Ohio’s next Buc-ee’s is no longer just a proposal. Mansfield officials have now signed off on the final development agreement for the state’s second location.
The project matters because it would bring the Texas travel center chain to a key stretch of I-71, opening Buc-ee’s to a different stream of Ohio drivers than its first store near Dayton.
Where the next Ohio Buc-ee’s will go
The next Ohio Buc-ee’s is planned for Mansfield near the State Route 39 and I-71 interchange. That site would make it the first Buc-ee’s in Northeast Ohio and place it on one of the state’s busiest north-south travel corridors. City Council unanimously approved the final development agreement on June 2, 2026, according to local reporting and company presentations.
That vote followed several earlier steps this spring. Mansfield leaders gave initial council approval in March, approved annexation in May, and the planning commission later approved a conditional use permit. With those approvals in place, the project has moved beyond the early concept stage and into the development phase.
Buc-ee’s founder Arch “Beaver” Aplin III has said the company likes sites with room to stand out. “I actually love places where there’s not a lot of development. It kind of lets us be a beacon on the highway, if you will,” Aplin said of the interchange area.
What the Mansfield project would include
Plans call for a 74,000-square-foot travel center on 37.5 acres. The site would include 120 fueling positions and 71 restrooms, matching the oversized format that has made Buc-ee’s a destination stop in other states. Mansfield officials have said the project represents about $50 million in capital investment.
The store is expected to create 175 to 225 full-time jobs, with starting pay listed at $18 per hour. Buc-ee’s Project Coordinator Angela Janik told City Council the company is aiming for a Q2 2028 ribbon-cutting, which means an opening sometime between April and June that year.
The development also includes major public improvements. Buc-ee’s is expected to fund about $15 million in water, wastewater and traffic infrastructure through a New Community Authority tool. Plans also call for three new roundabouts and a new public street to handle traffic around the site.
Why Buc-ee’s is betting bigger on Ohio
Ohio already has one Buc-ee’s open in Huber Heights at 8000 State Route 235 near Dayton. That 74,000-square-foot store opened April 6, 2026, near I-70 and quickly drew huge crowds. Huber Heights Mayor Jeff Gore later said the location topped $1 million in opening-day sales, which he described as the biggest opening in company history.
The Mansfield store would serve a different lane of traffic. While Huber Heights captures east-west travel on I-70, Mansfield would target I-71 drivers moving between Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. That gives Buc-ee’s broader statewide coverage in a market the company appears to see as a strong Midwest fit.
Janik told Mansfield officials that the average Buc-ee’s serves 100,000 customers a week and sells 18 million gallons of fuel a year. If the timeline holds, Ohio would become a two-store Buc-ee’s state in 2028, with one location aimed at cross-state road trips and another built for the north-south corridor.
