Buc-ee’s Takes Logo Battle to Beavercreek

BEAVERCREEK, Ohio—Buc-ee’s has built a growing empire on sprawling convenience stores with 100-plus gas pumps, spacious and clean bathrooms, brisket and jerky, and a cartoon beaver mascot that enthusiasts hail as a folk hero.

The Texas-based chain has a track record of aggressively defending its trademarks, filing legal action against businesses it says use similar names, logos, or branding that have beavers and other cartoon mascots.

Its most recent legal action has drawn the ire of an entire town with “beaver” in its name.

On July 28, Buc-ee’s filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio against Beaver’s Mini Mart, a 2,000-square-foot neighborhood convenience store in this Dayton suburb.

The legal action alleges that the mini mart’s logo too closely resembles the chain’s smiling cartoon beaver wearing a red baseball cap that adorns Buc-ee’s billboards, signage, and many branded products. Buc-ee’s said it learned of the logo last October.

The store’s beaver, with its “wide eyes and a smile” that also “uses red as a predominant color,” is too similar to Buc-ee’s and could cause confusion, the lawsuit argues.

The case has drawn national attention, community backlash, and comparisons to a David-versus-Goliath fight.

Buc-ee’s has 56 locations nationwide with an additional 15 stores currently planned.

According to Inc. Magazine, Buc-ee’s generates an estimated $50 million to $100 million in annual revenue per store.

Beaver’s Mini Mart is owned by Vik Boparai and located in Beavercreek, a city outside of Dayton where beavers appear on business signs and parks.

The high school’s nickname is “Beavers,” and there is an actual “Beaver Creek.”

“Everything around here is based on beavers and Beavercreek, because that’s the name of our area,” said Wendy Rodgers, president of the Beavercreek Chamber of Commerce.

“We actually have real beavers here, in our real Beaver Creek.”

‘No Pleasure’ in Lawsuit

Buc-ee’s co-founder and CEO, Arch Aplin III, has said the company takes “no pleasure” in the lawsuit but feels it has no choice.

Boparai said he registered the trade name Beaver’s Mini Mart with the state of Ohio last year at the request of their bank, “so that our bank would continue to allow us to deposit credit card payments under our business name.”

Buc-ee’s made multiple attempts over months via registered mail, phone, email, and in-person delivery to contact Boparai after becoming aware of the trade name registration, but received no response at first, Aplin said.

Aplin has described the mini mart as the “aggressor” for pursuing trademark filings that conflict with Buc-ee’s longstanding rights.

Aplin has said that his company would drop the suit if Boparai withdrew those trademark applications.

The Epoch Times could not locate pending applications for the mini mart, Hanes Road Carryout Inc. (the name of the company that owns Beaver’s), or the owner on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s website.

Buc-ee’s first Ohio location is in Huber Heights, around a 20-minute drive from Beavercreek. Huber Heights Mayor Jeff Gore wrote in a Facebook post last week that he spoke with Aplin about the legal action.

He said he was told that Boparai is seeking to trademark “Beavermart” at the federal level.

“Mr. Aplin told me directly that Buc-ee’s had no issues with Beavermart using the Beaver logo in Beavercreek,” Gore wrote.

“He understood and said that makes sense. What Buc-ee’s did not want was a series of Beavermarts popping up across the state or regionally or eventually nationally that violated their trademark.”

According to Gore, Aplin said Buc-ee’s has attempted to resolve the matter by phone, email, and registered mail but had only recently received a response.

“Buc-ee’s first learned of ‘Beaver’s Mini Mart’ on Oct. 23, 2025, when owner Vikramjit Singh Boparai filed the Ohio Trade Name Registration (Doc. No. 202529601158) for ‘BEAVERS MINI MART,’” Buc-ee’s attorney Jeff Nadalo said in a statement provided to The Epoch Times.

“This conflicts with a federally registered trademark held by Buc-ee’s.

“Buc-ee’s attempted to contact Mr. Boparai by FedEx on March 5, 2026, and again on April 21, 2026, and received no response.

“Buc-ee’s made a final attempt to contact Mr. Boparai by having correspondence delivered in person to his store on June 11, 2026, at 1:05 p.m., and still received no response. At this point, Buc-ee’s filed the original complaint in federal court.”

“The mayor of Huber Heights, Jeff Gore, advised that Mr. Boparai owns more than 20 convenience stores in Ohio.”

Boparai Responds

According to Boparai, Beaver’s Mini Mart has not filed for a federal trademark for “Beavermart” or any other trademark.

