Navigate to Buc-ee’s Ocala
NW 35th St Rd & I-75, Ocala, FL 34475
Located right off Interstate 75 in Marion County, Florida
Florida · What We Know
Buc-ee’s Ocala, Florida: What We Actually Know So Far
By Buc-ee’s Menu Travel Team | Fact-Checked & Updated: August 2026
There’s a lot of chatter online about a Buc-ee’s coming to Ocala, and a real site does exist. But the opening date has already moved twice, and Buc-ee’s itself hasn’t said much publicly. Here’s a clear-eyed look at what’s confirmed, what’s likely, and what’s still just a guess.
site, as of April 2026 — not a locked-in
commitment
Is Buc-ee’s Coming to Ocala?
Most likely yes, but it’s fair to call this one still unconfirmed in the way a completed deal usually is. A specific 33-acre site along NW 35th Street Road, just east of I-75 in Marion County, has been identified for the project, and it’s tied to a real, already-underway Florida Department of Transportation interchange project nearby. That’s more concrete than a pure rumor. But Buc-ee’s has not held a groundbreaking, has not built anything, and has said very little publicly about the project — most of what’s known comes from the company’s own contact page, FDOT construction announcements, and local reporting rather than a formal Buc-ee’s press release.
✓ What’s Confirmed
- A 33-acre site along NW 35th Street Road, east of I-75, has been identified for the project.
- Buc-ee’s own contact page lists Ocala as a proposed location.
- A related $100 million FDOT interchange project at I-75 and NW 49th Street broke ground in February 2025, with Gov. Ron DeSantis attending.
- Buc-ee’s proposed timeline on its own site has moved from 2025, to 2028, to a current listing of 2029.
✕ What’s Not Confirmed
- No groundbreaking date has been set for the Buc-ee’s store itself.
- Buc-ee’s has not explained publicly why the date keeps moving.
- Whether the original plan to make this Buc-ee’s largest-ever location still stands is unclear.
- 2029 is a “proposed” date on Buc-ee’s own materials, not a company-announced firm opening.
Pro Tip: If you see a headline confidently stating “Buc-ee’s Ocala opens in [year],” check what it’s actually sourced from. Most of the reporting on this project — including this page — is built on Buc-ee’s own contact-page listing and FDOT construction updates, not a company announcement. Treat any specific date as the current best guess, not a promise.
Why the Date Keeps Moving
The Ocala project has a genuinely interesting origin: it was originally set to open in 2025, and early plans reportedly called for it to be the largest Buc-ee’s ever built. Those plans stalled when Florida Department of Transportation requirements for a new interstate interchange got attached to the project. The store’s planned site sits right next to a new I-75 interchange being built at NW 49th Street, part of a roughly 30-mile widening project between State Road 44 in Sumter County and State Road 326 in Marion County under Governor DeSantis’s “Moving Florida Forward” infrastructure initiative.
That interchange alone is estimated to cost close to $100 million and broke ground in February 2025 — with DeSantis personally attending, nearly two years after he’d tossed Buc-ee’s-branded treats at a Marion County press conference announcing the wider road project. As of the most recent update to Buc-ee’s own materials, in April 2026, the proposed opening date for the store had slipped again, from 2028 to 2029. No public reason has been given for that specific change.
How the Timeline Has Shifted
Originally
Ocala planned as a 2025 opening, with early reports suggesting it would be Buc-ee’s largest travel center ever built.
February 2025
Gov. Ron DeSantis breaks ground on the related I-75/NW 49th Street interchange project, a prerequisite for the store.
Through Mid-2026
Buc-ee’s proposed timeline shows a 2028 opening, with groundbreaking for the store itself anticipated in late 2026.
April 2026
Buc-ee’s own contact page updates the proposed opening date to 2029. No explanation given.
Why the Date Keeps Moving
Based on the site plan and reporting so far, the Ocala location is expected to be a standard-to-large Buc-ee’s format: roughly 74,000 square feet, 120 fueling stations, and around 750 parking spaces on 33 acres along NW 35th Street Road, southeast of the new I-75 interchange.
Fuel
120 fueling stations (planned)
Parking
~750 spaces (planned)
Site
33 acres off NW 35th St Rd
Nearby Interchange
New I-75 & NW 49th St diverging diamond
Nearby
Silver Springs State Park, Ocala National Forest
Distance to Disney World
~1.5 hours
Where Ocala Fits in Florida’s Buc-ee’s Expansion
Florida currently has two open Buc-ee’s — St. Augustine (opened February 2021) and Daytona Beach (opened March 2021) — with four more in various stages of planning: Fort Pierce (targeting 2027, and expected to be one of the largest convenience stores in the world), Tallahassee (in development, early timelines pointing to 2027), Ocala (this project, now proposed for 2029), and Port Charlotte (2029 or later). Of that group, Ocala’s timeline has moved the most since it was first announced.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Bottom Line
There’s real substance behind the Ocala rumor — a specific site, a genuine road project, and a listing on Buc-ee’s own site — but there’s no groundbreaking, no firm date, and a track record of the timeline slipping every year or so. The honest answer right now is: it’s likely happening, probably not before 2029, and worth revisiting this page rather than trusting any single date you see elsewhere.
See the full picture: Check out our roundup of every Buc-ee’s location in Florida.