For Trinity students making the long haul back to campus after winter break, there is almost always one assured sight during the road trip: a bustling roadside Buc-ee’s. Buc-ee’s is best described as a super-sized gas station mixed with an amusement park gift shop. The latter’s sentiment is echoed by workers giving the same lines for newly cut brisket and the constant movement of people coming in, buying and leaving. At its core, Buc-ee’s is a hub of mindless mass consumption, which has been fully embraced by Texans.
For instance, the small town of Luling, Texas, roughly an hour away from campus, has a Buc-ee’s that spans over 75,000 square feet. Luling is one example of a phenomenon that covers 35 total stores in Texas alone, with 15 locations out of state. As Buc-ee’s operates as a site of Texan consumerism, it has also become a branded commodity. With the availability of clean bathrooms, endless goods and the power of beaver branding, Buc-ee’s has created a rabid image for itself on the backbone of mass consumer culture.
As a service provider, Buc-ee’s is unmatched in its niche. The major metropolitan cities in Texas are separated by a minimum of three hours, and that doesn’t account for out-of-state students driving back to Trinity. Outside Buc-ee’s, many regular gas stations or rest stops are dreaded for their inconsistencies. Motorists are less likely to find quality hot food or well-kept bathrooms. Buc-ee’s sells itself based on reliability and availability, whether it be the guarantee of clean restrooms, the unending amount of nuts and candies or walls filled with Buc-ee’s branded commodities.
Buc-ee’s never closes: It is open 24 hours, 365 days a year. Michael J. Mooney once spent an entire day in a Denton Buc-ee’s and concluded that Buc-ee’s is a “nexus of a diverse Texas.” As Mooney indicates, Buc-ee’s availability makes it of interest for anyone on the road, but Buc-ee’s the place is distinct from Buc-ee’s the brand. There’s no denying Buc-ee’s is reliable, but Texans’ obsession goes far beyond using their gas stations.
The meat of the matter is Buc-ee the Beaver, the logo, as a product. Each Buc-ee’s location has a statue of the beaver outside of it. Inside, stickers, clothing, keychains, plushies and accessories are branded with him. Buc-ee’s appeal goes digital, too, with Buc-ee’s official Instagram account amassing over 400,000 followers, which will surely grow as the brand spreads nationally. Buc-ee himself has become commonplace on our own campus.
In a vacuum, none of these effects of mass consumption are surprising. It is almost Disney-esque how people display their interests through Buc-ee’s branding. I can personally attest to contributing to this as a small Buc-ee keychain sits on my nightstand. Consumption is a drug, and it feels great to buy. It makes sense that people are drawn to Buc-ee’s. Mass consumption creates clear workforce and economic benefits; however, risks of mass consumption are well-founded. Environmentally friendly approaches to the global economy show the risks of mass consumption, from resource extraction to increased pollution.
While consumers benefit from mass consumption, corporations enable and sustain it. The reality is if Buc-ee’s has so much cheap inventory, it also creates severe amounts of waste. Despite the influx of people, not everything can be sold, and it is necessary to keep in mind how waste is created and who creates it.
It’s strange to see how this type of consumer culture — or perhaps consumption alone — establishes itself as a part of a greater “Texan” culture or as a correspondent to youth culture. It is unlikely that Washingtonians have a strong connection to Amazon. Michigan residents have Meijer, a supermarket chain similar to Buc-ee’s, but it does not carry the same fixation Texans have with Buc-ee’s. Part of this is that Buc-ee’s holds a smaller slice of the greater consumption pie than Amazon or other supermarkets.
While most people utilize Amazon regularly for mass consumption, Buc-ee’s comparatively comes closer to necessity within the context of road trips. Nevertheless, Texans’ relationship with the Buc-ee’s brand shows how the beaver gets a pass when using the same practices as companies known for degradation. Buc-ee’s is simultaneously a solution to a Texas-specific issue of long road trips and a symptom of a greater consumption problem, emphasized by how Texans herald the brand.