Lauren Drewes Daniels/Eric Torres.
Audio By Carbonatix
As the sun rises on Monday morning, the yellow and red glow of a new roadside stop will shine over lines of cars. A smiling beaver and the scent of cinnamon sugar roasted nuts will welcome people in line. At 6 a.m., Buc-ee’s will finally open in Arizona.
The City of Goodyear is anticipating that thousands of fans and curious newbies will flood into Bullard Avenue just south of Interstate 10, hoping to be one of the first to step inside the state’s first Buc-ee’s.
The new store will feature 120 gas pumps and 74,000 square feet of shopping space filled with Buc-ee’s merch, its famous snacks and everything anyone might possibly need when stopping on the side of the road.
As newcomers ourselves, we turned to an expert to learn what to expect.
Lauren Drewes Daniels is the food editor of our sister paper, the Dallas Observer. She’s been going to Buc-ee’s for 15 years and made her most recent visit on Tuesday to check out a new shuttle bus service running in Tarrant County.
Buc-ee’s has become such an international phenomenon that the county is running buses to take visiting World Cup soccer fans to the nearest Buc-ee’s location. Daniels spoke with fans from England and Japan who carved out time in their American vacations to stop at the iconic gas station chain. Buc-ee’s has gone global.
Soon, Phoenix residents will have a much shorter distance to travel to the nearest Buc-ee’s. A few days before the gas station, restaurant, mega-mart extravaganza finally touches down in Goodyear, Daniels shared her pro tips, happy memories and favorite foods. Here’s what fans need to know from our resident Buc-ee’s pro.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: First off, what is Buc-ees?
A: It’s everything that you ever dreamed could be at a roadside stop. Really it’s more of a travel center than a gas station.
But the real special thing about Buc-ee’s are the bathrooms, and I know that might sound ridiculous, but everything is anchored by the amazingly clean bathrooms. Like, their bathrooms are Airbnb-ready.
On long road trips, if you’re taking your kids somewhere, you see a Buc-ee’s up ahead, you hold it because you know that you can go in there and not have to go to a disgusting, gross restroom. You can go into an amazingly clean, large, nice bathroom.
Q: So you’re definitely driving past other gas stations, if you know there’s a Buc-ee’s up ahead?
A: Yes, absolutely. When Buc-ee’s first got popular in Texas, like over a decade ago when they started popping up, I remember reading an article in the Austin American-Statesman about how these local gas stations in the small town that was getting a Buc-ee’s, were upset because they were like, this is gonna really hard on business. And that’s true. It was gonna hurt their local businesses, but I remember going to the bathrooms at that gas station, the exact place that said that, and it was disgusting.
And so Buc-ee’s just raised the whole bar for other bathrooms. Now, what we found in Texas, is that other places have tried to keep up. They’ve tried to make their spaces nicer all around, cleaner, smell better and have cleaner facilities. They’re trying to be like Buc-ee’s now. It’s kind of a game-changer.
Lauren Drewes Daniels
Q: So what’s the deal with the mascot? Everybody loves the beaver.
A: Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t really get that because I just really like the restaurants and the snacks. But there’s this beaver that runs around, sometimes he’ll be at some of the stores and everybody likes to take a picture with him. He’s like a baseball team mascot, but he’s for a gas station. And then every single thing in the store has the Buc-ee’s logo on it. It’s just like that beaver is everywhere.
Q: As the chain is expanding around the country, it’s becoming less that you have to be in Texas to be able to go to one. But it is so tied to Texas. What does it mean to the state’s identity that Buc-ee’s is such a big deal?
A: Well, our motto is everything’s bigger in Texas. So the idea that this huge gas station with a gazillion gas pumps and 5,000 pounds of beef jerky inside, that just, like, speaks to Texas pride and how we like everything bigger. It’s so flashy and over the top, and sometimes that’s good, sometimes that’s bad, and I’m not sure. It is what it is.
But I will say, the gas is cheapest. So that’s another big, important thing, and why a lot of people stop.
Q: Our new Buc-ee’s is opening in Goodyear, and the City of Goodyear has put out a whole map; there’s a 6-mile route for opening day to take people into the gas station and back out. It sounds like a lot of organization for what is the opening of a gas station. Do you think that’s going to be necessary?
A: Whenever they put Buc-ee’s in new places, how you get to and from it is always a big deal. And so cities will get all wound up about it. It’s gonna ruin the traffic, you can’t just put it at a basic corner. You need to have highway access nearby.
There’s a Buc-ee’s I travel past a lot, and have for a decade. They’re still packed on the weekends, especially in the summer when people are traveling. It’s amazing how many people roll through. And even now, when they’re like an hour apart, you might think that the sales might be cannibalized by their stores nearby. But they’re not, as crazy as that is.
Another thing about Buc-ee’s is that big rigs, 18-wheelers, can’t go. They just don’t have the space. If you get too many of those in there, the cars aren’t gonna be able to navigate around, and it’s already crowded. What I’ve seen before, though, is 18-wheelers parked on the side of the highway. I saw the driver jumping up over the retaining wall to go to Buc-ee’s.
Another weird thing is there are no seats inside Buc-ee’s. So you can’t get food and sit down and eat anywhere. I think they really just want to keep people moving.
Lauren Drewes Daniels
Q: What’s your favorite memory from Buc-ee’s?
