This message comes from Greenlight. Ready to start talking to your kids about financial literacy? Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money app that teaches kids and teens how to earn, save, spend wisely, and invest with your guardrails in place. With Greenlight, you can send money to kids quickly, set up chores, automate allowance, and keep an eye on what your kids are spending with real-time notifications. Join millions of parents and kids building healthy financial habits together on Greenlight. Get started risk-free at greenlight.com slash iHeart. Where'd you get those shoes?
Easy. They're from DSW because DSW has the exact right shoes for whatever you're into right now. You know, like the sneakers that make office hours feel like happy hour, the boots that turn grocery aisles into runways, and all the styles that show off the many sides of you from daydreamer to multitasker and everything in between because you do it all in really great shoes.
Find a shoe for every you at your DSW store or dsw.com. This is Serena Pitt from Bachelor Happy Hour. Hey, Bachelor Nation, Joe and I found our happily ever after and now it's your turn to say yes to the dress of your dreams with David's Bridal.
Whether you're looking for something as timeless as our love story or a dress that makes you feel as bold as our season's unforgettable moments, David's Bridal has the perfect gown for every Bachelor fan. Go see the magic in person. Sign up for Diamond Loyalty to save 15% on your first purchase.
Earn points towards special rewards and more at davidsbridal.com. This is Simone Boyce from The Bright Side. Beauty is about more than just beauty. It's about worth, individuality, and the power that comes from being your truest self. At L'Oréal Paris, beauty means embracing who you already are. Enhancing the diverse features, experiences, and personality that makes you, well, you. L'Oréal's beauty essentials combine innovative products with that classic Parisian touch to help you feel like your most confident self. Because taking on the world is a little less scary when you feel ready for your close up. L'Oréal Paris.
Because you're worth it. Learn more at l'oréalparis.com. And we continue with our American stories. If you've never been to a Bucky's, and I pity any of you who haven't, it's a good bet that you will soon enough. Beaver Applin built his massive convenience chain into a Texas empire, and his tactics are translating outside the state. Here to tell the story is Eric Benson, the man who wrote the definitive story for Texas Monthly about Bucky's and its founder, Arch Beaver Applin.
Let's take a listen. Bucky's is a Texas phenomenon. It is a gas station.
The kind of industry standard has been that a normal gas station convenience store is 2,400 square feet. The large Bucky's travel centers are getting close to 80,000 square feet. You walk into a Bucky's, it feels a little more like walking into a, almost a Wal-Mart.
In terms of, you walk in, you can't see the other end. Instead of hot food that's sitting in, you know, under heat lamps that was prepared, who knows when, they have a big kind of island in the middle of the store. Half of it is a team that's preparing barbecue, and barbecue stands for barbecue, and barbecue stands for barbecue, and barbecue stands for barbecue.
In the morning, they're preparing breakfast tacos. On the other side, they're roasting nuts and making these things called beaver nuggets, which are almost a combination between a potato chip and a french fry. They have a full deli area with a very large kitchen instead of a little display of beef jerky. They have walls of their own house brand of every kind of flavor and stripe you could imagine. I know Beaver is a fan. Beaver is the CEO of Bucky's.
He turned me on to the Bohemian garlic beef jerky. So it's this sort of food emporium. The bathrooms are the size of bathrooms. They're actually larger in bathrooms at an NFL stadium. People are cleaning them 24 hours a day. The gas at Bucky's is cheap. It's the cheapest gas you'll find because they want you to stop and they want you to come in and they want you to spend money in the store. It's a loss leader for them, as it is, I think, for most gas stations, but it really is for them. And people do spend a lot of money in the stores.
Bucky's has everything. It's a mall. It's a funeral home. It's a football stadium. Soon as you walk in, have you ever smelled love being made?
You know how that smell when you get into it and it's real passionate? And I forgot I came for gas and I'm pretty sure I came to Bucky's with my mommy. If anybody see or find my mommy in there, please hit me up on Facebook.
