Florida already has two Buc-ee’s locations, but the state may be heading for a much bigger role in the chain’s national expansion.
Buc-ee’s official location list currently shows two Florida stores: Daytona Beach and St. Augustine. That gives the state two major I-95 travel stops and puts Florida firmly inside Buc-ee’s growing highway expansion strategy.
Both existing stores make sense. Daytona Beach pulls in beach travelers, tourists, race fans, and drivers moving along Florida’s Atlantic Coast. St. Augustine catches I-95 traffic near one of the state’s most popular historic destinations.
But Florida’s future Buc-ee’s map could be much larger. Four new Florida locations are now in some stage of planning — in St. Lucie, Ocala, Port Charlotte, and Tallahassee — which would push the state to six total stores and make it one of Buc-ee’s most important expansion markets outside Texas.
Buc-ee’s own estimated opening list shows St. Lucie targeted for 2027 and Ocala for 2028. The company notes that dates can change, but those two locations have been part of the future Florida conversation the longest.
The St. Lucie County proposal may be the most controversial. The planned 73,000-square-foot Buc-ee’s at the southeast corner of I-95 and Indrio Road would have 120 fuel pumps, 20 EV chargers, 11 bus bays, and more than 720 parking spots on a 33-35 acre site. But the project has drawn pushback over traffic, environmental concerns, and potential effects on wildlife. Residents and conservation groups raised worries about migratory birds, sea turtle hatchlings, and the impact of a large roadside development.
The biggest flashpoint has been the project’s 100-foot-tall Buc-ee’s sign. Local ordinances cap signs at 10 feet without special approval, but the St. Lucie County Commission voted 4-1 to grant the variance in 2025 despite wildlife experts warning that the sign’s lighting could disorient sea turtle hatchlings and migratory birds. Buc-ee’s Director of Real Estate Stan Beard also had to step in earlier this year to debunk a circulating rumor that the St. Lucie store would be the chain’s largest, clarifying that Luling, Texas remains the title-holder.
That is the tension around Buc-ee’s in Florida.
The chain brings jobs, sales tax revenue, tourism traffic, and a built-in fan base. But the same things that make Buc-ee’s popular — huge stores, huge parking lots, huge fuel canopies, and huge crowds — also make local governments and nearby residents ask hard questions.
Ocala is another future location to watch because it would put Buc-ee’s deeper into central Florida, closer to I-75 traffic and drivers moving between Tampa, Gainesville, Orlando, and north Florida.
Port Charlotte adds another important piece to the map. Buc-ee’s has proposed a Charlotte County location along I-75 near a new Harborview development between Sarasota and Fort Myers, which would give the chain its first Southwest Florida footprint.
There has also been significant movement near Tallahassee. Buc-ee’s purchased more than 30 acres near Capital Circle Northwest and Interstate 10 last November and has submitted plans for a 75,000-square-foot store with 120 gas pumps and 24 EV charging stations. No opening date has been announced.
So the current Florida count is clear: two Buc-ee’s are open.
The future is much bigger, but more complicated.
If St. Lucie, Ocala, Port Charlotte, and Tallahassee all move forward, Florida could become one of Buc-ee’s most important states outside Texas — second only to Texas itself.
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