As Buc-ee’s Focuses on Dotting Red-State Landscape With Mega-Gas Stations, Consumer Backlash Emerges Over Trademark Lawsuit

The beloved mega-gas station/international tourist attraction, Buc-ee’s, is facing backlash for threatening a family-owned Ohio convenience store with a federal trademark lawsuit. The privately owned company, launched in 1982 and now 55+ stores strong, says the mom-and-pop Beaver’s Mini Mart at Beavercreek, Ohio, must not use its smiling cartoon beaver mascot and red lettering if it intends to expand because it resembles too closely Buc-ee’s Buc-ee the Beaver mascot and branding. The Texas-based retailer opened its first Ohio store last month, replete with its famed tidy restrooms, dozens upon dozens of gas tanks and EV charging stations, and a brisket station that is so popular Buc-ees advertises on billboards hundreds of miles from its locations. The store, situated outside Dayton, has opened within a half-hour of the Beaver’s Mini Mart. Buc-ee’s plans to open another Ohio store in 2028. The opening is part of Buc-ee’s massive growth trajectory, publicized widely during the World Cup games by foreign visitors stunned by the enormity and wholesome cleanliness of the operation. Just days ago, the founder, president, and CEO of the company, Arch Aplin III, nicknamed “Beaver” in his youth, attended the grand opening of another Buc-ee’s at Benton, Arkansas, alongside Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Senator Tom Cotton. Mr. Aplin said that his company’s “conservative, business-friendly, family-oriented” model works better in states where that concept “trickles down” from elected leaders.“We have a lot of opportunities. We’re growing. We’re building in a lot of places, but when you find a conservative, business-friendly state with a phenomenal workforce, it makes a difference,” Mr. Aplin said in a video posted by the governor on social media. “And I’m starting to realize life’s too short to try to build in places that people don’t appreciate what you’re bringing versus a place like this, where people do appreciate what you’re building.”While Ohio is a deep red state, the lawsuit drew jeers, most notably from late-night comedy host, John Oliver, who roasted Buc-ee’s for going after the little guy. Mr. Oliver launched a merchandise campaign of an alternative beaver that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, and he effectively begged the company to sue him. Buc-ee’s didn’t flinch. The lawsuit, filed in February, also triggered a boycott campaign that so far is not hurting the expansion plan.In response, the Beavercreek City Council passed a resolution earlier this month making the rodent 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, according to the Associated Press. While the backlash dominates headlines, the iconic American beaver isn’t solely the purview of Buc-ee’s. A dozen colleges have a beaver mascot, including Oregon State, MIT, and the California Institute of Technology, not to mention University of Maine at Farmington. The company is not suing any of them. Beavers Gone WildBuc-ee’s beaver problem isn’t anything compared to the bad name being earned by the family-oriented, herbivore 400 miles east of Huber Heights, Ohio, and just two hours from Buc-ees’ first Virginia location, opened in July 1025. The chubby cheeked and buck-toothed rodentia, with thick reddish-brown fur and wide tails that help them navigate freshwater streams and rivers, are not playing nicely at Catoctin Mountain Park, outside Frederick, Maryland. That’s the home of Camp David and the site of two recent attacks on tourists by beavers that have natural resources officials insisting that a rabies outbreak is unlikely despite both beavers testing positive and being euthanized. The two cases involved a 13-year-old boy who was swimming at Cunningham Falls State Park on July 26 and a 19-year-old fisherman bitten on August 5. The park is just two miles from the presidential retreat. A third beaver attack in Maryland also occurred in August at a location 40 miles south of the retreat, just 25 miles north of the White House. The cases are unusual considering beavers tend to avoid humans. Wildlife officials say rabies is certain death for mammals unless treated. The beaver in the third attack is on the loose, forcing officials to close the swimming area while they try to track the animal. The park incidents have not yet raised threat concerns for the safety of administration officials or military stationed at the 125-acre secure site that was built during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration and renamed by President Eisenhower. The cancellation of a May trip for administration officials was due to poor weather conditions, not rambunctious rodents. Back to the MascotWhile the administration has been silent on both the spread of the zoonotic disease outside the presidential resort and the gas station’s mascot dispute, Buc-ee’s is no stranger to accusations of feral interference in political issues. In February, the company’s general counsel denied that it gave $1 million to ICE to help with enforcement, which is not how government appropriations work. “The claim is entirely unfounded,” general counsel for Buc-ee’s, Ltd., Jeff Nadalo, said in a statement circulated to several media outlets. “Neither Beaver nor Buc-ee’s has made any donations to ICE.” Mr. Aplin, and Buc-ee’s in general, has indeed made plenty of donations in the political realm, mostly to Republican candidates and campaigns. The company is reportedly planning to open 12 new locations in the coming five years, all in red states. The mayor of Huber Heights, where the Beaver’s Mini Mart is located, Jeff Gore has said that he spoke with Mr. Aplin, who told him that he had no issue with the local use of the beaver but objected to the owner trying to trademark the logo federally. According to Mr. Gore, Mr. Aplin offered to withdraw the lawsuit if the owner of the company withdrew his federal trademark application. “Agree or disagree with whats happening with this, trademarks exist for a reason. I don’t care how big or small you are, you wouldn’t want anyone using your name or images to further their business at your expense,” Mr. Gore, a Republican, wrote in a Facebook post that received considerable pushback from individuals who accused Buc-ee’s of having a litigious streak against smalltime competitors. The Beaver’s Mini Mart has raised nearly $80,000 from a GoFundMe campaign launched August 2 to fight the lawsuit, which Buc-ee’s has requested be tried in a federal court. In the meantime, thousands showed up last week at the opening of a Houston store, where Mr. Aplin and Governor Gregg Abbott chopped brisket. Buc-ee’s is hiring hundreds of positions at an opening wage of $20-$25 per hour with benefits, more than twice or three times the federal minimum, depending on the store location, and higher than any state minimum.

As Buc-ee’s Focuses on Dotting Red-State Landscape With Mega-Gas Stations, Consumer Backlash Emerges Over Trademark Lawsuit

As Buc-ee’s Focuses on Dotting Red-State Landscape With Mega-Gas Stations, Consumer Backlash Emerges Over Trademark Lawsuit

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