Dive Brief:
- Convenience store chain Buc-ee’s plans to open a new travel center in Ruston, Louisiana, in 2025 — its first store in the state — according to a Monday press release from the city.
- The Ruston location is expected to cover 53,000 square feet, include 120 gas pumps and employ at least 200 people starting at $16 per hour.
- This comes six years after Buc-ee’s dropped previously announced plans to open its first store in Louisiana. Buc-ee’s new $50 million-plus project in Ruston will not be among its largest stores, but will still be about 20 times larger than the average traditional c-store.
Dive Insight:
Buc-ee’s move to Louisiana continues its measured expansion into new parts of the U.S. While the company’s current slate of upcoming stores includes new locations in states where it already has a presence like Texas and Kentucky, it’s also expanding into Missouri and Colorado in 2024.
Including these and the new Louisiana store, Buc-ee’s will grow from seven to 10 states.
The Ruston Buc-ee’s is expected to break ground in late 2023.
“This is a huge win for Ruston and all of North Louisiana,” Jade West, economic development director for the City of Ruston, said in the release. “The economic impact of this development is substantial and something that the community will benefit from for years to come.”
Buc-ee’s did not respond by press time to an inquiry for details about its expansion to Louisiana.
When Buc-ee’s planned to build a location in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 2016, it ultimately decided not to follow through, citing a need for a “critical mass” of stores to move forward. At the time, Buc-ee’s had 31 locations in Texas and was making its first move into new states. Florida became its first expansion state instead.
The chain has a dedicated following thanks to its focus on clean restrooms, lots of gas pumps, fresh food and an array of branded merchandise with the chain’s beaver mascot.
Lake Jackson, Texas-based Buc-ees, which was founded in 1982, currently has 44 convenience stores across the South, with the majority in Texas, but other locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee.
