Buc-ee’s Ltd. received final approval from the Oak Creek Plan Commission last Thursday to build a travel center along Interstate 94 in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a spokesperson for the commission told CSP. Oak Creek is on the shore of Lake Michigan, about 20 miles south of Milwaukee and about 85 miles north of Chicago.
The company expects the store to open in early 2027. It will be the retailer’s first completed location in Wisconsin—and the chain’s northernmost store. A store in DeForest, Wisconsin, announced in March 2023, was slated to be Buc-ee’s first in the Badger State; however, infrastructure funding issues have delayed that project and opening date, according to a report by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Buc-ee’s declined a CSP request for comment.
- Buc-ee’s is No. 136 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count.
The commission unanimously approved the proposal by a vote of 8-0 on Sept. 23, with one commissioner absent, a spokesperson for the commission told CSP.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation finished a traffic impact review, which requires a “significant” investment from Buc-ee’s involving roadway expansion, according to the commission.
The 30-acre site, located at the southwest corner of I-94 and Elm Road, will be home to a 73,370-square-foot convenience store and a fueling plaza with 120 gasoline pumps, including ethanol-free fuel, as well as diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) and electric vehicle (EV) charging. The business will add 175 full-time jobs to the area.
Buc-ee’s paid $7.5 million for the site, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Buc-ee’s proposed site layout has 665 on-site parking spaces, not including fueling positions. It will have 636 regular parking spaces, including 19 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-accessible parking spaces, and 10 bus/RV parking spaces.
A typical Buc-ee’s serves approximately five million visitors per year, the commission said. Based on similar developments, the Oak Creek site will have approximately 70,500 vehicles per week; 10,080 vehicles per day; an average of 700 vehicles per peak hour; and a maximum onsite peak of 800 vehicles, it said. Approximately 90% of the site-generated traffic comes from the interstate, and more than 85% of Buc-ee’s customers come from beyond city, county and state boundaries.
‘New opportunities’
“We are honored that Buc-ee’s selected our city for its first expansion in the Upper Midwest. Buc-ee’s represents an opportunity to not only bring a unique experience to the region, but to also showcase the Oak Creek community to hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Buc-ee’s to Oak Creek, as they choose our growing city for their first-completed store in Wisconsin along the critical I-94 corridor,” Mayor Dan Bukiewicz told the commission in January concerning the anticipated approval. “This exciting development not only strengthens our position as a key hub for travelers, but also brings new opportunities for local businesses and residents. We look forward to seeing the positive impact Buc-ee’s will have on our community.”
Community opposition
The store faces opposition from the local community, however. Some Oak Creek residents have raised concerns about the increased traffic that the 24-hour business would bring, as well as fuel vapors and potential groundwater pollution, reported Wispolitics.com. Others claim that home values will go down, the report said.
“We’re going to get a great corporate partner in Buc-ee’s,” Bukiewicz said in response to community opposition, according to the news source. “And by all accounts, everybody we’ve talked to across the country enjoys having them within their community,” he said. “Even one person said, ‘If we could get a second one, we’d take a second.’ … [And] there is a tax benefit. Right now, there is not a lot of tax value on that land.”
He added, “Neighbors, all I can say is change is pain, but it’s going to work out in the end.”
A lawsuit filed by nearby residents challenging the city’s earlier zoning approvals was dismissed Aug. 27, said the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Buc-ee’s is No. 136 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count.
Founded in 1982, Lake Jackson, Texas-based Buc-ee’s has approximately 50 stores in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. The company also has broken ground on its first Virginia and Mississippi locations, and it plans to open stores in new states including Arkansas and Ohio. Buc-ee’s is also considering entering Utah and Idaho, among other states.
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