Florida Will Not Be Getting The World’s Largest Buc-ee’s

When it comes to convenience stores and truck stops, we all have our favorites and many residents of the Sunshine State are angry that Florida will not be getting the world's largest Buc-ee's.

I do a lot of traveling, but usually by plane more than the road trip route. I think because Fort Myers is so far south, I just don't have the patience to sit in the car long enough to even leave the state. My friends and family that love taking cross-country drives always rave about Buc-ee's being the greatest stop on the road. My brother is a BBQ fanatic and he can't say enough good things about the brisket sandwich. My mom called me after her first bite of the Beaver Nuggets. The closest Buc-ee's to us here in Southwest Florida is Daytona Beach, but one a little closer is coming.

A new Buc-ee's store will be opening north of Ocala in Marion County. It was said that it would be the world's largest Buc-ee's, which had many Floridians very excited. But then the letdown came when it was announced that no, Florida would not be getting the world's largest Buc-ee's and instead Texas would.

The original plan for the new store was that it would be 80,000 square feet. But this week, according to Daily Mail, it was announced that the store would actually only be 74,000 square feet. Still, a huge store, but with the 6,000 less square feet, it would not be the world's largest after all. So where is the world's largest Buc-ee's? That would be a new store opening soon in Luling, TX, south of Austin that will be 75,000 square feet.

No exact date is set for the Marion County Buc-ee's, but it sounds like it could open sometime in 2026.

A lot of us here in Florida aren't familiar with Buc-ee's gas stations. It's mainly a Texas thing, but there is one in Daytona Beach and another in St. Augustine. A new one is being built, one much closer to us. And there's more. The new Florida location of  Buc-ee's In Ocala will be the world's largest. 80,000 square feet, 120 fuel pumps, and 720 parking spaces.

I've never been to a Buc-ee's, but I'm hearing it's a big deal. So much so that the state of Florida has tossed in 4 million dollars to speed up work on a new I75 interchange to help with the flow of traffic. The Governor, who helped get the grant money in place for the interchange is quite the fan of the gas station “They make so much stuff. They have those beaver nuggets. They have all kind of barbecue that they make,” DeSantis said.

Beaver nuggets? Ok, I guess I'm interested. So I started looking into it further. Buc-ee's sells a lot of weird and unusual stuff. I mean, we were excited when Wawa came to town. This is a whole different level. But that's only where it begins.

We're still a long way away from the store opening, I haven't seen an exact date. But since this will be the largest store they've built you can almost guarantee it will include all these "interesting" items. Will we make the three hour drive from Fort Myers to Ocala just to go to a gas station? I'll admit, I have done sillier things. Here's some of the items we'll be looking for when the new store opens.

This seems to be the biggest item on the wish list. Beaver Nuggets. The original flavor is a corn puff with butter, sugar, and caramel. There's other flavors, too. Like sea salt and bold n' spicy. There's clearly something special about these and I'll need to find out what.

Is this really just a smoked sausage with a tortilla shell wrapped around it? You can see the grease soaking through, which probably means that it's amazing. I'm a big fan of any food on a stick. I'm putting this one on my "try" list as well.

No lie on this one. My Mom used to save back bacon grease and use it cooking other items. But why bother making bacon when you can buy a whole bucket of bacon grease? I wish I could zoom in enough to see the nutritional information label. Can you imagine? Ha.

Pickled garlic sounds like the kind of snack to keep people away. Also, pickled quail eggs get mentioned a lot. Candied Jalapenos? What is that? Looks like I don't need to wait, you can have these delivered.

Just check out some of these flavors: Bohemian Garlic, Korean Barbecue, Ghost Pepper, Peppered Beef, Cherry Maple, Lemon Pepper, etc. etc. etc. It's an entire wall of jerky.

Yes, there's a line to buy gas station fudge. And it looks amazing. We may have to get a hotel nearby when the Ocala store opens.

Yes, actual bbq at a gas station. It's right next to the fudge. Can you imagine the smells coming from this area?

I can see Buc-ee's is gonna fit in just fine in Florida. Swimwear. Even some for the little ones. I think my new plan is to buy a Buc-ee's swimsuit and head to the bathroom to change before I get bbq. I want the whole experience.

It's sausage and cheese baked in bread. Word is, the jalapeno-cheddar is the one. Do you add condiments to this or just go? 

This is the drink of choice. It sounds insane, but there's also Dr. Pepper cotton candy in the store.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DrPepper/comments/l025xi/dr_pepper_cotton_candy_at_bucees_in_ga_also_got_a/