Dive Brief:
- Buc-ee’s is in the early stages of adding Utah to its store network, according to documents from the Springville City Council.
- The council unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday with Buc-ee’s, under which the city will reimburse the company for select infrastructure upgrades at the store’s first proposed site in the state.
- The Utah site is the latest step in a multi-year, multi-state expansion plan that’s seen the Texas-based retailer stretch its footprint as far as Virginia, Wisconsin and Idaho.
Dive Insight:
Because of Buc-ee’s size — the Springville site, located off exit 261 along Interstate 15, is expected to have a 74,000-square-foot store — sites often require significant infrastructure upgrades to handle car and foot traffic.
At peak times, Buc-ee’s can see well over a thousand cars coming and going per hour, making road upgrades important. With large bathrooms and kitchen areas, the stores also can tax water, sewer and electricity lines. Infrastructure issues can cause delays in Buc-ee’s timeline, as a DeForest, Wisconsin, site saw last year.
However, the influx of visitors and good-paying jobs means many communities view the investments as worthwhile.
“We’re happy to give you a good reason to spend some infrastructure investment dollars,” said Stan Beard, director of development and real estate for Buc-ee’s, told the Springville City Council during Tuesday’s meeting. “The return on investment, I promise you, is going to be better than anyone expects.”
Under the agreement, Springville will reimburse Buc-ee’s for multiple upgrades, including 50% of cost for road work, all costs for adding traffic signal infrastructure and any costs for upsizing water lines if the city feels a larger pipe will be needed.
Mapping Buc-ee's store footprint beyond Texas
Beard told the council that it could take up to a year before the company breaks ground at the site, and up to another 18 months beyond that before the store would officially open.
Buc-ee’s is now open in 11 states — Texas, Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Missouri, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, Colorado and Alabama.
The retailer also has sites at various stages of approval and construction in Idaho, Arizona, Kansas, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Arkansas, Ohio and North Carolina. With the addition of Utah, Buc-ee’s is now operating or trying to open stores in 20 states.