A: When we had the solar eclipse that came through Texas a couple years ago, we were in the path of totality. Dallas was just on the edge, but there was a Buc-ee’s about an hour east of here, and it was in the line of totality.
I was like, I want to go to Buc-ee’s. I bet there’s gonna be people there. So I drove an hour east. There are thousands of people there. There were cars parked everywhere. The lot was completely full, and there was a field in the back filled with people. Everyone was just hanging out at Buc-ee’s for hours with their families, waiting for the eclipse.
I adopted a family there, they were from Florida and had this huge telescope. They drove all the way from Florida to watch the full solar eclipse from a Buc-ee’s. And it was great. Everybody was eating Beaver Nuggets, and dumb things that you buy inside, and just hanging out and waiting for the sun to go dark. It was wild, but it was also fun.
Lauren Drewes Daniels
Q: So, you mentioned a couple of the snacks, but if you’re stopping by Buc-ee’s and grabbing gas, what is one snack you always have to pick up?
Well, people love the Beaver Nuggets. They taste like Corn Pops, the cereal, just a little bit bigger.
They have brisket. I’m from Texas and so I have strong feelings about brisket. The brisket’s fine. It’s okay if you want to get it, but I wouldn’t get it there. But all of the sweets, they have this whole bakery. Get a fried apple pie, I highly recommend those. I really like the chicken salad.
Q: Chicken salad, from a gas station. Can you trust it?
A: Yes, absolutely. It’s actually good. They have a whole kitchen and a great coffee bar with everything you could want for coffee. They have warm nuts that are always roasting, and it’s pecans, almonds and cashews. So the whole store smells like cinnamon and sugar, which is really a cheat code. When you walk in, that hits you; it’s like, “Oh, good Lord!” Those are really good for a nice little treat.
Also, Buc-ee’s made these little bites of dark chocolate, sea salt and caramel. They’re only like 89 cents, and I don’t know why, but of all the things there, that’s my favorite thing to get.
Q: With the opening being so early here, people are planning to get the breakfast tacos. Are those worth it?
A: Yes. Absolutely. They have this one breakfast taco that has everything in it. That’ll get you through a whole day. They make the tortillas there, so that’s a game-changer. They have a little tortilla-making station. They don’t sell the tortillas by the package, which is frustrating, but they use them for all their breakfast tacos. They’re really good.
Q: So there’s lots of good food, but Buc-ee’s sells a little bit of everything. What are some of the best non-food items?
A: You can get every kind of funny, stupid thing, like yesterday I saw they have a Hulk Hogan Fourth of July t-shirt. It’s just ridiculous, so stupid. But it would be a great Father’s Day gift. I know there’s some dad out there that would love that.
They have these little Buc-ee’s full-body suits that you step into, like full-body pajamas, but it’s a beaver, so those are fun for the kids, or, you know, whoever might like them. So just the silly merch is fun.
They have a whole selection of cookbooks. If you need to pick up a gift for someone, there’s absolutely no way you can’t find something in that place. They have ice chests, they have ciggies, they have housewares, candles. They have reading glasses; you can get anything you need there. I suggest doing all your Christmas shopping there.
Q: Is everything Buc-ee’s brand?
A: The housewares section is all just independent. So you can get, like, a ceramic rooster for your dining room table, and it doesn’t say anything about Buc-ee’s. So they a private label, I guess. They have lots of independent labels there, too.
You can get a deer feeder. You can get an outdoor fire pit. They have corn for your deer feeders. They have a ton of ice, ice for days.
Q: Do you remember your first ever time visiting Buc-ee’s?
A: Yes. We were driving down to the coast one weekend. And I love taking my kids to the beach, but I remember being at this gas station where I was trying to hold a 3-point stance while dangling my toddler over this disgusting toilet, and I didn’t want to touch anything. I’ll never forget how disgusting this one bathroom was. It’s like etched into my brain. It’s a core memory and I don’t want it to be.
So on the way back, I stopped at a Buc-ee’s for the first time. I remember taking my kids in and being like, whoever did this, whoever came up with this concept with these immaculate, huge bathrooms, they just struck gold. This was the most brilliant idea that’s ever come out of a company ever to just, like, change the game on providing families with a nice place to stop on a road trip.
That was around 15 years ago. Now, if I’m around one, I’m probably gonna stop.
Lauren Drewes Daniels
Q: People are trying to figure out whether or not to go to the Phoenix opening on Monday morning. It’s going to be crazy. The lines are gonna be long. Would you say it’s worth it?
A: No, I don’t think so. Just ’cause I don’t like long lines until chaos like that, I would wait. Some people just like to be the first ones there, and that’s cool. That would make for a fun day if you had the time and energy to do it.
But I would go in a few weeks, especially late at night, like 10:30 or 11 p.m. when it’s a little bit cleared out, then it’s fun. Just do a little late-night shopping trip.
Q: At the end of the day, even with all the bells and whistles, it is just a gas station. So, is it exceptionally better than any other travel center that you could stop at?
A: It is. It just is. I’ve gone to others. I’ve made cross-country road trips, and I’ve tried some of the other ones. Buc-ee’s just kind of ruins all the others for you. So maybe don’t go if you don’t want every other gas station or truck stop to be ruined.
Buc-ee’s
Opens at 6 a.m., June 22
1001 N. Bullard Ave, Goodyear
