A Goodyear hot sauce business prepares for the impact of Buc-ee’s

GOODYEAR – Right off Interstate 10, which leads to Los Angeles from Arizona, a market and roadside attraction is tucked into a pasture. Inside the warehouse-sized business, rows of spicy jam and hot sauce line the shelves, each container adorned with cartoon donkeys. 

On a recent weekday morning, this store— called Ass Kickin’ Gift shop—was quiet. Across the street, signs of another market were beginning to emerge – one with a familiar smiling beaver.

Ass Kickin’ products was founded in downtown Glendale in 1986 by the owner, Jeff Jacobs, manufacturing a few barbeque and hot sauces. He met his wife, Linda, who took on the business with him. 

“We started off selling to independent grocery stores, and then the gift shops,” Linda Jacobs said. “We just went out on the road, peddling our hot sauces to gift shops.” 

The couple relocated to a dirt road in Goodyear in 2001, when the city’s population was only about 22,000. Today, their storefront sells over 200 products like spicy nuts, prickly pear lotion and customized hot sauce. 

In the 25 years since, Goodyear has grown to a commercial hub with over 100,000 residents, Amazon warehouses and multiple data centers. Ass Kickin’ Gift Shop has benefitted from this growth as their customer base expanded, but their products stayed unique to the area. 

“We’re mainly a specialty food manufacturer, so our products can be found in gift shops and tourist areas and airports and specialty retailers, but they can’t go to the local grocery store to find it,” Linda Jacobs said. 

Customer loyalty 

Some Goodyear residents are regulars. Mary Karpe has been shopping at Ass Kickin’ for a decade, saying that she’ll stick to it because it’s a hometown company. 

It’s also attracted some regulars from out of town, like John Shanks, who has been a customer of Ass Kickin’ for 30 years and is partial to the Jalapeno Cheddar peanuts. Twice a month, he drives over an hour from Congress, Arizona, to buy gifts for family and friends.

Regulars might not be the only customers in town, as a new chapter for Ass Kickin’ is on the horizon.

In 2024, the Texas-based gas station chain Buc-ee’s announced they would be expanding to Arizona – right across the street from Ass Kickin’ Gift Shop.

As Buc-ee’s opening was just days away, Linda Jacobs expected her business to change gears.

“We’re all kind of skeptical (about) how this is going to impact traffic, but they’re very popular,” Jacobs said. “People will travel from all over just to go see this destination. It’s going to bring a lot of revenue to the city of Goodyear.”  

Whether or not Buc-ee’s will increase revenue for Ass Kickin’ is yet to be seen.

The shop  distributes their products around the country. They import their products to gift shops, tourist areas and airports around the country and sell online under the company name Southwest Specialty Food. 

In comparison, Buc-ee’s doesn’t distribute their items on their website.

“It’s a completely different business model,” Jacobs said. “We make something completely different than what they do. … We’re all about Ass Kickin’ and Spontaneous Combustion and Hot Sauce from Hell, so those are our brands that we hope people continue to support and find.” 

A new chapter 

Early Monday morning, over 1,000 tired customers from all around the world gathered at Buc-ee’s new Goodyear location for its grand opening. Some had camped overnight in their vehicles  with their families, while  others had flown out from out of state to celebrate. 

The store officially opened at 6 a.m. Swarms of excited fans ran through the doors, greeted by the smell of cinnamon and smoking meat. 

“The turnout is incredible,” said Arch “Beaver” Aplin III, the founder and CEO of Buc-ee’s. “Some have been here since all night, wearing their shirts and wearing their onesies.” 

Buc-ee’s has their own brand loyalty. 

Their signature Beaver Nuggets and cinnamon nuts are big draws. Their brisket is prepared throughout the day, and employees chant while they cook the meat. 

“When you’re coming in, they’re greeting you … all the smells did hit you at once,” said Monique Hampton, a Buc-ee’s fan who attended the grand opening. “Everything smelled delicious.”

Hampton is from California, which doesn’t have the chain. Like many customers in line, she flew in overnight to get to the opening as fast as possible.

“Buc-ee’s has pretty much become a cult following,” Hampton said. “To us, it’s much more than a gas station.”

It’s out-of-state customers like Hampton that made Goodyear’s mayor, Joe Pizzillo, excited about the city’s development. He said 80% of Buc-ee’s customers have never been to Goodyear.

“They’re gonna come in, and they’re gonna look at this gorgeous city we have, and they’re gonna look at this gorgeous downtown we’re building just north of Buc-ee’s,” Pizzillo said. “Hopefully they’ll stick around and visit some of our sites.” 

No matter how Buc-ee’s opening affects Ass Kickin’, both businesses are in an economic hotspot.

Linda Jacobs said the location is important to sustaining her business.

“Being on a major freeway like this is very appealing. Again, I-10 is the main freeway from California into Phoenix, there’s people on it all the time, from all over,” Linda Jacobs said. “Their exposure is phenomenal.”

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