COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Buc-ee’s, the Texas-based convenience store and gas station with a cult-like following, has delayed the opening of its first Ohio location until next year.

The chain had planned for the first Buckeye State gas station to launch by the end of this year near Dayton in Huber Heights at 8000 State Route 235. However, Jeff Nadalo, Buc-ee’s general counsel, confirmed to NBC4’s Dayton sister station that the upcoming location is now targeting a spring 2026 opening.

Buc-ee’s Huber Heights gas station was announced as the chain’s first Ohio location in the summer of 2023 and broke ground last August with plans to employ at least 200 full-time employees. Once completed, the location will be home to 100 gas pumps, 24 electric-car charging stations, and a 74,000-square-foot store with the chain’s wide-ranging food options, from brisket and beef jerky to beaver nuggets.

Buc-ee’s Huber Heights gas station was announced as the chain’s first Ohio location in 2023. (Adobe Stock)

Construction came to a halt last November after the chain filed a petition in Clark County, citing an ongoing legal dispute between the city of Huber Heights and the county over who should provide sewer and water services to the future site. County commissioners and the city had been engaged in litigation for more than a year, leading to the location’s delay.

Huber Heights Mayor Jeff Gore took to social media in December to announce that a new agreement had been made between city council and the county regarding the water and sewer service to Buc-ee’s. Approval of the new agreement meant construction resumed later that month.

“Construction should resume immediately,” the mayor said in his post. “[Dayton electric utility AES Ohio] is currently onsite rerouting the power lines to make way for the construction of the building.”

Competition chain Sheetz has already begun rapidly expanding in Ohio, including bulldozing a Max and Erma’s restaurant in Dublin to make way for a new location. The gas station also transformed the site of a former Woody’s Wing House in Worthington to build a new storefront.

Wawa, another convenience store and gas station chain, broke ground on several Ohio locations last year as part of the company’s plan to open 11 stores across the state in 2025. Over the next five to eight years, the company aims to build and open six to 10 stores per year in Ohio, with expectations to open up to 60 stores in the state.

Georgia-based convenience store and gas station chain RaceTrac also made its Ohio debut last year with a location in Findlay. The chain is readying to build another Ohio store in Delaware after the city’s planning commission recommended approval in February of the site’s final plat.