BEAVERCREEK, Ohio (AP) 鈥� A lip-licking alligator, a smiling moose and a hat-wearing bear are among the many cartoon animals to have found themselves in the crosshairs of , the popular Texas convenience store chain that has a penchant for protecting its buck-toothed beaver.
But now Buc-ee’s has set off a Buckeye backlash across Ohio and beyond after taking on a beaver in the city of Beavercreek.
It’s yet another 叠耻肠-别别鈥檚 Ltd. . Supporters of Beaver鈥檚 Mini Mart have attacked 叠耻肠-别别鈥檚 online and boycotted the stores, and the mini mart’s home city passed a resolution making the beaver an official part of its history. British comedian has even weighed in on the kerfuffle.
On an episode of 鈥淟ast Week Tonight with John Oliver,鈥� the comedian detailed 叠耻肠-别别鈥檚 aggressive history of trademark lawsuits targeting various woodland creatures and launched a website hawking merchandise bearing a knockoff 鈥淏uc-off鈥� logo and a squirrel mascot named Mr. Nutterbutter. On X, #boycottbucees trended.
叠耻肠-别别鈥檚 sued Beaver鈥檚 Mini Mart in late July, four months after the chain known for its extensive food offerings and massive restrooms opened its first Ohio store less than a half-hour鈥檚 drive away.
叠耻肠-别别鈥檚 argues the shop鈥檚 beaver logo too closely resembles the convenience store giant鈥檚 branded Buc-ee (鈥淏ucky鈥�) beaver. The Texas-based company asked for a jury trial in federal court in Ohio.
Buc-ee’s claims a right to protect its valuable logo
Beaver鈥檚 Mini Mart occupies a long, low building with a shingle roof at a suburban intersection. In contrast, the new 74,000-square-foot (6,875-square-meter) 叠耻肠-别别鈥檚 off Interstate 70 near Dayton has more than 100 gas pumps, 24 electric vehicle chargers and 700 parking spaces. A second Ohio store has been approved to open in 2028.
While preparing to enter the state in February, 叠耻肠-别别鈥檚 sued the northern Ohio holding company for Mickey Mart gas stations, arguing its Mickey the Moose logo could be confused with Buc-ee. (The company鈥檚 response: 鈥淎 moose is not a beaver.鈥�)
The 叠耻肠-别别鈥檚 beaver logo features the face of a beaver with prominent buck teeth wearing a red ball cap against a yellow backdrop. The Beaver鈥檚 Mini Mart mascot is a full beaver, unclothed, waving and smiling against a white background.
Customers have been critical of Buc-ee’s decision to target the much smaller store.
鈥淚 love Buc-ee’s, but I don’t plan on going back until they start making better business decisions,鈥� Austin Collins, 32, a project manager from Fairborn, said outside Beaver’s, where he was making his first visit to protest the lawsuit.
He called targeting a beaver-named business in Beavercreek 鈥渁 little spiteful.鈥� License plates from three states were visible in the parking lot.
Buc-ee’s has defended the lawsuit as protective of its valuable trademark. In a statement on its website, the company said it first learned of Beaver’s Mini Mart when its owner, Vic Boparai, on Oct. 23.
The small business, incorporated in 2017, changed its name from Hanes Road Carryout to Beaver鈥檚 Mini Mart in January 2025, according to the paperwork. That was about four months after Buc-ee’s broke ground near Dayton. Recognizing a conflict, the company said it repeatedly attempted to reach Boparai without success, so it was forced to sue.
Boparai has since issued a statement of his own, though without addressing the company’s concerns nor the merits of the lawsuit.
鈥淲e want to say thank you to the community and the entire country for supporting us and our business,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are overwhelmed by your support for our business and other small businesses everywhere.鈥�
The Associated Press has been unable to reach Boparai at Beaver鈥檚 Mini Mart or by calling the store.
Beavercreek adopts the beaver as part of city history
Beavercreek City Council responded to the dust-up by passing a resolution Aug. 10 making the beaver a permanent and official part of its 200-plus-year history. Bucky the Beaver, mascot of the Beavercreek Local Schools, visited the meeting ahead of the unanimous vote.
On social media, images lampooning the fight are rampant. One showed the Ohio State University football mascot, Brutus Buckeye, tackling Buc-ee the beaver.
Support has taken other forms, too. One was a GoFundMe campaign aimed at assuring that costs associated with the lawsuit don’t put Beaver’s Mini Mart out of business, as has happened to other establishments Buc-ee’s sued. It had raised at least $69,000.
The mini mart gave permission to The Original Goodie Shop bakery in Upper Arlington to use its logo on a signature cookie, with $1 from each one sold going to support Beaver’s legal fees. Cake, Hope & Love, a Beavercreek bakery, also is offering cookies adorned with buck-toothed beavers that urge shopping local.
Other Dayton-area businesses 鈥� including a Lego store and a root beer shop 鈥� temporarily altered their logos to include beavers in a show of solidarity. Dozens of businesses in Beavercreek already incorporate the city name or word beaver in their names.
Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who attended and praised the grand opening of the Dayton-area 叠耻肠-别别鈥檚 store in April, described the lawsuit as 鈥渁bsurd.鈥�
鈥淚t is Beavercreek, for heaven鈥檚 sake,鈥� the governor told reporters.
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