Aplin's grandparents, Arch and Mae Aplin, owned and ran a general mercantile and gas station they dubbed the Biggest Little Store in Catahoula Parish in Harrisonburg in central Louisiana. While their son, Arch Jr., went into construction in Texas, their grandson Arch III had inherited the family entrepreneurial streak and convenience store bug.

After spending summers pumping gas and working at his grandparents' shop, when he spied an empty lot in Lake Jackson, Texas, and knew just what he wanted to do with it. In 1982, he opened a 3,000-square-foot store at 899 Oyster Creek Drive on the border of Clute and Lake Jackson, according to Texas Monthly. Inspired by his longtime nickname, Beaver, and his beloved Lab, Buck, he named the store Buc-ee's with a cartoon beaver as its mascot.

It was in 2003 that Buc-ee's became the Buc-ee's that we all know and love, though. That was when they opened their Luling, Texas, outpost just off the interstate. It offered barbecue sandwiches, Buc-ee's-branded t-shirts, and Beaver Nuggets, and it was massive and still growing.

In 2006, it spread to 17,000 square feet, and in 2009, it nearly doubled in size again, going from a convenience store to a roadside attraction. Now, Buc-ee's has 46 stores total, and the self-proclaimed "Disney of convenience stores" crossed state lines for the first time in 2019 with its store in Baldwin County, Alabama, a giant 53,000-square-foot store off I-10. In addition to Alabama, Buc-ee’s has established stores throughout the South with plans to also open stores outside of the region.

While Buc-ee's still boasts about having the "Cleanest Restrooms in America" (seriously, it'son their website), they have plenty of other ways to lure drivers off the road. Freshly-roasted nuts fill the stores with their alluring aroma, Icee flavors like Dr. Pepper and Big Red that no one else seems to be able to get, and a jaw-droppingly large fountain soda bar. The store also sells fresh fudge, home décor, and all the Aggie gear you need to support Texas A&M. Then there are the Beaver Nuggets, addicting bites of caramel, and sugar-coated corn puffs.Buc-ee's loves its employees, and it pays them well. And it values its customers, offering them everything a traveler could need or want for a fair price. In return,people love Buc-ee's. AsTexas Monthlynotes, when they opened a 68,000-square-foot outpost in New Braunfels, Texas, in 2012, 10,000 people came to shop on the first day.