I'm sure she in there. And I think that was having church service at one point inside Bucky's. Who owns Bucky's? Got to be a conglomerate. Got to be a record label.
Suge Knight probably owns Bucky's at this point. And the story of how that thing, these giant travel centers came to exist, is the story of a business that grew very, very slowly. I think it's a very interesting business story, especially today, that I think we're familiar now, especially with sort of startup culture and Silicon Valley venture capital culture. Someone coming in with an idea, getting a ton of money from venture capitalists, raising rounds of funding, rounds of funding, in which, of course, they're giving away equity in their businesses over time. And these things grow very, very fast. Very, very quickly, become very, very big.
And sometimes they really hit and they become Facebook, Meta, Google, and sometimes they flame out. First, Bucky started in 1982. For the first 20 years of the store's history, they were almost entirely in Brazoria County, which is a county in Southeast Texas on the Gulf Coast, which is where Beaver Applin, the founder of Bucky's is from. I grew up in a family. My dad was an entrepreneur.
He started out as a school teacher and then ended up started building houses and doing developments, residential and light commercial development. So, you know, I grew up in a family that was wired that way. And my mom did the books for the family business and my dad ran the business. And I worked in the business and my brother worked in the business when we were young, you know, summer jobs kind of thing. So we grew up like that. And so did not grow up in the convenience store business, though, grew up in the construction business, but did grow up in an entrepreneurial family.
So it was fun. And I don't know, it just kind of made sense for me to pursue my own thing. So when I got out of college, I wanted to build tall buildings. I mean, I graduated with a degree from Texas A&M University, a construction science building construction degree. And so I wanted to build tall buildings. And my first job that I got offered was contingent on the company getting the bid to build the engineering building on the Texas A&M campus. And I put all my eggs in that basket.
But what I didn't contemplate was they didn't get the bid. And so I found myself just graduating without a job, which was a bit stressful for me, if you will. So I worked a little while in my dad's business, and I just got this harebrained idea. I said, I'm going to build a convenience store. My grandpa had a small town general store, if you will, in a little town in Louisiana. And I remember being a kid going in that little general store and wishing I could run the register.
They never would let me, but I always wished I could. So, you know, I found myself without a real job that I was wanting to do without the career I'd planned on. And I just kind of pivoted and decided I was going to build a convenience store.
So there you go. They grew the business. It was profitable.
Beaver took on a partner, a guy named Don Wasick, and the two of them became 50-50 owners in the business, which they still are today. And they got the idea over time that they wanted to get into, they went to build bigger stores. And so they built what's called a travel center. It's a big gas station, food, restaurant option off of an interstate highway, often between two big cities.
So it's going to have a ton of traffic going through it. They built their first travel center in 2003. As I look back and think about the process, it was slow, it was methodical, it was a gradual evolution. The first store I built was 3,000 square feet and had two gas pumps.
At the time, 7-Elevens, which was the leader in the industry, was 2,400 feet. So it was a little bigger, a little nicer, but very much the same business model. And over the next 20 years, I just kind of always tried to tweak it, improve it, make it a better experience. So to me, the way to continue to improve and evolve is just be the best provider in the market, is just run a better business. And still to this day, my mantra is business is really simple.
At Bucky's, let's be clean, let's be friendly, and let's begin to stock. Subsequent, I'm not sure where it came from, but I had this idea of what y'all see now, which is this travel center and the products. And that was a slow evolution. It took me a long time.
