How does the Buc-ee’s experience compare to stores in Minnesota?

There’s one thing there’s no shortage of in Minnesota, and that’s convenient stores. Some are better than others, evidenced by the fact that some are busier than others.  Some offer food options they prepare onsite while others just sell prepackaged options.  

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Holiday Stores and Kwik Trip stores are the two I frequent the most. These offer a number of different products to keep me coming back. For those who know about the Chain “Buc-ee’s”, I’ve had a few people ask me how these two stores and the others around here compare. I asked my friends on Facebook to send me their pics as many of them have visited a Buc-ee's. 

Buc-ee's is a chain that started in Texas, and they are a spectacle for those who’ve never been. My wife and I visited 2 on our move to Minnesota, one in Tennessee and one in Kentucky.  The one in Tennessee featured 120 gas pumps, and enough toilets and urinals that rarely produce a line that you have to wait in, and the bathrooms were very well maintained. 

But it doesn’t stop there, “Buc-ees” stores are massive and there are at least 2 locations around each store to get nearly everything they carry. The food is made fresh; they package their own branded products like jerky, which is really good. Plus, you can shop for clothes, coffee mugs, hats, and other items that most “gas stations” or “convenient stores” don’t carry.  

Buc-ee's stores are always packed and it’s truly overwhelming the first time you go. There’s no shortage of whatever you’re looking for or didn’t know you needed or wanted. Another of the reasons Buc-ees is so successful is because they have their own mascot with its face on everything, and it’s very popular.  

When it’s all said and done the stores here don’t have as many gas pumps or bathroom stalls, but it’s easier to get in and out of the parking lot, and a lot of the clerks recognize many of their customers because they see them on a daily basis.   

According to reports online there are no plans to bring a Buc-ee's to Minnesota in the next couple of years at least (it takes that long to build all those gas pumps and bathroom stalls), but if you ever get a chance to visit one, do it. Everyone should experience the Buc-ee's phenomenon at least once. But I’m happy to keep going to Holiday Stores and Kwik Trips.