A group of Springfield college students, from Missouri State University and Evangel University, showed up at Buc-ee’s at 4 a.m.
The group originally planned on camping out in a tent, but when they contacted Buc-ee’s, they were told tents were not allowed at the gas station and convenience store with 120 pumps outisde.
“We tried to be the first in line, but we failed that, and that’s OK,” Noah Sherrer, 20, said.
The group rushed through Buc-ee's front doors right after they opened at 6 a.m. The friends grabbed matching hoodies, and immediately purchased them and put them on. The smiling beaver insignias on the shirts matched the smiles on each face.
“We had to have something on for this momentous day,” said Gavin Blain, 20.
PHOTOS: Buc-ee’s opens in Springfield with folks waiting outside
The 53,000-square-foot convenience store, the first Missouri location for the Texas-based chain, is located at 3284 N. Beaver Road — formerly Mulroy Road — off of Interstate 44 in northeast Springfield. The store features an enormous selection of drinks and snacks, groceries, souvenirs and other goods for sale.
About 170 people were in attendance when the doors opened just before 6 a.m., said Josh Smith, southeast director of operations for Buc-ee's.
“We spent the last 47 days getting everything ready, hiring staff, getting them in, training them, teaching them the culture we have here at Buc-ee’s and then just getting them ready for this morning,” Smith said.
The Springfield convenience store has about 230 staff members, he said.
One regular gas pump malfunctioned this morning, but it was quickly resolved. Other than that, “nothing unexpected” happened this morning, he said.
Buc-ee's loyalists show up early
Owen Johnston, 26, arrived at Buc-ee's at midnight and camped in his car to be one of the first in line for the convenience store's grand opening.
“It was pretty cold” at midnight, said Johnston, who first discovered Buc-ee's in 2021 and has since visited multiple locations, he said.
Despite the cold, Johnston said he would “definitely” camp out again. The brisket taco he had for breakfast made it all worth it, he said.
“It was delicious,” Johnston said.
Andy Garren, 17, arrived at 5 a.m. wearing a full-body beaver onesie. He said he arrived at the perfect time to be one of the first in line.
“It's the biggest gas station in the world and just 40 minutes away from your house,” said Garren, who lives in Monett, Missouri. “Why wouldn't you come?”
Underneath the costume, he showed off a two-year old Buc-ee's shirt that was starting to show its age: the main logo had cracks throughout it. He bought a T-shirt to replace the old one.
Becky McHaffie and Telea Mahan showed up at 3:30 a.m. The first thing the co-workers had to get was some Golden Nuggets. They also bought matching Buc-ee's Christmas sweaters and decided to wear them for the day.
Andrew and Rachel Semple, both wearing Buc-ee's shirts, are no newcomers to the convenience-store chain. They like the food so much that they planned to eat both breakfast and lunch at Buc-ee's on Monday.
For breakfast, it was a kolache, a sausage, egg and cheese croissant and a Danish. At 6:30 a.m., the married couple were already eyeing the beef brisket sandwich for lunch.
Of course, there was was one food item the Semples would not forget.
“We will not leave without getting some Bucky nuggets,” Andrew Semple said.
A family united by the Beaver
The Coves are adorned in Buc-ee’s gear from head to toe. This is obviously not their first Buc-ee’s experience. Jim Cove and his wife, Alanna, went to the first Buc-ee’s opening in San Antonio, and say they have been hooked on the brand since.
What started out as Jim’s personal obsession with Buc-ee’s has turned into a family tradition. The family drove in from St. Louis for the opening in Springfield and stayed at a hotel Sunday night, so they could be in line when Buc-ee’s store No. 62 opened.
The Coves take the Buc-ee’s obsession up a notch, Alanna said. Their whole house is covered in Buc-ee’s decor, complete with a blow-up Christmas Buc-ee on their front porch.
“Everyone always says something, like that's the first thing they say when they walk in the house,” said Kelsey Cove, 18. “Like, why is there a beaver everywhere?”
Kelsey and her sister, Alyssa, 26, have also developed a love for Buc-ee's. Alyssa wanted a photo with Buc-ee and and a brisket breakfast sandwich. Jim preferred the sweets more, and was eyeing a giant cinnamon roll. Kelsey had visited a number of Buc-ee's stores, but never had the opportunity to go to a grand opening.
The family loves the gas-station chain so much that their “vacations surround Buc-ee’s,” said Alanna Cove.
On his obsession with Buc-ee’s, Jim Cove said “You gotta go, then you’ll know. They should put that on a t-shirt.”
Alanna Cove describes the chain as “if Cracker Barrel and [QuickTrip] had a baby.”
Smoked brisket, beef jerky
It takes about 17 hours to smoke a brisket to Buc-ee's standards, said Pit Master Randy Pauly, who oversees the BBQ operations at all locations.
“About eight years ago, the owners wanted to bring competition BBQ to the consumers,” Pauly said. “That's when I got a knock on my door.”
With only two briskets per cow, there isn't room for error, Pauly said. He began training the barbeque crew a month ago and started with the basics. There are a couple dozen employees that focus on Buc-ee's BBQ, including brisket, turkey, pulled pork and sausage.
“We're putting on a couple dozen [briskets] at a time,” Pauly said. “Because remember, we're 24-hours-a-day, so we need to make sure it's fresh all day long.”
Buc-ee's terms of agreement with Springfield
Buc-ee’s has a total of $9.2 million in tax incentives from the city of Springfield. In late 2022, the Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission voted in favor of renaming a portion of the road Buc-ee’s was built on to Beaver Road, a nod to the chain’s mascot.
A community improvement district (CID) is a taxing designation outlined in Missouri law and used in Springfield to offset some of the cost of developing Buc-ee’s. The CID adds $5.1 million to Buc-ee’s previously approved $4.1 million tax increment financing agreement the Springfield City Council enacted Jan. 24. In a CID, shoppers pay an additional sales tax on top of what they already pay in sales tax when they make purchases inside the store.
If Buc-ee’s delivers on its claim of $30 million in revenue in a year, it will generate around $2.4 million total in sales tax, of which about $639,000 would normally go to the City of Springfield, and $525,000 would go to the government of Greene County.
Documentation provided to the Springfield City Council shows that Buc-ee’s expects to attract about 6 million customers per year, and 88% of the customers will come from places more than 20 miles from Springfield.
Buc-ee's opened its first store outside of Texas in 2019 and operates 47 stores across The Lone Star State and the South, according to its website. The convenience-store chain is in the midst of an expansion. The next opening is slated for March in Johnstown, Colorado, Smith said.
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