I designed it, thought about it, threw the plants in the trash, designed it again, threw them in the trash. And in 2003, 21 years after the first Bucky's, is when we opened the first travel center. And then the last 20 years has been about those travel centers first popping up over all of the key roadways of Texas between all of the big cities, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Houston. And then the story of the last five years is about that brand that has a ton of brand loyalty. You've seen the kind of the beaver move out of Texas and begin to conquer the Southeast of the United States. And now they've moved into the Midwest. And you've been listening to Eric Benson of Texas Monthly and the Bucky's founder himself, Arch Beaver Applin, tell the story of how Bucky's came to be. And what a story. What a slow, beautiful growth story. The opposite of the Silicon Valley go-go culture where you grow faster, you go home. Most companies get built this way. The first Bucky's opened in 1982 and stayed in Brazoria County in Texas for 20 years. And the slow evolution that changed, well, changed travel in Texas, then the South and now the Midwest. Our family always gives ourselves 30 minutes when we go to Bucky's because we can't find each other when we land.
The gas is never the point. The point is always the store, the experience. When we come back, more of how Bucky's came to be.
The story of a great and iconic American brand here on Our American Stories. Hi, it's Jenny Garth. We all know the importance of taking care of our physical and mental health. But what about our sexual health? I've been there feeling totally stuck when it comes to my libido. That's why I started taking Addi.
And let me tell you, I've seen firsthand what a difference it can make in how you feel. Addi is the only FDA approved pill clinically proven to help certain premenopausal women have more interest in sex, have more satisfying sex and lower the stress from low libido. Addi has helped hundreds of thousands of women get their drive back, including me. Talk to your doctor or visit ADDYI.COM to learn more about Addi, the little pink pill.
Individual results may vary. Addi or flibanserin is for premenopausal women with acquired generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder, HSDD, who have not had problems with low sexual desire in the past, who have had low sexual desire no matter the type of sexual activity, the situation or the sexual partner. This low sexual desire is troubling to them and is not due to a medical or mental health problem, problems in the relationship or medicine or other drug use. Addi is not for use in children, men or to enhance sexual performance. Your risk of severe low blood pressure and fainting is increased if you drink one to two standard alcoholic drinks close in time to your Addi dose. Wait at least two hours after drinking before taking Addi at bedtime. This risk increases if you take certain prescriptions, OTC or herbal medications or have liver problems and can happen when you take Addi without alcohol or other medicines. Do not take if you're allergic to any of Addi's ingredients. Allergic reaction may include hives, itching or trouble breathing. Sometimes serious sleepiness can occur.
Common side effects include dizziness, nausea, tiredness, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep and dry mouth. See full P.I. and medication guide, including boxed warning, at Addi.com slash P.I. Addi.
Visit A-D-D-Y-I.com to learn more about Addi. Welcome to a day in the life of an Amex Gold Card member. 7 a.m. Iced coffee with up to $84 back annually at Dunkin' locations. Twelve o'clock, pesto zoodles with four times membership rewards points on purchases at U.S. restaurants up to $50,000. This is so good. And to fit a strong, the freshest sushi spot with up to $100 back annually on eligible purchases at U.S. resi restaurants.
What a day! That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms apply, cap applies. Learn more at American Express dot com slash with Amex. During tax season, your sensitive info does a lot of traveling to places you can't control. Stopping off at payroll, your accountant or tax preparer, and countless other data centers on its way to the IRS. Any of them can expose you to identity theft because they all have the info on your W-2, just the ticket for criminals to steal your identity. No wonder the IRS reported tax fraud due to identity theft went up 20% last year. You need LifeLock.
They monitor millions of data points per second and alert you to threats you could miss. If your identity is stolen, LifeLock's U.S.-based restoration specialists will fix it, backed by the million-dollar protection package. And restoration is guaranteed, or your money back. Don't let identity thieves take you for a ride. Get LifeLock protection for tax season and beyond. Join now and save up to 40% your first year. Call 1-800-LIFELOCK and use promo code IHART or go to lifelock.com slash IHART for 40% off.
Terms apply. Homeowners, if you want to sell your house fast for all cash, stop what you are doing and listen to this because Osborne Homes wants to buy your house right now. I'm Alec from Osborne Homes, and we want to buy your house.
Nobody buys more homes in California than Osborne. Whether it's a total fixer-upper or in perfect condition, Osborne Homes is the easiest way to sell your house fast, all cash. Best of all, when you sell your house to Osborne Homes, there are zero commissions, zero fees.
