Buc-ee’s co-founder, president and CEO Arch Aplin III stated that the beloved travel center chain will prioritize new locations in conservative, business-friendly states.
The remarks were made during the August 17 grand opening of the company’s 58th store, its first in Arkansas, in Benton. Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Senator Tom Cotton attended the ceremony, while Sanders later shared video of Aplin’s comments on social media.
“We have a lot of opportunities. We’re growing. We’re building in a lot of places, but when you find a conservative, business-friendly state with a phenomenal workforce, it makes a difference,” Aplin said. “And I’m starting to realize life’s too short to try to build in places that people don’t appreciate what you’re bringing versus a place like this, where people do appreciate what you’re building.
Aplin, whose company has long prioritized treating employees and customers with care, went on to state that this model will provide the blueprint for future expansion. “So that leadership, that concept, that idea of conservative, business-friendly, family-oriented concept works so much better if it trickles down from the very leadership. From the very top at the governor’s office, at the congressman, at the senator, at the mayor (and) the representatives,” he continued. Aplin also noted that Benton itself had been a business-friendly town.
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🚨 WOW! Liberals are threatening to BOYCOTT Buc-ee’s after the CEO said he’s focused on building in “conservative” states with a business-friendly environment, instead of leftist jurisdictions
“Life’s too short to try to build in places where people don’t appreciate what you’re… pic.twitter.com/gGLCltFl08
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 30, 2026
Buc-ee’s, founded in 1982 in Lake Jackson, Texas, by Aplin and partner Don Wasek, spent its first decades expanding within Texas. It quickly became a beloved staple for Texans and travelers alike before eventually opening its first location outside the Lone Star State in Baldwin County, Alabama, in 2019.
Since then the company has added stores in Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Colorado, Missouri, Mississippi, Virginia, Ohio and Arizona. The Benton opening brought the total to 58 locations across 14 states, with Texas still accounting for the large majority
New locations opened in Ohio and Arizona in 2026, Virginia in 2025 and Colorado in 2024.
The company has announced additional sites, with a Murfreesboro, Tennessee, location set to open in November of this year. Planned 2027 openings include Ruston, Louisiana; Kansas City, Kansas; Gallaway, Tennessee; St. Lucie, Florida; Boerne, Texas; and Monroe County, Georgia, along with a first Wisconsin location. 2028 plans list Mebane, North Carolina, and Lafayette, Louisiana. Later projects include Ocala, Florida, and West Memphis, Arkansas, in 2029, and Hardeeville, South Carolina, in 2031.
