Buc-ee's is officially breaking ground on its Lafayette travel center next month, setting a ceremony for Monday, November 9 at 11 a.m. at the site where Louisiana Avenue meets Interstate 10. The sprawling store has been in the works for years, and shovels finally hitting dirt marks the most concrete milestone yet for a project that has already seen its opening date slide more than once.
According to KPLC, the ceremony will be held at the future store site at the corner of Louisiana Avenue and I-10, and the station reported that no timeline was given for an opening date. That stands in contrast to other reporting on the project, including coverage from MySA, which covers the same groundbreaking news. The dossier of public records and local reporting does not resolve which version is correct, so both should be read with that caveat in mind.
What is clear is the scale of the build. Planning documents posted by the Lafayette Economic Development Authority describe a store that will encompass more than 74,000 square feet and roughly 120 gas pumps. Separate reporting from the same local TV station found in the dossier put the parking count at nearly 700 spaces, with public infrastructure improvements to Louisiana Avenue included in the scope of work.
Road Work and Permits Already Underway
The project isn't just a store — it comes with a traffic overhaul. Planned road improvements include extending an I-10 exit lane, installing a new traffic signal south of the interstate and adding a third lane on Louisiana Avenue, the station's report notes. Lafayette Consolidated Government has already issued a $72.05 million building permit for the project, a separate filing shows, with a vertical building permit issued for the address at 3400 Louisiana Avenue.
Dirt work and grading at the site have been completed, meaning vertical construction can begin immediately once the ceremonial groundbreaking wraps up, per the same account. Cleveland Construction of Naples, Florida, is listed as the contractor on the job.
Jobs, Taxes and a Shifting Opening Date
The economic development authority's figures put Buc-ee's total investment at $82 million, including about $12.5 million earmarked for public infrastructure. The company is expected to create at least 150 jobs with a starting wage of $17 per hour, the authority's announcement states. Lafayette's city council separately approved an added 2% sales-tax increment on purchases made at the store, intended to help offset the public infrastructure costs tied to the project.
LEDA projects the finished store could generate about $1.5 million annually in local sales tax collections, with as much as $35 million to $45 million in new retail sales each year, excluding fuel, according to the building-permit report. Those numbers helped justify years of planning, even as the opening date kept moving — from an original 2025 holiday-season target to July 2027 and, most recently, to an early-2028 projection tied to design and weather delays.
Beaver Nuggets Headed to South-Central Louisiana
Once open, the Lafayette location will carry the chain's signature lineup: Texas barbecue, homemade fudge, kolaches, Beaver Nuggets, jerky and fresh pastries, according to CSP Daily News. The Lafayette store is expected to become the second Buc-ee's in Louisiana, following the chain's first state location in Ruston.
Ruston's project has become something of a case study in how these megastores reshape local economies. Mayor Ronny Walker said the city's infrastructure investments have helped attract more than $900 million in private investment, and officials there approved roughly $7.1 million in infrastructure contracts and professional services ahead of Buc-ee's arrival, according to KNOE. Ruston officials expect their own travel center to open in April 2027.
Lafayette's build fits a familiar pattern for the Texas-born chain, which has been rapidly adding locations across the Southeast and beyond. The company's first North Carolina store, planned for Mebane, is set to include a similarly sized 74,000-square-foot building with 120 fueling positions and an expected late-2027 opening, per C-Store Dive. Buc-ee's also opened its first Ohio location in Huber Heights in April and is eyeing a $60 million travel center in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, as reported by the Triangle Business Journal.
For now, Lafayette residents have a date circled on the calendar for next month's groundbreaking, even if the day they can actually fill up on gas and Beaver Nuggets remains an open question.