Plus, no banks, no realtors, no repairs, and no waiting to close. We buy your house as is, all cash. Just go to OsborneHomes.com right now to get your free, no obligation, all cash offer.
We are here and ready to buy your house 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Just go to OsborneHomes.com. Go to OsborneHomes.com right now.
Don't wait. Sell your house to Osborne Homes and put the cash in your pocket right away. Just go to OsborneHomes.com. That's OsborneHomes.com. OsborneHomes.com.
OsborneHomes.com. And we continue with our American stories and the story of Bucky's. His travel center conquered Texas and has been spreading throughout the Southeast and even the Midwest. Let's pick up with the story.
Here again is Texas Monthly's Eric Benson. Getting people who really have a connection to Bucky's the way they have to very few other corporations. I think the only equivalents that I think of are things like Apple.
Now Apple's kind of conquered the world, iPhones, everyone has to have an iPhone so I think there's less of a cultish thing as Apple has become themselves kind of to the nth degree. Costco I think is a company that has a real kind of brand affinity. But Bucky's even has something that those companies don't. I think there's still a little bit of, they're still so regionally associated with Texas that Texans are proud of it and love it. That's one story about how we got to the point that there are 15 Bucky's outside of Texas and I'm sure in another five years there might be twice that many. Part of the appeal of Bucky's is that they're overbuilt because even on the busiest days it's pretty comfortable to be there. I've been at Bucky's on July 4th weekend which I think might be one of their very busiest weekends. And it's pretty crowded on July 4th but it's totally manageable. And on a normal day you're never bumping into shoulders with anyone. You're never, I've never seen a Bucky's parking lot full where you can't find a spot at all. There's always a spot for you.
There's almost always a gas pump ready there for you. And I think as a consumer it probably makes you feel a little special, like you're wanted there. Not like you have to compete to get there. It's interesting because I think there's businesses that have kind of cult followings. A lot of places get that through scarcity. They make people line up for hours for an experience.
And Bucky's really goes the other way. You know they have these, I mean Bastrop Travel Center which is I think a normal size travel center for them. Maybe even on the small side at this point. Ninety-six gas pumps, 56,000 square feet. And I think there's an insight there that they had which is maybe someone will wait online for a special dinner out. But I don't think anyone wants to wait if they're driving from Austin to Dallas. No one wants to take more time on their gas stop. I think that would be where it doesn't matter how special the travel center is, how cheap the gas is, how much better the brisket sandwich you're going to get there is than at another gas station.
No one's going to wait 20 minutes waiting online for a gas pump to do that. The parking spots themselves are bigger. You're never going to go into a Bucky's parking spot and have to kind of wedge yourself out of the door because someone parked a little too close to you. They're parking spots that are designed for big trucks.
And even if you have a big truck, you're going to be comfortable opening the door pretty wide and hopping out. And then there's the Disney World element of Bucky's which is the employees there. There are strict dress and personal presentation codes about how you can be at a Bucky's. There's no visible tattoos.
You've got to be clean cut. When you walk in there, everyone is supposed to clearly say, welcome to Bucky's. They're very nice on the way out too. And they sell a lot of things that are not toys, but they sell tons of these plushie beavers.
They sell all these kind of Texas art tchotchkes. It's a big gift shop too. And it's clean. And I think the wrap on gas station convenience stores is that they often are not clean. And who hasn't been to a gas station convenience store bathroom where the door kind of doesn't close? It's one of these metal doors.
The lock isn't on there. The toilet is un-flushed. And that's, you know, Bucky's offers an experience and a promise that you're not going to face that. You're going to get your little bit of gas station Disney World when you stop there. Clean restrooms.
