I bet you anything, if they do build one here, it will be in or near Tulsa on I-44 somewhere.
Somewhere south of Norman on I-35 seems like a pretty good bet to me.
I bet they do something similar to the Loves on I-40 and Radio rd
They would print money if they built one at the old Tanger outlet mall in Stroud
It's amazing Kentucky just opened another Buc-ees this month, so they'll have at least two before Ok gets it's first one.
As they had more locations, I imagine the novelty wears off. If there is one in south Norman/I-35, there is a lesser chance of our crew stopping at the one in Denton or Fort Worth on road trips to Texas. If we just need gas or restrooms, easier to pull off at a much smaller Loves or QT.
I think the draw is the giant store size and grass root marketing that is done by their loyal fan base.
I don't think so.
Buc-ee's employees about 250 to 300 people per location. I don't know if Stroud can support that work force. with their population and probably older demography The majority of traffic on this route is OKC to Tulsa. It's 90 minutes or so gate to gate on the turnpike, there doesn't seem to be much of a reason to stop for gas and snacks 45 minutes into the trip. Outside of those traveling on the turnpike, there isn't a large base population to visit the store consistently. That's why my vote would be Norman/I-35 corridor.
If the theme park in Vinita really takes off and competes with numbers like Silver Dollar City in Branson, I could see one being built at that exit on I-44 halfway between Joplin and Tulsa.
Rumors before COVID they were looking at something around the Goldsby exit near Riverwind. With that being said, most Buccee's are right outside a major population center. Between Shawnee and Oklahoma City makes a lot of sense as well.
Depending on when you start to car count, but it would appear the I-35 Norman/Moore/Goldsby route has a sizeable lead in traffic compared to I-40 east of the 240 split, and this was based upon 2018 stats, I imagine it's only gone up.
https://www.odot.org/maps/aadt/2018/...MetroAreas.pdf
Pete, the fact that 44 is a turnpike is much less relevant with Plate Pay. Plus OTA is adding more exits. You no longer have to worry about having cash to pay when you get off at any exit.
In my perfect fantasy world, Buc-ee's would be the c-store when they build the new Stroud plaza
My guess is the one in Springfield was built to grab Branson and Bass Pro tourists who of course travel to the area by car, and also Springfield is about 2.5 hours from St. Louis which is probably the ideal "stop-time" for a road trip pit stop and there isn't much in-between to stop at on I-44. Springfield being a metropolitan area also has a large enough work force to staff a Buc-ee's. The Tulsa to OKC gap is only 90 minutes.
In Texas, I can only find three Buc-ee's locations that are in what most would consider a rural area, Madisonville, TX, Luling, TX, and Bastrop TX, all of these locations are essentially halfway points between Houston and the other three metros of San Antonio, Dallas, and Austin.
Stroud/Turner Turnpike just seems to be a long shot. In 2023, that route averaged about 30,000 cars a day.
A Buc-ee's placed on I-35 south of Norman, average vehicle count would be between 75,000 to 90,000 cars daily.
Is there any other Buc-ee’s located on a turnpike?
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