Nationally, Buc-ee’s has continued pushing beyond Texas with large-format travel centers that double as fuel stops, food halls and retail destinations. In Tennessee, that expansion is no longer a one-off: the state now has two open Buc-ee’s stores and two more confirmed projects that would stretch the brand from East Tennessee to the Memphis area.
Buc-ee’s has already committed to a 4-store Tennessee map
Buc-ee’s currently shows two operating Tennessee locations on its store network, and both are already significant anchors on Interstate 40 traffic corridors. The first opened in Crossville on June 27, 2022, at 2045 Genesis Road, according to WDEF and WVLT, giving the company its first Tennessee foothold between Nashville and Knoxville.
The second Tennessee location opened on June 26, 2023, in the Sevierville-Kodak area near Exit 407 off I-40. Coverage from The Cherokee One Feather and Action News 5 reported that store at 170 Buc-ee’s Boulevard measured about 74,700 square feet and included 120 fuel positions, making it the world’s largest Buc-ee’s at the time of opening.
The next major move came on October 14, 2025, when Buc-ee’s held a groundbreaking in Murfreesboro. Rutherford Source, citing the ceremony, reported the new store at I-24 and Joe B. Jackson Parkway will span 74,000 square feet with 120 fueling positions, and Buc-ee’s founder and CEO Arch “Beaver” Aplin III said he anticipates an opening in 2026.
That means Tennessee is not waiting on tentative speculation or unfiled proposals. It already has two stores in operation and two publicly confirmed expansion projects, a scale that puts the state in a different category from places where Buc-ee’s has only one travel center or only an announced site.
Tennessee’s local impact is becoming statewide, not regional
What is confirmed is the geographic spread. Crossville serves the central I-40 corridor, while the Kodak-area store captures Smoky Mountains and East Tennessee tourism traffic bound for Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, based on local coverage surrounding the 2023 opening.
Murfreesboro changes the map because it pulls Buc-ee’s much closer to the Nashville metro area. At the October 2025 groundbreaking, Stan Beard, Buc-ee’s director of real estate and development, said the site would serve travelers moving to and from Nashville, Atlanta and the Gulf Coast, and Rutherford Source reported the project is expected to bring at least 250 full-time jobs.
West Tennessee is the other major shift. Action News 5 reported on March 26, 2026, that land clearing had started in Gallaway for the first Buc-ee’s in West Tennessee, roughly a 40-minute drive from Memphis, after the project was first announced in April 2024.
What is not fully known is whether Buc-ee’s has additional Tennessee sites beyond those four already public. The company has not released any broader statewide buildout plan, and it has not publicly detailed opening-day schedules, staffing totals or final construction milestones for every future Tennessee location.
The strategy reflects highway growth, tourism traffic and multi-region coverage
The clearest reason Tennessee matters is corridor coverage. The state’s open and planned stores line up along heavily traveled interstate routes tied to Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis and the Smoky Mountains, allowing Buc-ee’s to serve both daily highway traffic and destination travel.
Public statements around the Murfreesboro project also point to labor and scale as part of the strategy. Rutherford Source reported Buc-ee’s said the store would bring at least 250 full-time jobs, with benefits and retirement matching, showing the company is building full-scale travel centers rather than smaller convenience outposts.
There is also a timing factor. Buc-ee’s said through Murfreesboro project materials that it now operates in more than 10 states, and the company’s official careers page lists Tennessee among its active hiring markets. That indicates Tennessee is part of Buc-ee’s established operating network, not just a speculative expansion edge.
For Tennessee drivers, the practical takeaway is simple. East Tennessee already has two Buc-ee’s stops, Middle Tennessee has Murfreesboro in development, and West Tennessee has Gallaway under way with an expected May 2027 completion timeline reported by Action News 5. If those schedules hold, Tennessee residents would see Buc-ee’s move from a pair of regional stops to a true statewide road-trip network.