Texans are obsessed with this rest stop chain you’ve probably never heard of
Buc-ee's
A chain of rest stops has become an icon for chefs and Texan food-lovers.
"Ask any Texas chef about the one must-stop spot on a road trip, and the response won’t involve an obscure taco stand or a legendary barbecue joint," Priya Krishna writes in Bon Appétit. "Most likely, you’ll be pointed to Buc-ee's, a chain of rest stops sprinkled along Texas highways."
Buc-ee's was founded in 1982 by Don Wasek and Arch "Beaver" Aplin III (notably, the mascot of the chain is also a beaver). Today, the chain has 37 locations, all in Texas.
From the outside, Buc-ee's might not seem like much. But the food immediately sets the chain apart from other rest stops.
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Chefs told Bon Appetit that their favorite Buc-ee's offerings included beaver nuggets (caramel-coated corn snacks), handmade fudge, wild game jerky, and freshly-sliced brisket breakfast tacos.
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The locations are packed with food geared toward a Texas road trip.
Offerings include hot to-go meals, like fresh kolache and chopped beef sandwiches. There are seemingly endless aisles of snack foods, from mainstream Chex-Mix to Buc-ee's branded candies.
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Buc-ee's founder told Bon Appétit the chain does not intend to be a restaurant. Still, it offers a shockingly in-depth and tasty culinary selection.
In addition to food, Buc-ee's also sells a plethora of branded merchandise, from t-shirts, to footballs, to stuffed animals, to sippy cups.
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Of course, at its core, Buc-ee's is a rest stop.
Locations have 120 gas pumps, Bon Appétit reports, and are conveniently located off the highway.
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The rest stop also takes pride in the cleanliness of its restrooms.
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In 2012, Buc-ee's New Braunfels location won Cintas' annual contest for the cleanest public bathroom in America.
"We invite everyone to stop in to try out our award winning restrooms," Aplin said in a statement at the time. "Maybe Buc-ee’s will be our city’s new claim to fame, the ‘Taj Ma-Stall’ of Texas… a tourist attraction in and of itself."
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These amenities have helped make Buc-ee's a go-to even outside of Texas chef circles. Texans make their love for Buc-ees known on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/778065219490680832
Let's go on a buc ee's date?
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Buc-ee's in Madisonville, Texas. By far the best highway stop for food, gas & restrooms in the US! pic.twitter.com/HfpKv2HsTd
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/774680523713032192
The only public bathroom I will ever feel comfortable using is Buc-ee's.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/774382373211209729
I saw a Buc-ee's on the opposite of the highway and almlst caused a 20 car pileup when I went 4 lanes over at once to exit for it????????
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/773985509194334208
Today I went to Buc-ee's for the first time...@jimmy_novacaine and I dropped $40 on jerky alone. #isthisreallife pic.twitter.com/GxzvFa9n69
Now, Buc-ee's is ready to expand beyond the Lone Star State. In March, the company announced it planned to open a location in Millerville, Louisiana some time in early 2017.
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Bon Appétit reports that Buc-ee's is preparing to lose some of its signature Texas swagger in new locations. Aplin says the chain may swap breakfast tacos and Texas-shaped waffle irons for Louisiana-friendly fair.
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However, it seems unlikely Texans will ever ditch Buc-ee's as their iconic claim to convenience chain fame.
"Even if I don’t need to stop, I find myself wanting to stop at Buc-ee’s,” Texan chef Tim Love told Bon Appétit. "When a new Buc-ee’s opens, it's like a new roller-coaster ride. You just want to go in and see it. You don’t want to be left out."
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