If you\u2019ve ever gone on a road trip anywhere in the South, you will likely see a billboard with a beaver on it, telling you how far you are from a Buc-ee\u2019s gas station. On August 17, Catholic High students flocked to the newly opened and highly anticipated Buc-ee\u2019s in Benton. The Arkansas gas station is the 58th location spanning the region and sits at 74,000 square feet and 120 gas pumps. The gas station is the first of its kind here in the Natural State, with its loyal fan base raving about the weird customs and unique favorites that lie in the gas station. The grand opening is also expected to see an increase in tourism and bring in more money to the growing city of Benton. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you weren\u2019t already familiar with the Beaver legend, it began in 1982 with Arch \u201cBeaver\u201d Alpine III and Don Wasek, who had one simple idea: make gas stations great. Fueling stations here in the United States are typically not the cleanest of places to stop on a trip and the pair wanted to make a place where the gas station experience great on all levels. The two created the first and smallest Buc-ee\u2019s in Lake Jackson, Texas, only being about 3,000 square feet. This set the cornerstone for the quality of Buc-ee\u2019s, with their fan favorite clean bathrooms, mainly big snack selection, and enticing beaver merchandise. The brothers continued to build multiple \u201csmall format\u201d stores up until 2003 when they built their at the time, world\u2019s largest gas station in Lulling, Texas, sitting at just about 10,764 square feet with over 32 fuel pumps. Ever since the brothers shifted their focus to creating the iconic massive gas stations, with the most recent largest location being built right next to the original 2003 Lulling Buc-ee\u2019s and covers a whopping 75,593 square feet with more than 120 gas pumps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In July 2023, Arkansans received the news of plans to build an Arkansas Bucc-ee\u2019s. This was particularly great news for the younger generations as Arkansas has long lacked new and affordable family entertainment. Construction for the Buc-ee\u2019s started in April 2025 and Arkansans have been particularly excited since Arkansas has been one of the very last to receive one. The bathrooms in Buc-ee\u2019s are renowned for not only their cleanliness but also their plentifulness and are one of many contributing factors to the store\u2019s craze-following. The Benton location specifically has over 80 toilet fixtures with Senior Barrette Simpson noting: \u201cThe bathroom attendants that stood by made me feel safe.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The massive building also attracts students with their delicious variety of foods. The massive soda fountain wall features over 80 soda dispensers. A mass variety of house made treats like Beaver nuggets, chips, or jerky are just some of the goodies offered in store. Out of all the foods offered, the must-try, mouth-watering, in-house cooked brisket is a must try staple of the place. It is a tradition for the cooks to yell, \u201cFresh brisket on the board\u201d whenever the slab of meat is finished cooking. P.J. Jones, 27, said, \u201cI have gotten some food from Buc-ee\u2019s. I got some banana pudding and caramelised cashews. It was amazing, you could say, serendipitous.\u201d That\u2019s not all, at every location you can personally meet Buc-cee, with employees donning a mascot suit. People can go and take pictures with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The massive gas station has raised some eyebrows over just the mere concept of its existence. The 74,000 square foot complex with 120 fuel pumps takes up so much space that some say it does not even feel like a gas station. Some students feel like the place is just too big, with junior Jorge Bravo saying: \u201cOverall, I think it\u2019s an overrated gas station, not a huge fan, but I would go in since they have some nice quality items.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The physical space isn\u2019t the only grip people have with it. Some argue that their personalized ads are too prominent and in your face; while some argue that consumerism has gone too far. On just the stretch of I-35 in Texas, there are an estimated 150 \u201cin you face\u201d billboards. These advertising strategies lead to some critics\u2019 hatred of the consumerist mindset surrounding Buc-ee\u2019s. The fact that a gas station is seen as \u201cfamily entertainment\u201d has people fear a more dystopian future. Regardless of whether you like or fear the gas station garners little to no worry from Arkansas officials. The complex is expected to see 5 million visitors annually and bring in over 250+ jobs, cementing its place in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those are just a few reasons why students cannot get enough of this Beaver. From beaver nuggets, to collectable-plushies, and up to 80 different soda fountain options, the gas station is here to stay. New Buc-ee\u2019s locations in the Natural State are already being planned, with a West Memphis location projected to open in 2028. You could say beaver fever has officially hit Arkansas, with it not expecting to slow down anytime soon.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve ever gone on a road trip anywhere in the South, you will likely see a billboard with a beaver on it, telling you how far you are from a Buc-ee\u2019s gas station. On August 17, Catholic High students flocked to the newly opened and highly anticipated Buc-ee\u2019s in Benton. The Arkansas gas station…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[196,1],"tags":[123],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/liftoffnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/attachment-GettyImages-2157318787.jpg.webp?fit=2500%2C1663&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3xfZw-2Ak","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9940"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9940"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9950,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9940\/revisions\/9950"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}