If it’s possible, Texans’ fervor over mega gas station Buc-ee’s is getting even bigger. User reviews from GasBuddy.com declare Buc-ee’s coffee as the best gas station java in Texas and as users’ favorite gas station coffee stop in the entire United States.
It’s the third consecutive year that Buc-ee’s has been named GasBuddy’s favorite gas station coffee in the country.
Texans will surely enjoy the irony: Buc-ee’s shops almost solely exist in Texas, with the exception of one store in Robertsdale, Ala. You can practically hear Texas-proud travelers now: You want a great cup of Joe on the road? You’d better drive to Texas.
Buc-ee’s has become a national phenomenon — and a puzzling brand, depending on who you ask. A story in The New York Times called “What would Texas be without Buc-ee’s?” explains its significance as a giant convenience store with cheap gas, clean bathrooms and shopping galore. Arch Aplin opened the first one in Lake Jackson in 1982, and its cartoon beaver logo has since been seen all over Texas: on bumper stickers, kids’ T-shirts and billboards advertising Buc-ee’s 36 travel centers across Texas.
Anybody who doesn’t understand why you’d want to stop and shop in Middle of Nowhere, Texas, probably hasn’t spent 30 minutes wandering around a Buc-ee’s.
North Texas currently has five Buc-ee’s: in Melissa, Denton, Fort Worth, Royse City and Terrell.
A Buc-ee’s in Ennis is expected to open in 2020.
GasBuddy.com’s coffee rankings were picked from 2 million user ratings and reviews between April 2016 and August 2019. The rankings only include mega-shops with at least 20 station companies inside one state.
The other top gas station coffee brands in Texas were QuikTrip (No. 2); RaceTrac (No. 3); Pilot (No. 4); and Love’s (No. 5.)
Buc-ee’s had a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars among GasBuddy users, a spokeswoman reports. “No other gas station coffee brand in the country has ratings that high,” she writes in an email.
Interestingly, GasBuddy reports that coffee is the third-most purchased drink at convenience stores.
Buc-ee’s sells a proprietary blend of coffee, sold by the cup or to take home to brew.