Buc-ee's — Local services in Johnstown

Came up from Denver to see a concert in Fort Collins and thought it would be cool to check out Buc-ee's on the way back. I regret skipping the 7-Eleven in FTC.

My first impression of this place was poor--roundabouts are never acceptable, and this one has some of the poorest signage I have ever seen. It's like they didn't have any paint or road signs available. So after two rounds around the roundabout, I then embark on the LONG drive through 128 gas pumps.

WHO ARE THESE FOR?

Literally I couldn't stop thinking that the whole time I was there. This place would maybe work by the airport or something but like... here? I have never seen 128 cars on the road through north I-25, much less at a gas station.

And NONE of the gas stations had the squeegee things and blue liquid for windows. I'm sure they have a car wash, but I didn't want a car wash, I wanted to squeegee the dust off the back window. Nope, not here.

Due to the giant-ness, many accessible parking spaces are required. Translation--you have to park far away and walk by all the empty accessible parking spaces, like a hike to get inside. I'm not anti-accessibility, but these plans don't math. NOBODY goes there!

The inside is massively huge. So are caves, and I don't think of those as good convenience stores. They had clothes and household stuff I didn't check out because like... stores exist with cheaper options and more variety? I've never been like "oh, let's run to a gas station for a t-shirt" and I won't be doing that in the future I suspect.

The food options were very poor, very expensive, and very limited. Not a nacho, hot dog, or "roller grill" item to be found. No delicious cups of snacks like WaWa or Kum&Go. Just old, $8, 6-inch subs and wrapped hot sandwiches that I would only assume were soggy. And only brisket and BBQ? Where is the chicken sandwich or ham and cheese? Right, those couldn't be so expensive. My friend bought some food, I declined. Chips were hard, not salty, not flavorful. This place even messed up Rice Krispy Treats! Hard, not marshmallow-y, did I mention hard? Lots of empty spaces in their giant space, like a ghost town.

The signage when you leave is just as bad. Like, is it a bike lane or a lane back to 25-south? 128 gas stations and you can't buy paint and signs!?

Next time I'll go to 7-Eleven where I can count on squeegees, close parking, nachos, hot dogs, taquitos, and all the standard...

Opening day, so expect lots of crowds, long lines and very little parking, but, it won't last forever 😉. If you don't want to deal with all the drama, just go at non-peak hours or give it a couple weeks and things will calm down. We noticed that the worst traffic came off I25 so if you're coming from North or South expect traffic delays getting in & out of the parking lot. We're in Berthoud so we came in from the West and had zero traffic until we hit the parking lot. All pumps were taken up because people were using them as parking stalls instead of fueling stations. It was fun to see how many people turned out, especially people that have never been to a Buc-ee's! With family in TX, we've been, but, this is definitely bigger. No items at this Buc-ee's that aren't at others, just more of it. Some people were complaining that the BBQ sandwiches were smaller than in the TX stores, but I didn't notice a difference, they appeared the same to me. They were not soggy as some people mentioned but if they went early in the morning and got some that were premade a little earlier then that might explain that issue. Ours tasted the same ol' delicious as usual. Got some of out fav's; fried chicken sandwich, chopped brisket sandwich, Buc-ee's chocolates, sausage on a stick (tortilla wrapped), ghost pepper jerkey, and Buc-ee's peanut brittle. Everything was yummy as always. Some people are complaining about the food, but remember, this is convenience store food. I'm not comparing it to restaurant food. In comparison to 7-eleven, K&G, Loves, Pilots, etc. If we had a Buc-ee's to stop at we would choose it over others. The staff were all helpful, nice, and full of energy. I love that they kept the Buc-ee's enthusiasm, culture, and upbeat service going. I would say for opening day they were keeping it together in great spirits regardless of the chaos going on around them. Proud of how quickly the young people working there were turning things out and being professional while having fun. Since we're just a few minutes down the road, we'll definitely be back once it settles down a little. Love all the merch, they have some very cute Easter stuff right now. Although the lines were long, they moved VERY quickly when we were there. We will definitely enjoy the new Buc-ee's in CO and we...

This morning I wanted to die, but then I went to Buc-ee's.

Trust me when I say, when I got out of bed this morning I had no idea I was going to have a life affirming experience at a gas station today. I live in Longmont and my best friend drove up from Denver to cheer me up. One thing led to another and I ended up needing gas and we were hungry so we decided to head to Buc-ee's.

When I walked through that door, I swear to god, my childlike sense of wonder was reawakened. I felt able to experience joy in a way that had seemed impossible in the depths of my depression hours earlier in the day. I was overwhelmed. It was everything I'd imagined and more.

After much wandering the store in awe of all of the merchandise and food stations, we finally decided on some purchases. We got chopped brisket sandwiches, potato salad, and two flavors of fudge. We took our meal to the parking lot and ate on the curb by my car. Maybe it was because I was ravenous and all I'd eaten today was a microwave quesadilla and a package of crackers, but this brisket outperformed my wildest expectations. Have I had better brisket? Probably. Have I had better brisket from a truck stop? Never in my life and never again. The potato salad was the best potato salad I've had since Heidi's changed their recipe on me.

It started to rain and my friend said "There's something romantic about eating fudge in the parking lot outside a Buc-ee's in the rain."

Do I guarantee your visit to Buc-ee's will be life affirming and romantic? No. But you'll probably be happy with your experience and purchases, and they had the cheapest gas in the area outside a Sam's Club or Costco.

I did forget to check the cleanliness of their bathrooms, I will be sure to confirm whether they are North America's cleanest restrooms on my next visit.

Update: the bathrooms are very clean. But the toilet paper is only one ply. I...