Is Chickasha Really Where Oklahoma Will Get Its First Buc-ee's?

Over the last decade, it really seems like we've talked this topic to death, but it keeps popping up. After considering all possible Oklahoma Buc-ee's locations, industry experts are placing their bets on Chickasha.

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Inside the box, it seems like a strange place to put a massive travel center. It's way outside the metro area, and there's not a whole lot of traffic compared to Oklahoma's other highways.

Granted, I-44 between Chickasha and OKC stays pretty busy around the clock. It's also a busy interstate between Elgin and Wichita Falls, but the stretch between Chickasha and Elgin isn't really busy outside of the typical truck and commuter traffic, right?

Why Chickasha?

You can't discount Chickasha's reputation as a tourist destination. With an average quarter-million Festival of Light visitors each December, I'm sort of surprised they haven't pitched changing their name to Christmas, Oklahoma.

In a way, it's similar to other non-Texas Buc-ee's locations. Take Daytona Beach for instance... It's a sleepy little Florida town of 75k residents, but the tourists flock there for annual events like Daytona Bike Week, the NASCAR race, and Spring Break. It's a town that survives on three weeks of income every year and features a massive Buc-ee's location Daytona Raceway-adjacent.

While El Reno, Norman, Guthrie, and the Stroud area might make more sense, Chickasha is in that same circle around the OKC Metro.

When asked, it seems at least one resident of every small town across Oklahoma thinks their Mayberry should be the home of Oklahoma's first Buc-ee's... I guess Chickasha gets a little leeway since marketing experts in the convenience store game agree.

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