What a basic concept, you know, for people traveling to have a clean, not only the restrooms, but a clean store, a clean environment, a well-lit environment, a safe environment. So, yeah, the restrooms, we became a little bit famous for our restrooms, which is, you know, to me just kind of such a basic need, but we continue to try to maintain sparkling, clean restrooms. I got the opportunity to spend some time with Beaver Applin, who's the CEO of Bucky's, co-CEO, founder, and the guy who gave Bucky Bucky's is famous for its Beaver logo. And Beaver, the CEO, as you might, is his Beaver is his nickname, as you might imagine, not his given name, but it comes from him, his, you know, his beaver. I had a Labrador retriever named Buck, and my nickname was Beaver, so I named the store Bucky's.
I made my logo a beaver, and that was my business plan. You know, my mom nicknamed me Beaver when I was born. My real name is Arch. I'm the third. My dad went by Arch. I still go by Beaver.
I guess I'm never going to outgrow that. So it just kind of made sense. And here we are. I wanted to go to a store with him and sort of see what this place was like through his eyes. And yeah, we walked in and he, you know, I think the first thing he said, wow, you know, I don't want to, we can do this as long as you don't make it seem like I'm bragging. He's a down-home Texas guy. Christianity is definitely part of his life, and I think he wants to.
Maintaining humility is important to him. Beaver has clear political views if you look at his donations, but he's not someone who's trying to, and the stores are not trying to ram his kind of politics and religion down your throat for sure. He wants Bucky's to be a space for everyone, and it does feel that way. One thing that's clear about that store, there's nothing that's there by accident. There are these islands, refrigerated islands, where they have what they call protein packs, and it's a hard-boiled egg and some half-inch by half-inch tubes of cheese, that kind of thing. Those have been kind of designed and tested. Someone didn't just throw that in or buy it from a third-party vendor.
They thought there was a customer interest in it, and they tried to kind of optimize it and taste test it to be the best that it could be. And yeah, I think in Walking Around 2, we interacted with some employees, and he was very... Beaver is not a big person. I think he's 5'7", and he's kind of slight. He does dress beautifully.
I think he was wearing a cup of fedora and a sport coat when he walked in. But he's the CEO of this company, and the people working there, they got what's a pretty good job for working at a gas station. They pay well at Bucky's, and they have good benefits. But these people don't interact with the CEO of the company.
There's so many levels down. And so we went to, I think, a woman making nuts, and Beaver kind of interacted with her and asked her what she was doing. And she said she loved her job. And I think it seemed genuine. It seemed like a really genuine moment, and Beaver said, I love that you love what you're doing. And yeah, I don't think she knew who he was. She didn't give that.
I didn't see anything in her eye that said, oh, this is a setup. They told all the employees Beaver is coming in today, but act cool. It seemed like a genuine moment. Because then we did interact with some employees who did know who Beaver was. Some people who were a little higher up in the managerial chain, who also really loved it. And you've been listening to Eric Benson and Arch Beaver Applin tell the story of Bucky's, and what a story indeed. Part of the appeal was just its overbuiltness. It's just big.
And it always feels like there's plenty of space, even on the biggest days, and then those bathrooms, spotless. And it makes common sense, but making it an important part of the experience, well, Bucky's gets that down, including how the employees treat people and how the employees are treated. They're well paid, we learned. And Bucky's founder has his own views. He's a Christian, and his political views are well known in the area, but he does not impose those views on his customers. He wants everyone to feel welcome at Bucky's.
When we come back, more of the story, the rest of the story of Bucky's, an American institution, here on Al American Stories. Hi, it's Jenny Garth. We all know the importance of taking care of our physical and mental health. But what about our sexual health? I've been there, feeling totally stuck when it comes to my libido. That's why I started taking Addi.
And let me tell you, I've seen firsthand what a difference it can make in how you feel. Addi is the only FDA approved pill clinically proven to help certain premenopausal women have more interest in sex, have more satisfying sex, and lower the stress from low libido. Addi has helped hundreds of thousands of women get their drive back, including me. Talk to your doctor or visit addyi.com to learn more about Addi, the little pink pill.
