After weeks of setting sales records and drawing massive crowds, Buc-ee's is suddenly making headlines for the opposite reason: one of its Texas locations is shutting down.
According to The Houston Chronicle, the Buc-ee’s in Port Lavaca, about 130 miles southwest of Houston, is expected to close and be converted into a location of longtime rival 7-Eleven with a Laredo Taco Company inside, city officials said.
The location, which first opened in 2000, is one of Buc-ee’s older, smaller-format stores—quite different from the sprawling travel centers that have turned the brand into a roadside phenomenon.
The change was confirmed by Derrick Smith, director of the Port Lavaca Building and Standards Commission Board. Smith told local media he had been contacted by a sign company preparing for the rebrand.
“I did get an email from a sign company, on March 16, stating that Buc-ee’s is being rebranded as 7-Eleven with a Laredo Taco,” Smith said.
For a chain that rarely closes locations, the move has caught longtime Buc-ee’s fans off guard. Buc-ee’s has spent the past several years aggressively expanding across the country, opening stores in states including Florida, Tennessee, Virginia, and, most recently, Ohio.
The Texas-based chain, founded in 1982 by Arch 'Beaver' Aplin III, now operates more than 50 locations and has become known for its oversized stores, beaver mascot, brisket sandwiches, Beaver Nuggets, and rows of gas pumps that often stretch well past 100.
Port Lavaca residents have reportedly been bracing for the possibility for months. However, the company has not publicly commented on whether the closure is permanent or if Buc-ee’s could eventually build a larger replacement store nearby.
