HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio (WKEF) – Excitement is building in Huber Heights as Buc-ee’s celebrated an official groundbreaking Thursday.
Buc-ee’s President Arch “Beaver” Aplin explains that most locations are 50,000 square feet, and the Huber Heights location will be much larger.
“This is the new prototype that we just started building, so it’s one of the largest, and we’ve only built a few, but we just felt there was enough land in this location. We believe there’s a business opportunity here for the 74,000-foot store,” Aplin said.
The company is already aiming for a future in Ohio.
“This is our first, but I really hope it won’t be our last,” Aplin said.
A tent full of people waited anxiously for the groundbreaking ceremony to begin on Thursday.
Huber Heights Mayor Jeff Gore said it was an exciting day not only for his city, but for the county and Dayton as he described the impact it could have on the region.
“We’re kind of overlooked by Cincinnati and Columbus, but the I-70/75 intersection is three miles down the road,” Gore said. “How many people are going to come here for a day trip? They’re not just going to stop at Buc-ee’s and then drive two or three hours back to where they came from. They’re going to see what else is out there.”
Aplin said Buc-ee’s has evolved over 42 years and he is excited about the economic impact the stores are having on the area. He expects more than 200 full-time jobs will be available. He talked about what it has been like working with the city of Huber Heights.
“They have a ‘can-do’ attitude. Let’s figure out how we can build this and what we can do to help,” Aplin said. “When you have a community that’s happy to work with you, it’s just so much better.”
Gore said city staff put in a lot of work and that it was a great process and he was proud of everyone.
However, there were some concerns along the way.
“There were a lot of gas stations with the new brands Wawa and Sheetz and the like in the area, so the question was what kind of resistance we would get from the community,” Gore said.
Dayton 24/7 Now reporter Jenilee Boreka asked Aplin what he has learned over the years to help the company avoid challenges on projects of this magnitude.
“We have a phenomenal group of people and a phenomenal builder who has built a lot of stores with us, so we can see some of the problems up front, and that’s inevitable,” Aplin said.
The goal is to complete it in less than a year and a half.
The plan is for everyone to be back on site in December 2025 to cut the ribbon at a ceremonial opening.
