s? We’ll tell you.
From Beaver Nuggets, brisket and walls of jerky to pristine bathrooms and cheap gas, here’s what to know about Buc-ee’s:
1. Cheap(er) gas prices at Buc-ee’s gas station
Buc-ee’s tends to keep its gas prices around the Costco/Sam’s/BJ’s level, without requiring a membership.
A survey in 2023 from Texas-based energy company Payless Power named Buc-ee’s the second-favorite gas station (after CostCo), with gas prices just behind Wawa. Last year, the American Customer Satisfaction Index ranked Buc-ee’s as the third-best gas station in the country, although it barely squeaked onto USA TODAY’s 10Best list.
“Between cleanliness, price, food quality and customer service, only two stations, Costco and Buc-ee’s, made the top five in all four categories,” Payless’ report said. “They also took first and second place, respectively, for the overall best-rated gas stations.”
2. Buc-ee’s has food. Lots of it.
The Buc-ee’s locations in St. Augustine and Daytona Beach are tied for largest gas stations in Florida. For now.
There’s a Texas Roundup section in the middle as you walk in, preparing hot foods such as certified Angus beef brisket, pulled pork, sausages, turkey, roasted cinnamon nuts and more. Many items, even Buc-ee’s brand potato chips, are cooked on-site.
There’s a counter in the back offering store-made jerky by the pound in multiple flavors and kolache pastries (rolls stuffed with meat and cheese, or fruit) in the mornings.
“We’ll have everything from sausage kolaches to ham and cheese and fruit kolaches,” Smith said about the Daytona Beach location in 2020. “We’ll also have homemade jalapeno cheese bread, banana nut muffins, scones and cinnamon rolls the size of dinner plates that are spectacular. And they’re all baked here in the kitchen.”
3. Buc-ee’s has its own brand of … everything
At a Buc-ee’s gas station, there are entire sections devoted to chips, candy, popcorn, hot sauces, and any picnic or motorist need you can imagine, and most of it is made for the chain and branded with their name and ubiquitous beaver logo. There are pickled quail eggs, candied jalapeños, and quail poppers.
4. They make their own fudge at Buc-ee’s
Buc-ee’s has a fudge counter. Because why not.
Buc-ee’s makes its own fudge, with over 20 types including blueberry cobbler, maple pecan, red velvet, M&M, and watermelon, plus the usual varieties of chocolate and caramel. If you can’t decide, there are stacks of sampler boxes ready for you in the aisles.
5. Don’t skip the Beaver Nuggets at Buc-ee’s gas station
Beaver Nuggets are one of the popular snack items that the Daytona Beach Buc-ee’s will offer when it opens its doors on Monday, March 22, 2021. The sugary treats have been described as caramel-covered corn pops.
And then there are “Beaver Nuggets.”
Buc-ee’s is famous for its “Beaver Nuggets,” which are not technically medically addictive but they are definitely what the British called “moreish,” meaning you want to keep eating them. The basic flavor of the round snacks is something like a caramel-flavored corn puff, but they’re also available in sea-salted caramel, cinnamon, Bold ‘n’ Spicy, white cheddar, white cheddar habanero, chocolate-covered, and a Bugles-shaped white-fudge-covered version. There is even a Beaver-Nuggets-scented candle, for when you run out at home and still want the scent.
When Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a $4 million grant from the state’s Job Growth Grant Fund will help build the new I-75 interchange and welcomed Buc-ee’s to the area, he hurled bags of Beaver Nuggets into the crowd.
6. There is a Wall of Jerky at Buc-ee’s gas station
Mike McLean, a resident of Latitude Margaritaville in Daytona Beach, stands in front of the wall of jerky at the Buc-ee’s gas station/travel convenience center in Gulf Shoires, Alabama in November 2019. He and his wife Lisa say they are excited Buc-ee’s is opening a store in Daytona Beach Monday morning, March 22, 2021. Doors open at 6 a.m. McLean, a Daytona Beach Planning Board member, will take part in a ribbon-cutting at 11 a.m.
At Buc-ee’s gas station locations, about 20 different flavors are available of different cuts and textures including Cherry Maple, Peppered Turkey, Steakhouse, Ghost Pepper, Teriyaki, Korean Barbecue, Bohemian Garlic and more. Customers regularly take selfies in front of the wall, just marveling at it all.