Individual results may vary. Addi, or flibanserin, is for premenopausal women with acquired generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder, HSDD, who have not had problems with low sexual desire in the past, who have had low sexual desire no matter the type of sexual activity, the situation, or the sexual partner. This low sexual desire is troubling to them and is not due to a medical or mental health problem, problems in the relationship, or medicine, or other drug use. Addi is not for use in children, men, or to enhance sexual performance. Your risk of severe low blood pressure and fainting is increased if you drink one to two standard alcoholic drinks close in time to your Addi dose. Wait at least two hours after drinking before taking Addi at bedtime. This risk increases if you take certain prescriptions, OTC, or herbal medications, or have liver problems, and can happen when you take Addi without alcohol or other medicines. Do not take if you are allergic to any of Addi's ingredients. Allergic reaction may include hives, itching, or trouble breathing. Sometimes serious sleepiness can occur.
Common side effects include dizziness, nausea, tiredness, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, and dry mouth. See full PI and medication guide, including boxed warning, at Addi.com slash PI. Addi. Visit A-D-D-Y-I dot com to learn more about Addi. With Amex Gold, you get up to $100 back annually on eligible purchases at Resi restaurants, so... Party of two, right this way.
Is music to your ears? That's the powerful backing of American Express. Enrollment required. Terms apply.
Learn more at American Express dot com slash with Amex. Homeowners, if you want to sell your house fast for all cash, stop what you are doing and listen to this, because Osborne Homes wants to buy your house right now. I'm Alec from Osborne Homes, and we want to buy your house.
Nobody buys more homes in California than Osborne. Whether it's a total fixer-upper or in perfect condition, Osborne Homes is the easiest way to sell your house fast, all cash. Best of all, when you sell your house to Osborne Homes, there are zero commissions, zero fees.
Plus, no banks, no realtors, no repairs, and no waiting to close. We buy your house as is, all cash. Just go to Osborne Homes dot com right now to get your free, no obligation, all cash offer.
We are here and ready to buy your house 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Just go to Osborne Homes dot com. Go to Osborne Homes dot com right now.
Don't wait, sell your house to Osborne Homes and put the cash in your pocket right away. Just go to Osborne Homes dot com. That's Osborne Homes dot com. Osborne Homes dot com. Osborne Homes dot com. Hi, this is Javon, your Blinds dot com design consultant.
Oh wow, a real person. Yep, I'm here to help with everything from selecting the perfect window treatments to... Well, I've got a complicated project. No problem, we make the complex simple. I can even help schedule a professional measuring install.
I didn't realize you did that. We can also send you samples fast and free. Wow, I mean, I always thought I needed a designer to come to my home, but scheduling's always a nightmare. Not with Blinds dot com, we're on your schedule.
And there's no haggling, pressure, or hidden fees either. Hmm, I just might have to do more. Whatever you need. How about you tell me what you had in mind? Okay then, so the first room we're looking at is for guests coming over and I'm thinking of something... Blinds dot com has covered over 25 million windows, all backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Shop Blinds dot com now and save up to 45% on select styles. Rules and restrictions may apply. And we continue with our American stories and the story of Bucky's.
Let's pick up where we last left off with Texas Monthly writer Eric Benson. Look, I don't think everyone loves working at Bucky's. If you look online, there are people who do not like the fact that it's so strict in terms of presentation and personal code and standing all the time and not being on your phone.
And it's really, I don't think it's the easiest place to work in the world because they want this experience and they want their employees to be representatives of the company in a way that most jobs like that don't care that much. So it's something that kind of has to click for people. But I think when it does, people really, really get into it. And Beaver really liked that because at the end of the day, it's what they love is his vision for it, whether they know it or not. I have been extremely blessed and the Bucky's family has been extremely blessed. And so I find myself really enjoying giving back to the community, whether it's a local community where we have a store or whether it's statewide. I mean, the involvement that I've chosen to make in volunteer aspects, it really, really does the heart good. I enjoy it. You know, you've got to manage your time because we have a business to run and you've got to manage the volunteer things that you can do.
