Public interest in the zoning determination for construction of a new Buc-ee’s store and fuel pump station in Lake Palmer, Colorado is one more sign of a project that has galvanized local residents.
Planning for the project has been underway for more than two years with some residents in the town of around 2,700 people saying it is too large for the area and will create too much traffic.
Set for construction off Interstate 25 near the County Line Road, the store represents Buc-ee’s move to build more locations in Colorado and other states of the West.
Founded in 1982, Buc-ee’s is known for its spacious convenience stores, measuring anywhere from 52,000 to more than 80,000 square feet.
Based in Lake Jackson, Texas, the company’s locations feature a wide variety of restaurant and retail offerings and clean restrooms. Buc-ee’s currently has just under 60 locations up and running in around a dozen states.
The zoning meeting for the new proposed Buc-ee’s in Lake Palmer is tasked with determining whether the project qualifies as an allowed use given the site’s current C-1 zoning. A Board of El Paso County Commissioners website has made certain to note that the hearing will “not approve or deny construction of a Buc-ee’s.”
Arch Aplin III, chief executive officer of Buc-ee’s, disclosed several days ago that the company was continuing to pursue a growth strategy of seeing it build beyond its Texas base. In a podcast interview with Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Aplin remarked: “We’re building in a lot of places, but when you find a conservative, business-friendly state with a phenomenal workforce, it makes a difference.”
Last week the company opened its first location in Arkansas, a 74,000-square-foot facility with 120 fuel pumps in the city of Benton.
August 28, 2026
By Garry Boulard
