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Buc-ee’s still won’t put a store in Miami, but the Texas-based mega-gas station is getting closer than it has ever been. The chain announced four new Florida locations, and the nearest one is about an hour north of West Palm Beach.
That store, in Fort Pierce, is the prize for anyone in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach who has been road-tripping up I-95 for Beaver Nuggets and brisket sandwiches.
It will sit at I-95 and Indrio Road, run roughly 76,000 square feet, and boast 120 fuel pumps, 18 EV charging stations, and more than 700 parking spaces. If the timeline holds, it is set for a debut in late 2027 or early 2028.
Why Buc-ee’s has a cult following
For the uninitiated, Buc-ee’s is less a gas station than a roadside event.
The bathrooms are the legend that started it all, spotless enough that a New Braunfels, Texas, store won Cintas’ “Best Restroom in America” title back in 2012, with custodians working around the clock to keep them that way. Then there is the food. They’re known for their walls of jerky, made-to-order brisket and pulled pork sandwiches, fudge by the slab, and Beaver Nuggets. (The latter are the caramel-coated corn puffs, the chain’s best-selling snack.)
The stores don’t allow 18-wheelers, so you get the scale of a truck stop without the crowding, and fans regularly drive hours out of their way just to fill up, use the restroom, and load up on beaver merch.
Fort Pierce was (almost) the world’s largest
The Fort Pierce outpost is one of four coming to the state by 2029, bringing Florida’s total to six. Right now, the chain runs just two Florida stores, both on I-95 and both open since 2021, including St. Augustine at 200 World Commerce Parkway and Daytona Beach at 2330 Gateway North Drive.
Tallahassee gets the next one, targeted for 2027 and set to be the chain’s first location in the Panhandle. Ocala, on I-75, was pushed to 2029 to line up with the construction of a new highway interchange. Port Charlotte rounds out the group as Southwest Florida’s first outpost, though the company hasn’t attached a date to it.
Buc-ee’s briefly billed the Fort Pierce store as the world’s largest convenience store, then walked it back. The company later conceded that measurement variances mean the original Luling, Texas, location keeps the crown. Close, but the Beaver isn’t dethroning itself just yet.
Still no South Florida
The reason South Florida is getting skipped comes down to land. Each Buc-ee’s needs a massive store footprint, 100-plus pumps, and parking for hundreds of cars, and that kind of acreage is hard to come by south of the Treasure Coast. For now, Fort Pierce is as close as it gets.
The chain isn’t slowing down anywhere else. It opened its westernmost store in Goodyear, Arizona, on June 22, and it has projects going across roughly 16 states, from Georgia and Tennessee to Kansas and Louisiana. Building each one takes 18 to 24 months once crews break ground, which explains why Miami drivers will still be making the drive north for a while.
Buc-ee’s. 200 World Commerce Parkway, St. Augustine; and 2330 Gateway North Drive, Daytona Beach; buc-ees.com. The Fort Pierce location along I-95 and Indrio Road will open in late 2027 or early 2028.