Buc-ee's Arizona opened in Goodyear on Monday morning, giving Arizona its first location of the chain near Interstate 10 and Bullard Avenue. The parking lot opened to the public at midnight, and the doors were set to open at 6 a.m. before an 8 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Goodyear and Interstate 10
The opening drew fans days early. The first customer showed up around 4 p.m. Saturday and waited along the street with a chair and umbrella, while one fan arrived with a fresh tattoo of the chain’s beaver mascot.
Inside, employees prepared brisket, barbecue and Beaver Nuggets before the opening. Buc-ee’s has built a following around its beaver mascot, hot food, Best Restroom in America and its Sevierville, Tennessee, travel center, which the chain says is the largest gas station in the world.
Bullard Avenue in Goodyear
City officials said all business access would stay open along the 6.5-mile travel route and elsewhere on Bullard Avenue, even as travelers in the area were told to allow extra drive time and expect slowdowns and delays. Local travelers not going to Buc-ee’s were advised to consider alternate routes that avoid the congestion.
The eastbound I-10 ramp at Estrella Parkway was closed, and Bullard between McDowell Road and I-10 was closed. City officials said they would monitor traffic conditions in real time for any needed adjustments, while the ribbon-cutting was set to be live-streamed on the City of Goodyear’s social media channels.
For travelers near Goodyear, the practical move is to plan around the opening rather than through it. The site is open, but the access pattern around it is not the same as a normal Monday morning.
