Ready to Potty Like a Rockstar? Take a Look Inside Buc-ee’s Bathrooms

Buc-ee’s has stores in Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, and yes, Tennessee. The Texas-based convenience store chain/cult built its reputation on three prongs. These prongs include a wide variety of food and snacks, lots of gas pumps and perhaps the most well-known, unusually spacious and famously clean restrooms.

Why are Buc-ee’s bathrooms famous?

So why are spacious, clean restrooms such a big deal? Well, in my worst road trip bathroom experiences, I’ve seen deceased lizards, live snakes, broken toilets and broken locks, along with many other mishaps. When you’re on the road, it’s nice to have a chain that you can rely on to have an abundance of clean, safe stalls to do your business.

And how is it so clean? At most locations I’ve visited, they usually have dedicated cleaning staff member who practically follows guests around with a broom. Also, Buc-ee’s has a bathroom trophy case to back up their claims of famously clean toilets. You see, Buc-ee’s not only has clean bathrooms. They have award-winning clean bathrooms. They officially won the title of cleanest restrooms in America in 2012 with Cintas, who ran a nationwide restroom contest.

Subscribe to our newsletter for area news, coupons and discounts

Subscribe to our newsletter!

Email

Please wait...

Thank you for sign up!

Buc-ee’s Cleanest Restrooms in America award

I’m glad you asked. If you want to achieve fame by having the cleanest restrooms, you’re in luck. The official rules of the contest state that anyone can nominate a restroom for the contest. Entries must include an original photo of the bathroom. Then, a panel of judges chooses finalists based on cleanliness, visual appeal, innovation, functionality and unique design elements.

Next, the finalists go to a public vote, and ultimately, a grand prize winner is chosen based on the votes. It would have been more exciting if they sent a panel of judges across the U.S., consuming lots of coffee and beverages along the way so they can adequately judge for themselves. However, I suppose this way is still impressive.

What are the bathrooms like at Buc-ee’s?

I imagine it’s a lot like the bathrooms at the Vatican or maybe Versailles but for mass audiences. They’re usually very clean. And also, they’re spacious. They have lots of stalls, sinks and urinals. There are also a lot of tiles. In fact, if you have to go badly enough, I suppose it’s Shangri-La. 

There are almost never any lines on the men’s side. The women’s side? I confirm there are frequent lines, but otherwise, the reports I’ve received from people in the field are good. The entrances to both bathrooms are filled with art for sale. Most of which is pretty cool-looking stuff. Of course, it’s not Van Gogh or Monet. It’s pretty pictures of horses or landscapes or other artsy things. I wouldn’t be ashamed to hang it on my walls at home. However, if someone asked where I got it, I don’t know that I’d be comfortable telling them from the walls of a Buc-ee’s bathroom in Adairsville, Georgia. 

My only bad Buc-ee’s bathroom experience

Most of my Buc-ee’s experiences have been positive, but I did have a negative encounter once. We were traveling up I-75 back to Tennessee following a brief trip when we stopped at the first – and slightly inferior – of the two Georgia Buc-ee’s on I-75, Ft. Valley. There was no line to the men’s room, but I saw only one stall with a green (open) signal. I pulled the door open and was (at least Buc-ee’s) aghast. 

Honestly, had this been some rando Sunoco on some godforsaken exit in the middle of the open road to nowhere, I might have powered through. But in a Buc-ee’s? Never! There was a liquid pooled at the base of the toilet. A few pieces of toilet paper dangled precariously off the seat and into the bowl. This was the Buc-ee’s equivalent of a crime scene.

Sadly, at this location, I could not “Potty Like a Rock Star.” Finally, another stall opened right next to the offending stall. I took it. I listened as another patron opened the stall door only to close it again in confusion.Can you hear the confusion in the closing of a bathroom stall door? I could. 

How many bathroom stalls does Buc-ee’s have?

It depends on the size of the Buc-ee’s. According to the Washington Post, the current world’s largest convenience store in New Braunfels has: 

• 120 fueling positions 
• 80 fountain dispensers
• 27 cash registers
• 33 urinals
• 50 toilet stalls

The Sevierville location – which will be the world’s largest convenience store for a while until a bigger one opens in Texas – is set to open soon. It will be 74,000 square feet of the 200-acre development. It will provide a mind-blowing total of 120 fueling positions, EV charging stations and a car wash that’s nearly the length of a football field. I haven’t seen the breakdown on urinals and stalls but suffice it to say, it’s going to be a lot.

Does Buc-ee’s have a family restroom?

I had assumed so, but apparently not. There’s a Trip Adviser post about the Buc-ee’s in Bastrop, Texas that outlined the issue of no family restroom. Obviously, that’s just one store out of dozens, but it appears others have faced a similar issue. Also, I could find no reference to family restrooms on the Buc-ee’s site. But I suppose the corporate feeling is the special needs stalls are big enough to serve families whose members need assistance. I don’t want to say definitively no, because maybe one Buc-ee’s out there somewhere does have a family restroom. But I’m pretty sure the answer is no. 

Can you shower at Buc-ee’s?

Can you? I suppose anything is possible. But realistically, no. Buc-ee’s isn’t a truck stop and doesn’t have shower facilities for over-the-road drivers. In fact, Buc-ee’s does not accommodate 18-wheelers at all. They are not even allowed in the parking lot.

Have you used a Buc-ee’s restroom? Was it worth the hype? Let us know in the comments.

Have a question or comment about something in this article? Contact our staff here. You may also contact our editorial team at editor@thesmokies.com (preferred) or call 865-505-0648.