First Buc-ee’s travel center catches fire during demolition

LULING, Texas — A Buc-ee’s location that was being demolished after being replaced by the “world’s largest Buc-ee’s” location caught fire this week. The cause of the blaze has not been determined.

The former store in Luling, Texas, opened in 2003 and was replaced last month by a new store on an adjacent plot. It is the largest Buc-ee’s ever built, measuring 75,000 square feet, KSAT reported. It also boasts 120 gas pumps, WOAI reported.

The new store was not damaged, according to a Facebook post from the Caldwell County Office of Emergency Management and the news station.

The first Buc-ee’s opened in 1982, and according to the company has “been committed to providing a clean, friendly, and in-stock experience for our customers.”

Forbes reported that the first one, which was built in Lake Jackson, Texas, and was as the publication called it “a standard-issue, 3,000-square-foot convenience store.”

Owner Arch “Beaver” Aplin III teamed up with Don Wasek, and combined their forces to create Buc-ee’s Ltd., expanding their standard store across Texas in 1985. In 2003, they built the first travel center in Luling, Texas, which was expanded in 2006 to 17,000 square feet, and just kept growing larger and larger, Southern Living reported.

Not only is the new Luling store the largest convenience store, but the company has another world record — the longest car wash.

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