PORT LAVACA, Texas, April 19, 2026, 12:37 CDT
Buc-ee’s is getting ready to shutter its Port Lavaca, Texas outpost—an unusual move for the travel-center brand. The location at 2318 W. Main St., marked as Store No. 12 on Buc-ee’s books, is slated for a revamp and will return under the 7-Eleven banner, this time with a Laredo Taco Company restaurant in tow. Local outlets report the revamped address will bring a third 7-Eleven to Port Lavaca.
This shift is notable, given that Buc-ee’s expansion has leaned heavily on opening bigger travel centers, not shutting stores. Still, the company’s own website tags new Texas locations—San Marcos in July 2026 and Boerne in 2027—signaling a pivot from older store formats instead of a broader retreat.
The move comes as Seven & i Holdings, which owns 7-Eleven, projects 645 closures at 7-Eleven Inc. for fiscal 2026—this figure covers locations being switched over to wholesale fuel, too. Only 205 new stores are slated for opening. So Port Lavaca stands out: not only is Buc-ee’s shutting down an uncommon location, but 7-Eleven is adding a branded site, even as it pares back elsewhere in North America.
Derrick Smith, who heads the City of Port Lavaca Building and Standards Commission Board, said word of the change reached the city via a sign company’s question. “I did get an email from a sign company, on March 16, stating that Buc-ee’s is being rebranded as 7-Eleven with a Laredo Taco,” Smith said. Houston Chronicle
Smith noted that no building permits are on file yet, and later reports point out Buc-ee’s hasn’t disclosed any timeline for converting the site. This particular store, which launched in 2000, never expanded to match the chain’s sprawling travel centers.
7-Eleven lists two addresses in Port Lavaca: 1800 State Hwy 35 and 2207 State Hwy 35 N, per its own store pages. If the Buc-ee’s site gets converted, that would put a third 7-Eleven in the city. The company pitches Laredo Taco Company as its house Mexican food brand, noting it’s featured in more than 450 Stripes stores—mostly in Texas and Louisiana.
Buc-ee’s rarely closes locations, though it’s happened before. According to Chron, the retailer has shuttered or sold off smaller outlets in Lake Jackson, El Campo, West Columbia, and Gonzales. Some of those went on to become Stripes stores.
But several questions remain. There’s no word yet on whether Buc-ee’s intends to swap out Port Lavaca for a larger site in the area, and with no building permits filed, the project’s timing—or even its fate—remains up in the air. Buc-ee’s own locator still lists Port Lavaca as open.
7-Eleven’s planned Port Lavaca location would plug into what the company describes as a U.S. and Canada network topping 13,000 stores—part of a global footprint of over 86,000. Buc-ee’s, for its part, continues to underline a different Texas strategy: ditching the old-school footprint in favor of bigger, flashier destination sites.
