Lafayette, LA (KPEL News) - Beaver Nuggets, jerky, Buc-ee's swag, fudge. All of that and so much more will be easier to access for Louisiana fans of the popular convenience store with the construction of two more locations closer to Lafayette.

By 2025, three locations will be within 3 hours of Acadiana.

Calling Buc-ee's a convenience store feels blasphemous. Anyone who has visited knows the overwhelming feeling the first time you enter one. Shopping, a meat counter, meal stations, drinks, specialty items, and, their claim to fame, the cleanest restrooms you'll ever find at such an establishment.

Visitors walk away either totally enamored or terribly horrified.

The first Buc-ee's opened in 1982, and the company is based in Lake Jackson, Texas. They currently have stores in 7 states.

For people living in south central Louisiana, the two closest options for getting their beaver fix were Baytown, Texas, or off Exit 49 in Alabama, just east of the Loxley exit.

If you've never had the Buc-ee's experience, check out the video for a glimpse into what it is and where it came from.

BAYTOWN, TEXAS

Opened in 2014, the Baytown Buc-ee's boast more than 60,000 square feet under roof and nearly 100 gas pumps under a canopy the length of three football fields. Surprisingly, the price per gallon at a Buc-cee's location is either cheaper than or on par with area prices.

A day trip to visit the beaver store is absolutely doable with Buc-ee's in Baytown three hours from Lafayette.

PASS CHRISTIAN, MISSISSIPPI

The Buc-ee's in Pass Christian, Mississippi, wasn't scheduled to open until 2025, but that date has been pushed up. They are hoping to welcome customers by Thanksgiving 2024. A bridge and road work the state was completing, necessary to accommodate the increased traffic Buc-ee's generates, should be finished ahead of schedule.

The 74,000-square-foot store will also have 120 fuel pumps, as well as electric vehicle charging stations. With all there is to see, your car will be nice and juiced up by the time you're ready to leave.

The two-and-a-half hour trip would be an easy day-cation for anyone traveling from the Lafayette area.

RUSTON, LOUISIANA

As you can imagine, the whole city of Ruston is celebrating the fact that they will be the first site in Louisiana to have a Buc-ee's.

The convenience store chain eyed Baton Rouge in 2016, but plans were tossed the following year.

With funding from several sources, including the state, interchange work is beginning along the I-20 corridor. Officials expect to break ground on the 53,000-square-foot facility that will have 120 gas pumps.

The projected opening is 2025.

A 3-hour easy ride up I-49 and then HWY 167 will get you there for fun with the toothy beaver.