Buc-ee’s Expansion Brings New Travel Centers to Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina

Buc-ee’s is expanding deeper into the Southeast with first-ever travel centers planned in Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina, adding large-format stores along major interstate corridors in Benton, Ruston and Mebane. The projects extend the Texas-based brand’s footprint across some of the region’s most active highway retail markets and could create new demand for nearby restaurants, hotels, service retailers and outparcel development.

The latest wave is part of a broader national expansion that includes first-time Buc-ee’s locations in several new states. A Buc-ee’s spokesperson confirmed the chain plans to enter at least seven new states: Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin, while also adding new stores in existing markets including Tennessee and Texas.

For commercial real estate, the story is bigger than convenience-store growth. Buc-ee’s large-format travel centers often function as interstate anchors, generating traffic at highway exits and making nearby land more attractive for quick-service restaurants, hotels, auto-service users, coffee chains, car washes and other highway-oriented retail.

Buc-ee’s Southeast pipeline

Arkansas: Buc-ee’s sets August opening for first Benton store

Buc-ee’s first Arkansas location is scheduled to open Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, in Benton, according to recent local reporting. The travel center is located off Exit 114 on Interstate 30 and has been under construction since groundbreaking ceremonies were held in April 2025. The Benton store is expected to employ more than 200 people and include 120 gas pumps.

The Benton location gives Buc-ee’s a prominent position on the I-30 corridor between Little Rock and the Dallas-Fort Worth market. From a real estate standpoint, that makes the site more than a fuel stop. It positions Buc-ee’s as a traffic generator on a regional travel route where adjacent parcels could become more attractive for restaurants, hotels and other service-oriented users.

The Arkansas opening is also notable because it gives Buc-ee’s another foothold in the South, where the brand has built a loyal following through stores in states such as Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi and Virginia.

Louisiana: Ruston lands the state’s first Buc-ee’s

In Louisiana, Buc-ee’s has broken ground on its first store in the state in Ruston, at I-20 and Tarbutton Road. The company said the Ruston travel center will span 74,000 square feet and include 120 fueling positions. Buc-ee’s also said the project will bring at least 200 full-time jobs to the area.

Stan Beard, Buc-ee’s director of real estate and development, described Ruston as “a smart-growth town” with “the perfect location” in northwest Louisiana, according to the company’s groundbreaking announcement.

That quote captures the real estate thesis behind the site. Ruston sits on Interstate 20, a major east-west corridor linking Louisiana with Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. For Buc-ee’s, the location creates a new anchor between its Texas base and its expanding Southeastern network. For surrounding landowners and developers, it could increase visibility for nearby highway commercial sites.

North Carolina: Mebane becomes the state’s first Buc-ee’s market

Buc-ee’s first North Carolina location is planned for Mebane, along Trollingwood-Hawfields Road near the I-40/I-85 interchange. Construction on the 34-acre site began in November 2025, and the location is expected to open in late 2027, according to WRAL.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has been working with Buc-ee’s to create additional access points for the project, underscoring the infrastructure impact that can come with a travel center of this size.

The Mebane site may be one of the most commercially important locations in the Southeast pipeline. It sits between the Triangle and the Triad, two of North Carolina’s strongest growth regions, and offers exposure to traffic moving along both I-40 and I-85. That combination of commuter traffic, regional travel and long-haul interstate movement makes the site attractive not only for Buc-ee’s, but also for other users that tend to cluster around high-volume exits.

Tennessee: Murfreesboro adds another Buc-ee’s near Nashville

Buc-ee’s is also expanding within Tennessee. The company broke ground on a new travel center in Murfreesboro at I-24 and Joe B. Jackson Parkway, where the store is planned to occupy 74,000 square feet and offer 120 fueling positions. The project will be Buc-ee’s fourth Tennessee location.

Murfreesboro officials also highlighted the project, noting that city, county and state leaders gathered for the Oct. 14 groundbreaking and that the travel center is being built on real estate at I-24 and Joe B. Jackson Parkway.

The Murfreesboro store strengthens Buc-ee’s presence near the fast-growing Nashville region. It also adds another major brand to a corridor that already benefits from population growth, interstate travel and regional tourism traffic between Nashville, Chattanooga, Atlanta and the Gulf Coast.

Why Buc-ee’s expansion matters for Southeast CRE

Buc-ee’s has become one of the strongest examples of destination-driven highway retail. Its stores are not simply convenience stores; they are large-format travel centers with food, fuel, merchandise, restrooms and parking at a scale that can change the dynamics of an interstate exit.

That matters for commercial real estate in several ways.

First, Buc-ee’s can increase demand for nearby pad sites and outparcels. Quick-service restaurants, coffee users, hotels, car washes, auto-service retailers and other travel-oriented tenants often look for locations near major traffic generators.

Second, Buc-ee’s can accelerate public and private infrastructure activity. The Mebane project, for example, involves additional access planning with NCDOT.

Third, Buc-ee’s expansion increases competitive pressure in the convenience and travel-center category. Across the Southeast, Buc-ee’s is increasingly sharing the map with brands such as Wawa, RaceTrac, QuikTrip, Sheetz, Love’s, Pilot/Flying J and TravelCenters of America. As these operators compete for high-visibility interstate corners, land near major exits becomes more valuable and harder to control.

Why the Southeast is a natural fit

The Southeast gives Buc-ee’s several advantages: fast-growing metros, heavy interstate travel, strong tourism corridors and large parcels near highway interchanges.

Benton gives Buc-ee’s an Arkansas entry point on I-30. Ruston gives the brand a Louisiana beachhead on I-20. Mebane gives it access to one of North Carolina’s most important interstate junctions. Murfreesboro gives it another Nashville-area growth play.

Taken together, those projects show a clear site-selection strategy: Buc-ee’s is using major Southern interstates to connect existing markets, enter new states and anchor high-traffic exits before competitors or other large-format users can lock up the best land.

JP’s Final Thoughts

The bigger question is not whether Buc-ee’s can draw traffic. It is how much development follows it.

As the chain pushes into Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina, each new travel center could become a test case for how destination convenience retail reshapes Southeast interstate real estate. For brokers, developers, municipalities and competing retailers, Buc-ee’s latest expansion is a signal to watch the exits — because where Buc-ee’s lands, other commercial demand often follows.