His store’s current sign was installed in 2019, before Buc-ee’s announced it would build a location in Huber Heights, he noted.

He explained that his family owns five convenience stores, three of which opened this year.

“It is that simple. We hope Buc-ee’s will drop their lawsuit soon. We could never have anticipated this situation developing, and could not have imagined the support from the entire community. Beavercreek is a great place for our family and our business,” the statement reads.

When “Vikramjit Singh Boparai” is entered in the Ohio Secretary of State website’s Business Search area, the results show he is the registrant of 20 businesses, including Hanes Road Carryout Inc., Sabina IGA, Sabina Road Food & Gas, Hocking Hills Gas & Go, New Holland Gas & Go, Ansonia Food Mart Inc., Arcanum IGA Inc., DeGraff IGA Inc., Urbana Food & Gas Inc., Dixie Gas & Go, and Huber Gas & Go among other entities.

Boparai has received widespread support from residents, Ohioans, and people across the country who have decried Buc-ee’s actions.

Beavercreek City Council on Aug. 10 voted to make the beaver the community’s official historic symbol in a nod to supporting Beaver’s Mini Mart.

The resolution makes no mention of Buc-ee’s or the lawsuit and says the beaver “has served as a symbol of the city of Beavercreek’s history, geography, and community identity for more than two centuries.”

“Early European hunters and pioneer settlers named Big Beaver Creek and Little Beaver Creek after the abundant native beaver population that inhabited the region, establishing a connection that dates back to the community’s founding in 1803,” the resolution reads.

“For the citizens of Beavercreek, the beaver is not just a corporate marketing device. It is a recognized representation of the city’s identity, history, and values, held in common by generations of residents.”

Beavercreek Vice Mayor Zach Upton told The Epoch Times, “Recognizing the beaver for our entire community is a way we can show support for our small businesses and for our community.”

A Community Symbol

The beaver was a community symbol long before it was a corporate mascot, Upton noted.

Beavercreek Township was founded in 1803, and the city was incorporated in 1980.

“It has been so wonderful to see the Beavercreek community come together in solidarity around our common symbol, the beaver. The support from around Ohio and even the nation has been surprising and welcome,” Upton said.

During a visit to the Ohio State Fair on Aug. 5, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called the lawsuit “ridiculous” and urged Buc-ee’s to drop the legal action.

DeWine cut the ribbon at Buc-ee’s first store opening in Ohio in April.

“It is Beavercreek for heaven’s sake. … You expect to find in Beavercreek things named ‘beaver,’” he said, pointing out that the lawsuit is “creating ill will.”

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose addressed the controversy on X, posting a cartoon version of the “I Voted” sticker with a beaver dropping a ballot into a ballot box.

A GoFundMe for the business has surpassed $62,000.

Businesses across Ohio are selling items with the Beaver’s logo and donating proceeds to the store.

On Aug. 7, a cash mob attracted hundreds of customers. Local residents organized the event and asked people to spend at least $20.

Cash Mob

The usually quiet neighborhood streets around the mini-mart were lined with parked cars.  

Vendors sold screen-printed T-shirts outside the store and donated proceeds to Beaver’s legal defense fund.

A caterer, The Food Dude Street Eats and Catering, sold burgers and gave the money to Boparai.

Jeff Nozar lives a few streets away from Beaver’s and is a regular customer.

He stood by the counter during the cash mob and marveled at a line that wrapped around a couple of aisles and stretched 20 people deep.

Nozar resides in the house he grew up in and recalls visiting the store, which at the time had different owners and another name.

“I had a paper route here and would come to the store for cream soda, a bag of Funyuns, and a candy bar. I did that today to relive old memories,” he said with a grin.

“It’s encouraging to see all this support. Their cash register hasn’t had a chance to rest.”

Residents Defend Beaver’s Owner

Some critics on social media have said that Boparai is not a mom-and-pop operation because he owns multiple businesses. Supporters claim that Buc-ee’s is a large corporation, and Boparai is significantly smaller.

Beavercreek resident Patricia Phillips told The Epoch Times that she has lived a half-mile from the corner store for more than 30 years.

“The fact that the owner has other mini-marts is irrelevant. This is still a small, family-owned business and the family has worked hard to grow their overall business,” she said.

“They provide a valuable service to the neighborhoods where they are located and have achieved the American dream. This lawsuit could ruin their livelihood, so it’s important to support them.”

Nozar added: “I’ve known for a long time that they’ve owned other stores. This is still a story of a big corporation trying to bully a small business.”