But I've enjoyed it. I just finished up at the Board of Association of Former Students at Texas A&M. So that was fun. And now I have a new project to build at A&M. We're doing a school of hospitality, building a new building, an entire new four year curriculum on the Texas A&M campus. And I've been asked to lead that charge.
And so I'm going to look forward to that. That's my next volunteer duty is to create and work towards this new school of hospitality. I think that when I was there five years ago, and I'm sure this is more now, it was $14 an hour. At some point, you got into a 401k program.
There was paid vacation. And that's for an entry level job at Bucky's. That certainly is not the pay structure at an average run of the mill gas station convenience store. You have to be a representative of the brand in a way that you do in a corporate job, but often not in an entry level service job. I think much like you would as a Disney World employee.
No colored hair, no visible tattoos. You have to wear nice shoes. You can't look at your cell phone. You have to be standing the whole time. And so there's a kind of brand representation and professionalism that is drummed into you. And I think if you can't do it or you don't want to do it, you get drummed out of there pretty quickly. But the reward of it is that it is a place I think that really values its own culture and promotes from within. A lot of the people who run Bucky's stores come up through Bucky's stores. They can be jobs with real growth potential. They're not dead end jobs. That's unique.
It's a little bit of a different. You're working for a pretty large corporation and a closely held, privately run corporation that really values its own culture. It's just one of the things that we take the most pride in. I mean, we're 8,500 strong that actually work for the company.
I'm not talking about vendors, manufacturers, producers. And we just take great pride. My partner Don and I take great pride in providing a business, a career, a livable wage for 8,500 people.
I mean, that's, you know, sometimes I have to pinch myself and think about that. So we focused on the store, the cleanliness, what we provide for the customer, for the experience. But there's a whole lot to be said for the pride and ownership for the careers of those 8,500 people that work with us to bring our brand and our product to the public. So if you drive down the highways of Texas, you're going to know about Bucky's in two ways. Way number one is you might see bumper stickers of the Bucky Beaver and you say, oh, what's that? Way number two is that if you are driving on an interstate highway in Texas, you're very likely to see a billboard of Bucky's. And the billboard will usually be a short sentence with some light pun about going to the bathroom, about food, something like that.
And it'll then probably tell you how many miles until the next Bucky's. And this was a deliberate effort on the part of Bucky's. They hired a Houston advertising firm that sort of started this boulder rolling. And now I think actually they get a lot of these. There's almost a contest of employees where they will submit ideas for the billboards, for the wording of the billboards. And the best ones will rise whoever's in charge of that at Bucky's. And I would not be surprised if Beaver personally approves them before they go out there.
They will kind of rise to the top. It's the gas station being in store as destination, almost like a roadside attraction in the days when there still are some. Of course, there used to be many more. But this idea of, you know, 100 miles down the road, there's there are these caves, you know, that you might want to explore. And you have a little or there's a snake farm 60 miles down the road. Just go and you'll as you get 30 miles down the road, 10 miles down the road. And Bucky's, you're only 100 miles away from a Bucky's.
Don't stop now. Don't stop for gas now. Wait 100 miles.
100 miles, of course, is a long way. But they really start I think they do start about 100 miles away telling you how long until the next Bucky's. And when you are on that highway and you see the Bucky's logo on a big pole sticking up, it's like this beacon.
I've reached the promised land. I'm going to get off and go into Bucky's. Of course, everybody knows about, you know, we have one hundred and twenty fueling stations at our big store. So we've already in a big way taken care of the automotive, you know, gasoline diesel automobiles. But we're installing the electric and we think we have a pretty good environment for the people to walk around and shop because it does take a little longer to charge electric vehicles.
