Is Southeast Texas finally getting a Buc-ee's?

Buc-ee's in Baytown offers travelers and shoppers a variety of items ranging from snacks and beverages to apparel, toys, home decor, grills, deer corn, and other signature products. Click through to see what you can buy at Buc-ee's less Buc-ee's in Baytown offers travelers and shoppers a variety of items ranging from snacks and beverages to apparel, toys, home decor, grills, deer corn, and other signature products. Click through to see what ... more Photo: Kim Brent/The Enterprise Photo: Kim Brent/The Enterprise Image 1 of / 235 Caption Close Is Southeast Texas finally getting a Buc-ee's? 1 / 235 Back to Gallery

Baytown has one and so does Katy, 53 miles to the west. But for 120 eastbound miles along Interstate 10 to the Louisiana border, there's nary a Buc-ee's in sight.

No vast island of glistening fuel pumps, each with a line of cars. No sprawling indoor bazaar offering everything from sausage kolaches to kitschy kitchenware to Buc-ee's-branded camping chairs. And, of course, no restroom facilities that have their own bragging rights.

So the question of when the popular gas station/roadside attraction might bring its red-capped beaver mascot to Southeast Texas has been the cause of much speculation — and hopeful anticipation.

"A lot of people want one," said Chris Boone, Beaumont's director of Planning and Community Development. "It makes the area a destination, drawing in people who wouldn't stop otherwise and accumulating money that stays local."

The chief executive in Orange was even more effusive when asked whether he would support a Buc-ee's in his community.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Mayor Larry Spears said. "We would do whatever it takes to get a Buc-ee's. It would change the whole atmosphere. Not only would it bring jobs and promote growth, but it is just seen as a universal place where everyone can just get together in harmony."

RELATED: Here are some stores we will be getting soon

Well, the Enterprise got an answer straight from the beaver's mouth: Sorry, Mayor Spears, cross-legged drivers looking for harmony will have to keep on truckin' for some 400 miles.

Buc-ee's spokesman Jeff Nadalo said current expansion plans call for new stores in Alabama and Florida, but not Southeast Texas.

The chain, which has expanded to more than 30 stores since its founding in 1982, opened its newest one on Monday — in Denton.

Nadalo declined to elaborate on the "magic formula" that Buc-ee's management uses to decide where to build, other than to say it factors in traffic and distance.

"There might be a Buc-ee's that seems close geographically to another, but they are on different interstates," Nadalo said, offering up one example.

He acknowledged that the company receives many requests for a store in or near Beaumont, and he said executives have not closed the door to the idea.

If they reconsider, Spears says he will be all ears.

"If they want to call, day or night, we are open for business," he said.

Click through the photos above to see some of the unusual things you can purchase at Buc-ee's.