The truth behind the Washington, D.C. Buc-ee's rumors

Washington, D.C. is not getting a Buc-ee’s inside the District, but the chain is getting much closer to the capital. The key development is part of Virginia’s growing Buc-ee’s expansion, with a massive travel center approved along Interstate 95 in Stafford County.

That project is the real story behind most claims that Buc-ee’s is “coming to D.C.”

Stafford County approved the closest Buc-ee’s yet

On May 19, 2026, the Stafford County Board of Supervisors voted 5-2 to approve the Buc-ee’s proposal after a seven-hour public meeting and years of debate. The county cautions that the project will still take significant time to build as it moves through additional milestones.

The planned store would be constructed near Interstate 95’s Exit 140, at the intersection of Courthouse Road and Austin Ridge Drive.

Plans call for a roughly 74,000-square-foot building, 120 fueling positions, 24 electric vehicle charging spaces, approximately 830 parking spaces and road improvements intended to handle the additional traffic. Buc-ee’s has committed to funding turn lanes, new traffic signals and other upgrades around the interchange.

The site is approximately 40 miles south of Washington, meaning it would be close enough to serve Northern Virginia and D.C.-area road-trippers without actually being located in the capital.

Buc-ee’s has now purchased the land

The project moved beyond a simple rezoning approval in late June 2026 when Buc-ee’s completed a $14.8 million purchase of the more-than-35-acre Stafford County property, facilitated by S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co.

That transaction is one of the clearest signs that the company intends to proceed. It distinguishes Stafford from the many Buc-ee’s rumors built around anonymous posts, unexplained signs or wishful-thinking maps.

The land purchase does not mean construction will begin immediately. Before construction can start, the project still requires a federal Operational and Safety Analysis Report (OSAR) reviewing the impact on the Exit 140 interchange, a process involving the Federal Highway Administration and the Virginia Department of Transportation that could take about 18 months.

No official grand-opening date has been announced. Board of Supervisors Chairman Deuntay Diggs has said it could be about three to four years before the Stafford location opens, which would place a realistic opening in 2029 or later.

What about D.C. itself?

There is no announced Buc-ee’s within Washington, D.C., and a full-size location inside the District appears unlikely.

That assessment is an inference rather than an official company declaration. Buc-ee’s modern travel centers require dozens of acres near heavily traveled highways, with space for a huge store, fuel pumps and hundreds of vehicles. Suitable land inside D.C. would be exceptionally difficult and expensive to assemble.

Stafford offers what the District cannot: a large interstate-adjacent property positioned to capture long-distance travelers.

D.C. residents already have another option

Virginia’s first Buc-ee’s opened in June 2025 in Mount Crawford, just south of Harrisonburg along Interstate 81. It is roughly a two-hour drive from the Washington area, depending on the starting point and traffic. A third Virginia location is also in the works in New Kent County, though the company has indicated that opening has been pushed to 2031.

Stafford will be far more convenient once it opens.

So the latest D.C. rumor is partly true, but the wording matters. Buc-ee’s is not coming to Washington itself. It is preparing to build its closest location yet about 40 miles south of the city—and that project now has both county approval and Buc-ee’s ownership of the land.