If you live within a 200-mile radius of Phoenix. Or if youre from Texas. Or possibly from California. You might have heard there’s a new Buc-ees in Phoenix.
Sorry for all those incomplete sentences. I know better, but sometimes I like to write the way I think.
When hub and I packed up for our Sea-to-Shining-Sea trip way back in 2022 we visited our first Buc-ees outside Houston.
And we were immediately hooked. In fact, we serendipitously came upon a Buc-ees over the Thanksgiving weekend in Florida and it became one of the highlights of that trip.
So when we heard Arizona was getting its own Buc-ees, we were ridiculously excited.
Arizona’s first Buc-ee’s, located in Goodyear just west of Phoenix, has quickly become one of the state’s most talked-about road trip stops.
We drove by the construction site more than once over the past year to make sure it was on track.
Yes, we are that big of fans.
But we were not quite big enough fans to go during their crazy opening with miles of cars that were rerouted by local police.
So we waited a couple weeks. Drove the 45 minutes to Goodyear and still weren’t willing to navigate the mess we found.
And we waited another couple weeks. We visited on a Monday at 1:00 p.m., figuring we’d beat the crowds.
Ummm, well, not exactly.
It was like Black Friday. Not fun.
But we are troopers. So we topped off the gas at one of the 120 gas pumps (I am in no way exaggerating) paying 25 cents a gallon less than our local stations.
Then we parked in one of the last spots available at the edge of the lot. Walked through the 100° heat and entered through the doors.
Cue the angel music.
It was tough getting around the throngs of people, but the Goodyear store is everything we have come to love and here are a few highlights:
Road trip Heaven
To keep first-time visitors expectations realistic, always remember Buc-ee’s is, at its core, still a gas station. One on steroids, I grant, but it’s not Nordstrom.
So imagine, if you will, you are on traveling the interstate and need some gas. Or a bathroom. Or a snack.
Buc-ees has all that. And so, so much more.
Snacks
Besides the usual chips, candy, and soft drinks, Buc-ee’s has its own line of jerky, nuts, candies, popcorn, trail mixes, and the famous Beaver Nuggets.
There are also separate areas devoted to fresh bakery items, homemade fudge, fresh-cut jerky, healthy grab-and-go snacks, and the legendary BBQ counter.
Fresh Hot Food
The line at our Buc-ees was around the station. Twice. Yep. Waiting for freshly fried chicken, pulled-pork and brisket yummies.
The food is prepared and cooked right in the store just like a proper restaurant.
Our favorite is the smoked brisket. We each came home with a BBQ brisket sandwich and ended up sharing them because they are so big.
P.S. We didn’t wait in the line because there were sandwiches made, wrapped and ready to go.
Drinks
There are several drink stations for coffee and tea, frozen and fountain drinks. That is in addition to coolers for canned and bottled drinks, beer and wine.
There are always attendants nearby keeping the areas clean and stocked.
Bakery and Freshly Made Fudge
A full-sized bakery staffed by several workers offers scones, cinnamon rolls, muffins – you name it.
I snapped a picture, but didn’t stay around for the temptation.
A totally separate section will satisfy any sweet tooth with fudge, pudding, cookies, pies, and more. No need to buy prepackaged foods with all this available.
Nuts and Snacks
This is where most of our money disappeared. We bought spicy trail mix, pecans, popcorn, jerky…well…nearly $100 worth.
Don’t judge.
Some is for our upcoming Alaska trip. At least that’s what we’re telling ourselves.
Gifts
I have found visiting several stores over the years that the gift sections are unique to the town they are located. For instance, I bought tea towels with the Texas state flower in an Austin store.
The Goodyear store has plenty of Arizona themed items.
And very cute and high-quality gifts that anyone would be happy to receive.
There are cocktail themes and coffee themes and book themes and Jesus themes.
And you will never guess what was flying off the shelves.
Adult beaver onesies. I kid you not. I even saw one teenage boy wearing his in the store. Did I mention it was 100° that day?
Things We Bought
- Beaver Nuggets ★★★★☆
- Teriyaki Jerky ★★★★★
- Trail Blazin’ Crunch ★★★★★
- Chocolate Almonds ★★★★☆
- Candied Pecans ★★★★★
- Spicy Southwest Mix ★★★★★
Bathrooms
Buc-ees is famous for their large clean bathrooms. And since this store is almost an hour from our house, I took the opportunity to check it out.
Yep, it lived up to the hype.
Wrap Up
My final thought about this visit is that we went way too early after the opening. Perhaps after school returns to session it might slow down.
There is no point in fighting crowds like that for a few bags of snacks.
The staff was efficient and delightful. The crowds were well behaved, but there were a LOT of people there.
The shelves were about 25% empty. I don’t know if they were waiting for stock in a new store or if they were simply sold out.
If you’re looking for a relaxing afternoon outing, I’d wait another month or two before making the drive.
But if you’re traveling I-10 and need gas, a spotless restroom, a brisket sandwich, or just want to see what all the fuss is about, Buc-ee’s is absolutely worth the stop.