And so we're installing them as we go and plan on being ready to take care of that market. So one thing that Bucky's has always had is that they do not allow 18 wheelers. There are two big reasons. One is it's easier to drive around and find gas pumps and find parking when you're not dodging these huge tractor trailers and the way that they can turn and take up a ton of room. So it makes getting into and out of Bucky's easier. And then two is they want most of the traffic to be car travelers. It's not a commercial truck stop and a lot of big travel centers, I think, cater to commercial truck stops. And part of the what Bucky's is trying to do to set itself apart is say we are not a commercial truck stop. This is not a place where guys who have been driving for 12 hours need to stop for a shower and a hot meal. What their ideal customer is the family of four or five stopping on the way to go to the lake for the weekend.
And so anything they can do to get more of those people in, make it more comfortable for them and take away any reason they wouldn't want to stop there, I think that's what they're trying to do. We're enjoying the expansion and we're still having, we're just having a good time. And as long as our fans appreciate what we bring to them and bring to their travel experience, we're going to keep doing it. I don't think this is a vision that Beaver Applin had in 1982 when he opened his first gas station in Lake Jackson, Texas.
But it's a story about someone building a business very slowly over a long period of time and conquering the world over the course of 40 years instead of trying to conquer it over three. I just want to thank everybody from the bottom of my heart for loving Texas, for being a Bucky's fan, for appreciating what we do and what we bring to the market. And I just can't say enough. As my fifth grade teacher told me, Mrs. Bankson, one day, and I didn't understand it then, I understand it now.
She said her cup runneth over and my cup runneth over. Thank you all and God bless Texas. And a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling by our own Greg Hengler and a special thanks to Eric Benson of The Texas Monthly and a special thanks to Arch Beaver Applin. Not only for giving us Bucky's, but for telling the story of this iconic brand that he built and that was in his head, but that he took his time building.
Stories like this we simply adore. Without this entrepreneur, we don't have this institution. People make a difference in this country.
One idea, one person, resilience and perseverance to make it happen. And the treatment of those customers and the employees reminiscent of what Truett Cathy did at Chick-fil-A and both Christian men letting their Christian values and how they treat people with generosity, abundance and love. A classic American story and the best case in the world for free enterprise. Treat your people well. The people treat their customers well. Deliver a fabulous service at a fabulous price.
Only the free enterprise system can deliver that. The story of Bucky's, the story of the American dream manifested and the story of the free enterprise system at work in all of its glory here on Our American Stories. With Amex, there's always a new experience to explore. From curating the perfect vacation and chilling in the Centurion Lounge before you get there.
Trying out that new trendy restaurant thanks to Priority Notify with global dining access by Resi. And getting straight to the action at the big game with card member entrances at select venues. With Amex Platinum, you can experience it all. That's the powerful backing of American Express.
The unshakable's podcast is kicking off season two with an episode you won't want to miss. Join host Ben Walter, CEO of Chase for Business, as he welcomes a very special guest. Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon. Hear about the challenges facing small businesses and some of the uh-oh moments Jamie has overcome.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Chase mobile app is available for select mobile devices. Message and data rates may apply. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. Copyright 2025.
JPMorgan Chase & Company. This Valentine's Day, celebrate every love story with Pandora. Whether it's romantic, platonic, familial, or a gesture of self-love, Pandora's versatile designs let you express your unique connections in meaningful ways. Each piece tells a story of love or friendship that transcends materialism, turning every gift into a heartfelt message that connects hearts. From best friends to significant others, Pandora helps you honor the bonds that make life richer and more meaningful. Make the feeling last, from first sight to forever, on Valentine's Day and every day. Be love.
Shop Pandora jewelry today in store or online at Pandora.net. Get this. Adults with financial literacy skills have 82% more wealth than those who don't. From swimming lessons to piano classes, us parents invest in so many things to enrich our kids' lives. But are we investing in their future financial success? With Greenlight, you can teach your kids financial literacy skills like earning, saving, and investing. And this investment costs less than that after-school treat. Start prioritizing their financial education and future today with a risk-free trial at Greenlight.com. Greenlight.com.
