June 27, 2025

Me and the Beaver – Buc-ee’s 101

Get ready! A Buc-ee’s is coming to SW Florida.

🗣️ If You Build it… Hello, Port Charlotte! Looks like the country’s most beloved pit stop is headed your way! 

🦫 Is it Really a “Gas Station?” What if you took a big Vitamix and added to the blender cup a GIANT gas station (100+ pumps!), a bakery, a to-go restaurant, and a general store?  

But wait!… 

Then add in bathrooms that are cleaner than the ones in your home, a “little” beef jerky, more snacks than you could ever imagine, bins of plush toys, and, of course, some damn nice employees.  

Now hit the puree button. What you get is a Buc-ee’s! 

That above is Buc-ee. He’s the mascot of this place. Yes, he’s a beaver. 

If you have never been to one of these highway-side mega-stops, all of this may be a little hard to comprehend (I know it was for me!). Your imagination will be required. 

🚗 2024 Was My First Buc-ee’s Stop. And I’ll tell you, it’s been a bit difficult to get that first encounter out of my brain. It was overload to put it mildly. This place is not normal by any definition. 😁 

First, there are rows and rows of gas pumps for you to fill up the tank. They sell unleaded gas in four octane levels (87, 89, 91, and 93). Ethanol-free fuel is available along with diesel. There is also something called DEF. (Even after doing some light research, I still have no idea what this is, but if you need it, it’s there!️) 

Need ice for your trip? This should not be a problem… 

Inside, it’s like a big box retail store meshed with the country charm of a Cracker Barrel. I know, not a combo you can easily conjure up! (There is no seating inside or outside. That’s intentional.) 

There is a 30-yard-long case of beef jerky (you don’t see that every day!). 

If you don’t want it fresh out of the case, you can just pick one from the huge wall of “World Famous Jerky”. It’s all pre-packed for your snacking pleasure. 

Dried meat strips not your thing? That’s perfectly OK, they’ve got enough other options for 1000s of road trips! 

There are plush toys everywhere! 

Buc-ee is certainly not the shy and retiring type!  

You can buy a breakfast, lunch, or dinner sandwich depending on the time of your visit. 

Or maybe something from the mini Tortilla Factory suits your fancy! 

Of course, you’ll need to grab some fudge for dessert! 

OH, do not forget the Deer Corn! (That’s what you came for, remember!) 🦌 

All right. So, what’s going on here? Buc-ee’s are sprouting up all over the south and creeping into the Midwest. And folks are flocking to them in numbers that aren’t easily explainable. 

Yes, it’s clean. Yes, it has a big selection of food and snacks (the chopped brisket sandwich is better than your average gas station chopped brisket sandwich), and yes, you can always get a pump to fill from. But all of that doesn’t do the place justice. Buc-ee’s has a “Disney” feel to it. 

⛽ A Wawa-like Devotion. People like stuff that makes them feel good. That makes sense. Sometimes that feeling is really just comfort more than anything else. Wawa makes the folks who transplanted here from the PA/NJ area feel that way. Wawa fans are rabid if nothing else. Kind of like gas station Super-Fans! 

Wawa opened its first “Food Market” back in 1964. They’ve got an 18-year jump on Buc-ee. The devotion for Buc-ee’s might not be as deep-rooted as Wawa’s, but the wide-eyed fascination certainly makes up for it! 

There is one thing that sets Buc-ee’s apart from other road trip refueling options. No, it’s not the walls of snack foods or the long run of pop (or soda 😁) dispensers. It’s not even the insane number of items that bear the image of the smiling beaver mascot.  

It’s this… 

Buc-ee’s does not allow semi trucks! It also means you can’t take a shower there! But more importantly, it greatly decreases the chance that you could be murdered by a serial killer. Yes, this is a REAL thing! – 📝 Long Haul: Hunting the Highway Serial Killers 

😂 I see you snickering out there. No, I do not have an irrational fear of being murdered by a truck stop serial killer. But if I did (or if you do!), this helps to put those fears to rest. 📝 There are usually more “traditional” truck stops close to almost every Buc-ee’s. You can roll the dice and take your chances there if you’d like. 😨 

So, this is what the good folks of Port Charlotte may have in their future (pending some final approvals). They’d better be prepared. There will be lots of sightseers dropping by for fudge, jerky, cheap ice, or possibly a quick homemade tortilla. This is what the I-75 and Harborview Road (Exit 167) interchange may look like in the years ahead. 

It’s going to take a little bit for the Port Charlotte Buc-ee’s to rise from the ground. But once it does… 

📝 A little side note – Once it’s up and running, Buc-ee’s will employ a whole lot of SW Florida folks. AND they pay pretty well! 

~ LH 

📌 ODDS & ENDS 

🍴 Let’s Keep Eating! The 2025 edition of Savor Sarasota is in the books. But the great dining deals don’t have to end there. Lots of places are going to continue to have discounted summer menus. Some of these will continue right through the summer. – HERE’S THE LIST! 📃

Congrats to all of you who took advantage of this year’s Savor. Visit Sarasota estimates that “this year’s dining program brought in over $1 million to our local restaurant community.” Good job showing up for our local eateries. You know that they appreciate each and every one of you! 

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