The Buc-ee’s co-founder discussed the company’s expansion strategy during the Aug. 17 opening of its newest store in Benton, Arkansas.
His message was straightforward: Buc-ee’s has plenty of potential destinations to choose from, and the company would rather invest in communities where political leaders actually want businesses to succeed.
“We have a lot of opportunities. We’re growing. We’re building in a lot of places. But when you find a conservative business-friendly state with a phenomenal workforce, it makes a difference,” Aplin said, per Fox Business.
That distinction could spell bad news for liberal states and cities saddled with regulations, political hostility toward corporations, or government leaders who make development unnecessarily difficult.
Buc-ee’s isn’t struggling to find communities interested in landing one of its enormous travel centers. That gives the company the luxury of being selective about where it puts its money.
Aplin suggested there is little reason to fight political battles in jurisdictions that don’t appreciate the economic benefits a major development can provide.
“I’m starting to realize life’s too short to try to build in places that people don’t appreciate what you’re bringing, versus a place like this where people do appreciate what you are building,” he added.
Arkansas appears to have passed that test.
Aplin said his team determined that Benton offered the kind of environment the company was looking for, describing the community as business-friendly.
And he argued that the attitude toward businesses cannot simply exist at one level of government.
According to Aplin, it works best when elected officials from the governor’s office all the way down to local government are pulling in the same direction.
“That leadership, that concept, that idea of conservative, business-friendly, family-oriented concept works so much better if it trickles down from the very leadership from the top at the governor’s office, at the congressman, at senator, at the mayor, the representatives,” he continued.
The comments offer an unusually direct look at how one of America’s fastest-growing convenience-store brands evaluates potential expansion sites.
And there is plenty at stake for communities competing for a Buc-ee’s location.
The Texas-born chain is famous for sprawling stores, huge numbers of fuel pumps, famously clean restrooms, and an enormous selection of snacks, barbecue, merchandise, and Buc-ee’s-branded products.
The stores have also become destinations in their own right, attracting travelers who might otherwise simply drive through a community.
According to Fox Business, a Buc-ee’s location creates roughly 200 jobs.
Multiply that by the company’s growing footprint, and its expansion represents substantial private investment and employment across the South and other parts of the country.
Texas remains Buc-ee’s stronghold, accounting for 37 of the company’s 58 locations.
But the beaver is steadily marching across America.
The company has expanded into Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Fox Business noted that many of the communities where Buc-ee’s has chosen to build lean politically conservative — a pattern that looks particularly noteworthy in light of Aplin’s latest remarks.
The expansion isn’t slowing down, either.
Buc-ee’s is scheduled to open its next location in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on Nov. 16.
An even bigger wave is expected in 2027.
Six additional locations are slated for Ruston, Louisiana; Kansas City, Kansas; Gallaway, Tennessee; St. Lucie, Florida; Boerne, Texas; and Monroe County, Georgia.
For governors and mayors watching the company’s growth, Aplin’s comments amount to a fairly simple lesson.
Companies with the ability to invest in multiple states don’t have to go where they’re merely tolerated.
They can go where they’re welcomed.
Buc-ee’s has built an almost cult-like following by giving highway travelers something radically different from the typical gas-station experience. As the chain takes that formula into new markets, state and local governments will increasingly be competing for its investment.
Aplin’s remarks suggest conservative, business-friendly communities may have an advantage in that competition.
For blue-state politicians who want the jobs, tax revenue, construction spending, and economic activity associated with major private developments, Buc-ee’s expansion strategy also delivers a warning.
Businesses have choices, too.
