Travel destination: Buc-ee's officially breaks ground on Amarillo location

City officials joined other special guests for the official groundbreaking of Buc-ee’s travel center in east Amarillo.

Scheduled to be completed in February of 2025, this new travel center marks the first foray for Buc-ee’s into the Texas Panhandle, with the nearest location on Interstate 40 being more than 1,000 miles away.

Arch "Beaver" Aplin, co-founder and president of Buc-ee’s, spoke about the impact for his company to place their first store in the region.

“It is really exciting for us; we love building stores in Texas, which is where we got started,” Aplin said. “We do not have any stores up in this area, and it’s a long way from any of our other stores. For the traveling public, we hope they find it as their oasis to stop on a long trip. We have high expectations for this store.”

Aplin said his company had been looking at the area for a long time, with its proximity to Interstate 40, Interstate 27 and US Highway 287 all being significant routes of travel.

“Most everything we build is on the interstate, with great visibility from the interstate and being close to other travel roads,” Aplin said. “The travel center, that’s what we are focusing on is the people that are not necessarily living in Amarillo, but traveling through, which is our core business.”

Hospitality at his stores, he said, is the key to keeping customers coming back and looking to stop when they are traveling. The store in Amarillo will be similar to stores in Luling and Hillsboro, Texas, which are also about 74,000-square-foot facilities.

“It’s all about making the customer happy; hospitality is the crux of our business,” Aplin said.

Addressing concerns that the new travel center will have a negative impact on other travel centers and convenience stores in the area, Aplin said there are opportunities for everyone in business on the interstate.

Penni Bentley, vice president of communications and marketing for the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce, emphasized the economic impact that Buc-ee’s will have on the community with the revenue generated and more than 200 new jobs being created with this new travel center.

“Amarillo and its economic development team have done a great job of recruiting and putting together this amazing package that made Amarillo an appealing location to put this Buc-ee’s,” Bentley said. “Because of its location practically in the middle of Route 66, halfway between Chicago and California, it is such a great location for this travel center. Amarillo has been talking about this for months and months, and we’re excited to see Buc-ee’s come to town. It’s going to create a lot of jobs.”

Bentley said that she thinks the new location will draw a lot of local traffic and will make other businesses better.

“I think competition is good in any environment; it helps you be better. It helps make you go, what are they doing that we are not or how can we change some of our stuff as far as offerings?” Bentley said. “I think Amarillo offers a lot of great attractions; we offer a lot of lodging opportunities. People stop here because they know they have many options for eating and attractions. Even if people do not go in other businesses, the revenue from the sales tax alone will benefit the area.”

Former Mayor Ginger Nelson weighed in on the project that her council and staff made happen for the city.

“This project will increase development on the east side of our city,” Nelson said. “Other retail stores and restaurants will choose this location to be near Buc-ee’s, and that will benefit east Amarillo residents.”

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo Buc-ee's breaks ground