State lobbying efforts underway for bringing Buc-ee’s convenience store to Wisconsin

Leaders from DeForest in Dane County are seeking state support for building a new Buc-ee’s mega gas station on the outskirts of Interstate 90/94. 

To be clear, this Buc-ee is a beaver, not a badger. The mascot is the branding for a Texas gas station chain, which plans to build its first Wisconsin location in DeForest alongside County Highway V. 

Buc-ee’s holds the record for the largest convenience store in the world, in Luling, Texas. Often nestled along major highways, the chain has acquired a cult following with more than 100 million annual estimated visitors across its locations. The DeForest location is projected to bring in between 4,000 and 8,000 visitors daily, said Jane Cahill Wolfgram, board president for the village of DeForest.

Cahill Wolfgram recently told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” she expects the proposed store’s more than 100 gas pumps to generate more than $7 million per year in fuel taxes for the state. 

“One of the executives once told me that if you’re going up north to camp, you can get everything you need to go camping right there,” she said. “The other thing that everyone tells me … is they have some of the cleanest bathrooms you’ll ever find when you’re traveling.” 

But the DeForest project is facing construction delays after it became clear the local infrastructure would need a roughly $15 million upgrade to accommodate the increased traffic. 

Cahill Wolfgram called upgrading the highway exit an opportunity for a public-private partnership, with Buc-ee’s agreeing to finance roughly half the cost of the infrastructure project. She said the village is finding lawmakers to be more receptive to the project than the state Department of Transportation. Cahill Wolfgram said the village is lobbying the state Legislature to add funding for the project in the next budget or, potentially, as a standalone bill. 

“If Buc-ee’s wasn’t willing to do more than 50 percent of this very expensive exit plan, the state eventually would have to do the whole thing itself,” she said. “Here’s an opportunity for a public-private partnership to fund this exit.” 

A DOT spokesperson told WPR the agency is working with the village of DeForest on developing a plan, but the project would ultimately be up to the private sector to work on. 

“As with all private developments in Wisconsin, the costs for necessary roadway improvements due to impacts from the development are the responsibility of the developer,” the spokesperson said. “This includes engineering, real estate and construction.”