Arch “Beaver” Aplin III

Like Charles Butt, Aplin is known for creating an iconic brand that’s come to symbolize Texas: Buc-ee’s. Aplin, whose nickname “Beaver” matches the mascot of his travel center brand, has developed Buc-ee’s locations throughout Texas and into the southern U.S. He opened his first outpost in 1980, the year he graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in construction science.

And like H-E-B, Buc-ee’s has gotten big enough to steer vast local development plans, often in relatively small towns jockeying for the brand’s favor.

Buc-ee’s has 56 locations, 34 of which are in Texas, covering over 2 million square feet — not even close to Dallas success story 7-Eleven, which operates over 9,000 locations in America. Nonetheless, local governments around Texas compete vigorously to be Buc-ee’s next stop. San Marcos, Amarillo and Luling are just a few cities that have successfully courted the Beaver with millions of dollars worth of sales tax subsidies, offering tax breaks to the company in exchange for expected job creation. These tax breaks have prompted counter-campaigns by local residents in Denton, among other towns. Because wide open spaces are part of the Buc-ee’s brand, the company’s Goldilocks zones are large, exurban, often neighborless lots on high-traffic corridors, especially on the highways that form or feed the Texas Triangle. 

— Isaiah Mitchell