It’ll be fun, they said.
Buc-ee’s opened their first Arizona location in Goodyear a couple of weeks ago. For those unfamiliar, Goodyear is a suburb of Phoenix located a little West of the city.
I’ve got a new (to me) truck and I hadn’t taken it on a road trip, so I thought “What the hell” and decided to drive up and see what it was all about. One hundred twenty-four miles. Three vehicular accidents on I-10 headed North. Road construction. The trip up took over two hours, so I arrived at right at noon, Saturday.
The owner’s of Buc-ee’s have learned how to print money. Buc-ee’s is not a gas station. While there may be 120 pumps, there’s not even a sign showing the prices at the pump. It’s not a convenience mart, even though they sell all the stuff a convenience mart sells.
Buc-ee’s is a goddamned amusement park without rides.
The line to get into the PARKING LOT was 20 cars deep. There are more parking spots than at a shopping mall. And they were ALL FULL. People were parking along nearby streets. I managed to find a spot. I went in.
It was a zoo:
You can’t see it, but the line for checkout goes from the registers all the way back to the center of the store.
My senses were overloaded. Too peoply. I had to flee. A two-hour drive and I didn’t even buy any beaver nuggets. I didn’t want to stand in line for an hour. But hey, if you’re looking for a new career, Buc-ee’s is paying well!
I think they’ve already paid off what it cost to build the thing.