As large-format travel centers keep pushing farther beyond their home regions, expansion plans have become a closely watched signal for where chains see room to grow. Buc-ee’s sharpened that picture on May 12, 2026, when new reporting carried by the company’s own news page and industry outlets laid out the next wave of stores and, just as notably, the states still being left out.
Buc-ee’s spelled out a multi-state expansion wave with several firsts
Buc-ee’s next confirmed wave centers on a string of first-in-state openings that extends into 2027. Reporting published May 12, 2026 by USA Today and highlighted on Buc-ee’s own News & Press page said the Texas-based chain had upcoming openings or active development in Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, North Carolina and Wisconsin, with company representatives also confirming 2026 opening dates for Goodyear, Arizona; San Marcos, Texas; Benton, Arkansas; and Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Industry group NACS separately reported that Buc-ee’s planned to enter at least six new states by the end of 2027.
The timeline has already started to move from plan to reality. Buc-ee’s opened in Goodyear on June 22, 2026, marking its first Arizona location, and the company’s media-room releases show a Benton, Arkansas debut announced August 3, 2026 after an earlier groundbreaking there on April 2, 2025. The same press-release archive lists groundbreakings for Ruston, Louisiana on October 22, 2025, Kansas City, Kansas on October 2, 2025, and Mebane, North Carolina on May 29, 2026.
What stands out is the scale. Recent Buc-ee’s projects described by local governments and trade coverage consistently run around 70,000 to 74,000 square feet and roughly 100 to 120 fuel positions, underscoring that this is not a small-store rollout. The company has not published one comprehensive national list on its corporate site with every future address and opening date in one place, but the pattern across its releases and cited local reports shows a deliberate next wave concentrated in large interstate-adjacent builds.
The places getting stores are clear, but the skipped markets matter too
The clearest local impact is in the states newly joining the Buc-ee’s map. Arkansas has now opened its first store in Benton, Arizona has opened its first in Goodyear, and Wisconsin, Louisiana, Kansas and North Carolina remain on deck with city-specific projects in Oak Creek, Ruston, Kansas City and Mebane, according to local government reporting cited by Fox Business and NACS. Ohio also entered the fold earlier with Huber Heights, which opened April 6, 2026, according to Buc-ee’s press materials.
Just as important, some places are confirmed misses. Buc-ee’s media-room archive includes a May 15, 2026 statement saying the company had no plans for a Plainfield Township, Pennsylvania location and described a circulating letter of intent there as invalid. In Illinois, Axios reported on August 27, 2026 that company representatives said Buc-ee’s has no plans to open in the state.
That leaves a middle category of states where interest exists but confirmation does not. Colorado, for example, moved a step forward on August 27, 2026 when El Paso County commissioners approved a zoning request tied to a proposed Buc-ee’s, but Axios reported the company still had not announced a construction timeline. For readers tracking where Buc-ee’s is going next, the company’s pattern is increasingly city-specific: if a city has a groundbreaking, zoning action or opening announcement, it is real; if not, Buc-ee’s often says nothing publicly.
Buc-ee’s expansion is following economics, workforce bets and selective market choices
The company’s public comments point to a selective expansion model rather than a rush for every open state. Axios reported that co-founder and president Arch “Beaver” Aplin III said at Buc-ee’s Benton opening in mid-August 2026 that the chain prefers conservative, business-friendly states with a strong workforce. That comment offered the clearest direct explanation yet for why some markets are moving ahead while others are not.
Local economic-development messaging lines up with that approach. Goodyear officials said in a June 25, 2026 release, later cited by AOL and USA Today reporting, that Buc-ee’s chose Arizona because of the state’s economic momentum and workforce. NACS and Fox Business coverage also show Buc-ee’s focusing on interstate sites large enough to support the chain’s standard oversized format, a requirement that naturally narrows the field to certain suburban and exurban corridors.
For customers and residents, the practical takeaway is straightforward. The next Buc-ee’s growth is concentrated in named cities with announced openings, groundbreakings or active approvals, not in a blanket nationwide buildout. In states such as Pennsylvania and Illinois, the company has either explicitly said no or indicated no current plans, while other markets remain speculative until Buc-ee’s or local officials put a project on the record.