The Sweet Drink Deal That Changed What Buc-ee's Sells

(KMDL-FM) The Texas-based travel center Buc-ee's is once again in the news in Louisiana. No, we don't even have a location of Buc-ee's in the state, but the longing and anticipation of our first bayou-bought bag of Beaver Nuggets is about to drive Louisiana fans of Buc-ee's in Lafayette and Ruston insane.

Louisiana Fans Are Surprised to Learn that Buc-ee's Won't Be Offering This

Buc-ee's enjoyed an even bigger boost in its notoriety with so many foreign fans visiting for the recently concluded World Cup Soccer event. Many of those people from other lands remarked that Buc-ee's must sell everything. They don't, and there is one popular product in particular that is missing from the shelves.

And while the acres and acres of gas pumps, the operating room cleanliness of the bathrooms, and thousands of pounds of beef brisket might want to direct your thoughts other ways, the fact of the matter is this. There is one beverage you can't buy at Buc-ee's.

Buc-ee's Made a Deal: That's Why They Won't Be Selling It in Louisiana

Now, if you were the late Michael Jackson, learning this bit about a beverage might set your hair on fire because the one beverage that's not available at Buc-ee's is Pepsi. You see soda exclusivity a lot in restaurants but very seldom in convenience stores. But Buc-ee's isn't a normal convenience store. They are Buc-ee's.

Now, we say that to say this: there is one exception to the Buc-ee's Coca-Cola partnership, that is in the Buc-ee's in Johnstown, Colorado. But at every other Buc-ee's, if you're the "New Generation," you're out of luck, or you're going to have a Coke.

Did You Know That Buc-ee's Has Its Own Brand of Soda?

Of course, you could try Buc-ee's brand cola. There is Buc-ee's Original, Diet Buc-ee's, and Buc-ee's with Vanilla. Those are available at the soda fountains in the store. There are also other sodas and flavors available. Trust me, you won't walk out of a Buc-ee's thirsty unless that's what you meant to do.

As far as we know, there is no animosity toward Pepsi; it's just that Buc-ee's signed an exclusive deal with Coke back in 1997, and apparently when "The Beaver" makes a deal, he honors it.

Again, the plans for opening our Louisiana locations appear to be settled in for early 2027 for the Ruston location on I-20. The Lafayette location is apparently on track to open later in 2027 along I-10. Then I guess the only thing left that we don't have on our wish list of businessess if P.F. Chang's; are they even still in business?

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I wonder how having a new Buc-ee's is going to change the way Acadiana looks, the way these changes reshaped our landscape?

Lafayette Then and Now - A Look at Familiar Places Almost 20 Years Apart

One of the great advantages of the tech boom across the world has got to be the digital record-keeping that services like Google Maps and Bing provide. Their snapshots of cities, towns, and the countryside over time give us an excellent time capsule of what once was as compared to now. Here are 9 Familiar Places you will recognize today in Lafayette, Louisiana, but do you remember them as they were 10, 15, or even 20 years ago?