Ocala Buc-ee’s Opening Postponed to 2029

The newest Buc-ee’s gas station in Florida has been delayed a while longer. The new location planned for Ocala has been postponed to 2029, back from its original opening date of 2028. As of now, the Texas-based gas station chain has two locations in Florida. One, in St. Augustine, opened in February 2021. The following month a second location opened in Daytona Beach. The delay of the Ocala Buc-ee’s to 2029 is not the first time the project has been set back. An original opening was set for 2025 with plans to make it the largest location the company had ever built. This was delayed by unrelated road projects by the Florida Department of Transportation. Groundbreaking on the Ocala Buc-ee’s was initially moved to late 2026, but the current state of that estimate is now unknown. Once completed, the travel center will sit on 33 acres on NW 35th Street near I-75 in Marion County. Ocala is one of four Florida cities slated to get a Buc-ee’s in the next few years. The company also has its sights set on Port Charlotte, Fort Pierce, and Tallahassee. Though Buc-ee’s is largely known as a Texas institution, it won’t be long before the iconic yellow beaver sign becomes a common sight across the United States. Buc-ee’s has plans in place to expand into Arizona, Arkansas,  Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin. The popularity of Buc-ee’s comes in part from its dozens upon dozens of gas pumps, often with some of the cheapest prices in the area. Buc-ee’s can afford to undercut the competition on gas due to their expansive travel center stores, which offer fresh meat, a deli, and a diverse collection of branded merchandise among other goods.