Sean Mizell washes windows for the opening of the Buc-ee’s in Terrell — the better to gaze out at the store’s 84 gas pumps and 19 acres of land, or to look in from outside at the 60,000 square feet of floor space.
Photos by Smiley N. Pool – Staff Photographer
World Cup tourists visiting Dallas are quickly learning that everything is bigger in Texas. That includes the gas stations.
Tourists from across the world are making their way to Buc-ee’s, the state’s iconic gas station and megaconvenience store, as part of the Texan World Cup experience. Local officials in Fort Worth are even working to help, organizing daily shuttles that take tourists to and from the store.
Ryan Reynolds, a Canadian who came to Dallas for Wednesday’s England match, said Buc-ee’s was a can’t-miss stop in Texas.
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“We were told it was an American institution, and that you couldn’t leave Dallas or Texas without coming here,” Reynolds said.
“It’s a rite of passage,” said Rory Gattens, who travelled to Texas with Reynolds. “I couldn’t believe how clean and easy to navigate the washrooms were.”
Buc-ee’s boasts the Guinness World Record for the largest convenience store and largest car wash, and proudly boasts its clean restrooms on billboards that dot the state’s highways. Its Fort Worth location is stocked with brisket sandwiches, candied pecans and an entire wall of beef jerky options.
Paul Steele, who was visiting from Toronto, said he was most impressed by the helpful workers in their iconic red shirts and cowboy hats.
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“Everyone was so welcoming when we came into the store,” he said. “Everyone’s always asking if you need a hand or if you need help — it’s outstanding.”
Steele said he made the stop after his son — standing beside him with two Buc-ee’s stuffed animals in hand — told him about the store.
“My son was the one who told me this one is famous,” he said. “We leave tonight to go back to Canada, and he said we have to come here.”
The Steeles aren’t the only tourists looking to visit Texas’ most famous gas station chain. Glen Miller, a spokesperson for Trinity Metro, said Fort Worth started planning to help World Cup tourists make their way to Buc-ee’s months ago.
“Buc-ee’s is a Texas phenomenon that you have to see to believe,” Miller said.
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Trinity Metro is running the Cowtown visitor shuttle through July 12 to help World Cup tourists make their way around the city, offering stops at the Stockyards, Six Flags — and of course, Buc-ee’s. While the shuttles are normally used as overflow for the train to help soccer fans get to Dallas stadium, spokesperson Ted Zimmerman said Trinity Metro repurposes them on non-match days to help boost tourism around the city.
“Part of what we look at is the economics of tourism in the community,” Zimmerman said. “It’s just a way of really helping them to extend their dollars.”
Mary Jackson, who drives a bus on the Buc-ee’s route, said she loves seeing tourists’ eyes widen as they see Buc-ee’s for the first time.
“I can just see when they walk across the street that they’re really amazed,” Jackson said. “They’re going to have a life-long story to tell.”
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John Gattens, originally from England but visiting with his son from Vancouver, said visiting Buc-ee’s was a highlight of his trip.
“We’re Canadian, and we love beavers,” he said.