The most popular jerky? Bohemian Garlic, according to Josh Smith, director of operations for the Southeast. “It’s been one of our most popular items since Arch Aplin III opened his first store in 1982.”
7. Household goods and beaver gear at Buc-ee’s gas station
Latitude Margaritaville Daytona Beach resident Jeannie Lunney poses next to a statue of the beaver mascot for Buc-ee’s at one of the chain’s supersized gas station/convenience stores in Texas where she used to live. Lunney said she looks forward to the Daytona Beach Buc-ee’s opening in the first quarter of 2021. It will be on the other side of Interstate 95 from the Jimmy Buffett 55-and-older community off LPGA Boulevard.
A giant beaver greets you outside and images of him are everywhere. Florida residents who are used to giant, somewhat disturbing cartoon mascots will find this very familiar.
Inside, half the store is what Smith called the “fun side” of the store: basically a small department store dropped in the midst of the candy bars and foam coolers.
You’ll be able to find home decor, kitchen utensils, clothing, barbecue grills and wood, Florida souvenirs, and more, from a mix of local and worldwide vendors. The St. Augustine location even sells crawfish-washing buckets. But mostly you’ll find Buc-ee’s branded products like shirts, hoodies, sunscreen, soccer balls, hats, sports equipment and possibly a literal truck full of Buc-ee’s plush toys.
Regulars go to Buc-ee’s for the brand items and the experience, sometimes with gas as an afterthought. The website eater.com described Buc-ee’s as the “most beloved road-trip destination” in Texas and several other websites also list Buc-ee’s as one of the top places to visit in the Lone Star State.
A pickup truck crammed with Buc-ee’s beavers is parked in the St. Augustine Buc-ee’s.
And the beaver? In a 2018 interview with The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Buc-ee’s co-founder Arch “Beaver” Aplin explained that the cartoon beaver mascot was inspired by his own childhood nicknames, “Beaver” and “Bucky Beaver.” It’s also a shoutout to his childhood Labrador dog, Buck.
8. Road trips? Incredibly clean bathrooms at Buc-ee’s gas station
Buc-ee’s is famous for its immaculate, enormous bathrooms.
If you need to pull over for a bathroom stop, you want a Buc-ee’s. Like everything else in Buc-ee’s, the bathrooms are enormous. They’re also guaranteed to be clean and inviting, and you won’t have to wait in line, probably ever.
Buc-ee’s has been rated by GasBuddy.com as having the cleanest restrooms of any convenience store chain in the nation. Every location has full-time staff dedicated just to keep the facilities clean and well-stocked, with seemingly more stalls than the average sports stadium.
In 2012, service industry supplier Cintas held a nationwide restroom contest and a Buc-ee’s location in New Braunfels, Texas, as having the cleanest restrooms in the country.
9. Buc-ee’s is big. Like, world record big
This year Buc-ee’s broke its own world record for largest gas station with a new, 75,593-square-foot location in Luling, Texas.
And the Buc-ee’s in Katy, Texas, boasts the world’s longest car wash, 255 feet of sudsy goodness. The one recently added to the Daytona Beach Buc-ee’s tops out at “only” 235 feet.
10. Buc-ee’s jobs, pay, salary
When Buc-ee’s opened its Daytona Beach, Florida, location in 2020, starting pay was $14 to $15 an hour for entry-level positions, with full benefits, a 401(k) and three weeks of vacation for full-time employees. As of Feb. 5, 2025, ZipRecruiter reported the average pay for a Buc-ee’s employee is $15.73 an hour. Employment site GlassDoor.com reported that a general manager can see from $175,000 to $225,000 a year.
That’s well above Florida’s minimum wage, which is currently $13 an hour for nontipped employees but will increase to $14 on Sept. 30.
In May, Roxie Abnernathy (@roxieab) went viral on TikTok when she pointed out that a Buc-ee’s janitor made the same amount as she did as a case manager. In a follow-up video she detailed the different rates and how they compared to her own income.
“I’m still, like, in shock,” she said.
Contributing: Heather Bushman, Herald-Tribune
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Buc-ee’s in Florida: New SW FL location coming? What to know
