Will Wisconsin get its first Buc-ee’s travel center and gas station in 2027? That looks likely, according to city officials in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee.
Earlier this year, Oak Creek city officials said that Buc-ee’s plans to open its first Wisconsin location at the southwest corner of Interstate-94 and Elm Road in Oak Creek.
According to a story from WISN 12 News, Andrew Vickers, city administrator with Oak Creek, said that Buc-ee’s and Oak Creek officials began discussions about a new Buc-ee’s location in the fall of 2024.
Buc-ee’s had already purchased the 29-acre plot of land before reaching out to Oak Creek officials, Vickers told WISN 12.
Buc-ee’s is famous for its large travel stations with dozens of fuel pumps. The chain also has a reputation for providing clean bathrooms.
Travelers can order brisket, sausage, pulled pork and turkey sandwiches; tacos; fudge; and its famed Paddle Tail, a pastry shaped like a beaver’s tail and made with pastry, cinnamon, brown sugar and icing. Chain locations feature large car washes and gift stores selling merchandise with Buc-ee’s beaver mascot on it.
The Buc-ee’s planned for Oak Creek will be another large facility, covering 73,370 square feet. It will feature 120 gas pumps and EV charging stations. WISN reported that the new station will employ about 175 full-time workers.
“Buc-ee’s is excited to have the opportunity of adding Oak Creek to our expansion into Wisconsin,” Buc-ee’s said in a statement released to WISN. “We have plan submittals, commission approvals, and final city council decisions to be made before we can put a shovel in the ground.”
The Oak Creek Plan Commission met Jan. 28 to discuss the project. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that plan commission members approved a resolution amending the city’s comprehensive plan to change the zoning for the site of the proposed Buc-ee’s from business park to commercial.
The commission also voted to recommend to the Oak Creek Common Council that it rezone several properties making up the site to the B-6 Interchange Regional Retail District, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
These are the first two steps in bringing Buc-ee’s to Oak Creek. The Oak Creek Common Council will hold a public hearing on both of these Plan Commission recommendations March 18. Council members can then vote to rezone the land if they support the commission’s recommendations.
At the plan commission meeting, Angela Janik, project coordinator for Buc-ee’s, stressed that the chain does not run truck stops. Instead, it operates travel centers, she said.
Janik referred to Buc-ee’s as the “Disneyland of gas stations” during the meeting.
Janik told the plan commission that from 4,000 to 8,000 cars visit the typical Buc-ee’s location on a daily basis. These cars bring an average of 100,000 visitors to each Buc-ee’s a week, she said.
Buc-ee’s does hold some interesting records. First, its Lulu, Texas, location boasts the world’s largest convenience store, 75,593 square feet.
Buc-ee’s also claims that it operates the world’s largest car wash, a facility in Katy, Texas, that boasts 255 feet of conveyor.
As of February of this year, Buc-ee’s listed 57 locations on its website. In addition to its Oak Creek location, Buc-ee’s plans a second location in the state in DeForest, Wisconsin. Plans for that 74,000-square-foot store are still being worked out.
