Arkansas is about to get its first Buc-ee’s, and fans can finally put a date on the calendar.
The state’s first Buc-ee’s is expected to open in Benton on August 17, 2026, according to recent local reports. The travel center is being built off Exit 114 along Interstate 30, putting it in a prime spot on the corridor connecting Little Rock and Hot Springs. The opening was originally projected for September 2026, but the timeline has since moved up.
That location is a big deal.
Benton sits in Central Arkansas, about 25 miles southwest of Little Rock, close enough to pull in daily curiosity from the capital but also positioned for road-trippers heading across the state. For many Arkansas drivers, this will be the closest way to experience the Texas travel-center chain without crossing state lines.
And this will not be a small opening.
The Benton Buc-ee’s is expected to be about 74,000 square feet, with 120 fueling positions, 25 electric vehicle charging stations, and roughly 750 parking spots. In other words, it is not just a gas station. It is a destination with fuel pumps attached. The April 2025 groundbreaking was the largest in Buc-ee’s history, drawing about 400 people.
The store is expected to bring roughly 250 jobs to the area. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at the groundbreaking that the location is projected to draw about 5 million visitors annually, with roughly half coming from outside Arkansas. That kind of traffic would give Saline County a new source of tourism spending and sales tax revenue.
For Buc-ee’s fans, the draw is familiar: brisket sandwiches, Beaver Nuggets, jerky, fudge, snacks, drinks, road-trip gear, Buc-ee’s T-shirts, and bathrooms that have become almost as famous as the food.
For Arkansas, the bigger story is what this says about the chain’s expansion.
Buc-ee’s has been pushing far beyond Texas, opening or planning stores across the South, Midwest, and Southwest. Arkansas gives the company another important foothold along a major interstate and puts the brand in easy reach of drivers traveling between Texas, Tennessee, Missouri, Louisiana, and the rest of the region.
Benton may also be only the beginning.
A second Arkansas Buc-ee’s has already been announced for West Memphis, which would put the chain on another major travel corridor near the Tennessee border and the Memphis metro area. That project was originally targeted for 2026 but has since been pushed back to June 2028. Buc-ee’s founder Arch “Beaver” Aplin III has also said the company is scouting a third Arkansas location.
For now, though, all eyes are on Benton.
Construction is moving, the opening date is finally coming into focus, and the first Arkansas Buc-ee’s is close enough that fans can start planning their first brisket-and-Beaver-Nuggets run.
The Texas beaver is almost here.
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