A look inside Florida's first Buc-ee's

On Monday, February 22, what may be Florida’s largest gas station, opened its doors to hundreds near World Golf Village. Established in Texas in 1982 by Don Wasek and Arch “Beaver” Aplin, Buc-ee’s opened its first location in the state at Interstate 95 and International Golf Parkway. Named after a combination if Aplin’s childhood nickname and the name of his Labrador Retriever, Buck, the 53,000 square foot store is open 24 hours a day, offering merchandise, food and drinks. which is open 24 hours a day, offers an array of food, drinks and merchandise. With a convenience store larger than your average Publix, the World Golf Village store also features 104 fueling positions and employs 200. The 38 store chain first expanded outside of Texas in 2019. A second Florida location will open on I-95 in Daytona Beach in April.

Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com