World’s Largest Buc-ee’s Opens 45 Miles South Of Wyoming Off I-25

JOHNSTOWN, Colo. — Heather and Mariah Shea couldn’t believe their eyes when they arrived at the new 75,000-square-foot Buc-ee’s store that opened Monday morning, the world’s largest example yet of a convenience store concept on steroids, one that’s become a destination unto itself.

“It’s so big,” Maria told Cowboy State Daily.

“And there’s a little bit of everything,” Heather added. “Home decor, clothes — you go into Buc-ee’s and there’s everything.”

Neither Heather nor Mariah had ever been to a Buc-ee’s before, but Mariah’s dad Chris, who has been to them in Texas, has been telling them all about it since the family found out last St. Patrick’s Day that Buc-ee’s was coming to Colorado.

They drove four hours east from Grand Junction to be there for the store’s opening day, and they had a basket chock-full of some of the recommended Buc-ee’s favorites: Beaver Nuggets, Coconut Clusters, “world-famous” beef jerky, vanilla pudding cups and Beaver Buddies.

Each member of the family had also each picked out a Buc-ee’s T-shirt to take home from the occasion.

Spring break made the trip easy for the Sheas, giving them some time off for a road trip.

“It’s been awesome,” Mariah’s brother Craven told Cowboy State Daily. “The size of it is amazing.”

The family was also impressed with the long line of 116 gas pumps outside, not to mention the 12 Tesla charging stations.

Biggest In The World — For Six Months

At 75,000 square feet, the new Buc-ee’s in Johnstown gets to lay claim to largest convenience store in the world, taking it from the 74,707-square-foot Buc-ee’s in Sevierville, Tennessee.

But the claim will be short-lived. The company is already working on a store in Luling, Texas, that will be just over 75,000 square feet.

When the Luling store is complete, Buc-ee’s will then be able to lay claim to the first-, second-, third- and fourth-largest convenience stores anywhere in the world.

Size is part of the mystique that is Buc-ee’s in a world where the average for most travel stops are around 3,000 square feet or so.

Another thing that sets these travel stops apart is that semitrucks aren’t allowed. In fact, signs appear at all of the approaches to the store to let people know that Buc-ee’s isn’t a truck stop.

Another thing that’s interesting about the stores are their locations.

Rather than locate in big metropolitan areas, Buc-ee’s prefers to build its large, destination convenience stores in communities that lie between major destinations.

It’s all part of creating the sense that a Buc-ee’s store is a destination in and of itself, and one that cannot be missed.

Buc-ee’s started shopping around for new, non-Texas locations sometime around 2019, when it opened a store in Alabama.

Today, there are also Buc-ee’s stores in Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee.

An email was sent to Buc-ee’s via its contact form to ask whether it plans any stores in Wyoming. No response had been received by the time this story was posted.

The Ultimate Impulse Experience

The Texas-based chain is Bed, Bath and Beyond meets Circus meets buck-toothed Beaver — with great barbecue.

A store that has everything about sums up what visitors to the Colorado Buc-ee’s will find.

It’s got a household section that’s channeling the Bed, Bath and Beyond of the ’80s, which had a range of stuff both fanciful and affordable for every nook and cranny of the home, as well as the kitschy beaver apparel.

Sherpa throws, whiskey teacups, cookbooks, cast iron pans, Funky Rock Designs drink dispensers, country chicken head dishes, Van Gogh sunflower plates, whiskey teacups and more fill that section with something for just about everyone, no matter the age.

“Do they have a whisk?” A random customer asked Cowboy State Daily.

And the safe answer?

“Probably so …” this reporter told him waving toward a stand stacked with mixing bowls, cheese graters, cutting boards, butter dishes, coffee mugs, napkin holders, cheese wheels and aprons all within eyesight.

“Somewhere in there …”

In the midst of all that, meanwhile, the barbecue pit master is yelling out, “Freeeeesh hot brisket on the board!” at the top of his lungs every so often.

His call is quickly answered by the pit crew repeating his chant, amidst the chunk-chunk-chunk sound of a meat cleaver chopping said brisket into bite-sized morsels, with no remorse.

The smell of fudge being freshly made nearby wafts over all of this.

Is it any wonder customers entering the store take a deep breath and gush, “Oh wow! It smells so good!”

About Those Beaver Nuggets

Probably the most favorite snack from Buc-ees are the Beaver Nuggets.

The name might sound awful, but these are as addictive as crack. The most popular flavor is a puffy corn snack tossed in caramelized butter-brown sugar mixture. Think kettle corn, but without any irritating kernels or hulls to mess with.

Other flavors include White Cheddar, Cinnamon Sweet, Sea-Salted Caramel, Milk Chocolate and Bold N’ Sorta Spicy.

The most popular flavor is original, which tastes a bit like a cross between Cap’n Crunch and Frosted Corn Flakes cereals,

“I even eat them with milk like cereal,” Arthur Merrival confided to Cowboy State Daily as he set out sample cups with two or three Beaver Nuggets for the thousands of customers shopping in the store on Monday.

Merrival said he and all the employees working Buc-ee’s opening day had been told to expect the huge crowds.

Merrival wasn’t sure how many actual customers had passed through Monday, and a store manager told Cowboy State Daily he was not authorized to speak to news media.

Firefighters outside the store, though, told Cowboy State Daily they’d been told to expect at least 15,000 shoppers for the opening day, and maybe even more.

With that many people expected at the store, Front Range Fire And Rescue decided to keep a fire truck on standby, just in case of medical emergency.

“The more people there are the more chance of something happening,” Conner Covillo told Cowboy State Daily.

Covillo said Buc-ee’s had invited first responders from the surrounding area to visit, including from Wyoming, and that they got to try all the food as part of that.

They were also told to expect a number of people driving from as far away as 300 miles away during the store’s opening week. But those who can’t wait for it to come to Wyoming won’t have to drive that far. It’s only 45 miles from the border, and 55 miles from Cheyenne.

Not everyone, however, came from far away.

Michelle Cooper was among those living just 10 minutes away who couldn’t resist stopping by Monday to see what kind of things the huge new Buc-ee’s had brought to town, and to try the food that friends have told her about.

“I’m really excited,” she said. “This is so cool. And it smells so good!”

Contact Renée Jean at renee@cowboystatedaily.com

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.