Buc-ee’s History

Buc-ee’s started as a single 3,000-square-foot convenience store on the Texas Gulf Coast in 1982, founded by Aplin, a Texas A&M graduate with a background in construction science and a family history in retail.

He drew early inspiration from his grandparents’ general mercantile store in the small town of Harrisonburg, Louisiana.

The first Buc-ee’s was slightly larger than a typical convenience store of the era and offered gas, along with basic snacks and goods.

Aplin named his business by combining his childhood nickname “Beaver,” after the 1950s commercial character “Bucky Beaver,” with the name of his Labrador retriever, Buck.

Buc-ee’s history of pursuing trademark infringement lawsuits includes legal actions against Chicks (a convenience store in Bryan, Texas), Beaver Water (a bottled water company in Utah), Irv’s (a convenience store in Texas), and Frio Beaver (a grocery store in Uvalde, Texas).

The company claims that these businesses have logos or branding that are too similar to its own, particularly those featuring cartoon animal mascots.

Barc-ees, a Missouri dog park, was shut down after a Buc-ee’s lawsuit.

Buc-ee’s filed legal action against Choke Canyon Bar-B-Q, a San Antonio, Texas-based chain with a circular logo featuring a cartoon alligator. A jury ruled it was too similar to Buc-ee’s.

In February, Buc-ee’s filed a lawsuit in federal court against Milan, Ohio-based Coles IP Holdings LLC, which owns Mickey’s gas stations.

The legal action contends that Mickey’s logo and name are too similar to Buc-ee’s name and beaver logo.

Cole IP said that Buc-ee’s filed the trademark lawsuit to “injure a smaller, family-owned business’s ability to be competitive.”

Mickey’s, a north-central Ohio gas station with 42 locations, uses a cartoon moose in its branding.

Cole IP recently filed a counterclaim against Buc-ee’s.

In May, Buc-ee’s filed a federal trademark infringement lawsuit against Teddy’s Market, a small North Georgia convenience store chain.

Teddy’s, according to the lawsuit, has copied the Buc-ee’s beaver mascot “down to the smile.”

Teddy’s opened stores in Canton, Georgia, in November 2024, and in Ball Ground, Georgia, in January 2025, near the Buc-ee’s location in Calhoun, Georgia.

Buc-ee’s claims the similarities could confuse consumers.

The company is seeking an injunction forcing Teddy’s to cease using the branding and the rejection of four trademark applications that Teddy’s filed in 2024.

Teddy’s has vigorously contested the legal action, moving to dismiss in June.

The company has denied the infringement allegations, arguing that no reasonable consumer would confuse the two businesses.

Teddy’s contends that it operates small neighborhood BP-branded convenience stores with a handful of gas pumps.

It has no highway billboards, no mobile apps or loyalty programs, no branded merchandise or private-label products, and signage placed over entrances rather than towering roadside poles, the company noted.

Buc-ee’s runs sprawling interstate destination centers, the counterclaim reads.

Buc-ee’s is a “trademark bully” that aggressively litigates to stifle competition, Teddy’s alleges.

John Rizvi, known as “The Patent Professor,” is board-certified by the Florida bar as a specialist in intellectual property law and an adjunct professor of patent law at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida.

He said that companies need to defend their trademarks.

“If they don’t explore their trademark rights, they can lose them through what’s known as dilution because then you’ll have another company and one after that with each one encroaching closer and closer to their mascot and their brand,” Rizvi said.

“I’m not sympathizing with Buc-ee’s, but if they don’t bring the lawsuits, they weaken their marks, and if they do bring the lawsuit, in the court of public opinion they look horrible, because they just look like a big bully, aggressively pursuing anybody that’s doing anything even similar.”

Buc-ee’s arrived in Ohio with fanfare on April 6 when the chain opened its store off Interstate 70 in Huber Heights, a Dayton suburb.

While the cash mob took place at Beaver’s, customers at Buc-ee’s roamed the 74,000-square-foot store known for its wide selection of food items and snacks.

“Fresh brisket on the board,” carvers and pitmasters shouted.

Nearby, an employee portraying “Bucky the Beaver” greeted children next to a large display of stuffed animals bearing the mascot’s likeness.

Jeff Wilson’s 4-year-old daughter clutched one of the stuffed animals while he approached the cashier’s counter with a bag of Beaver Nuggets, the caramel-coated puffed corn snack that is another Buc-ee’s customer favorite.

Wilson said that he was aware of the chain’s multiple lawsuits against small businesses.

“Ideally, they [Buc-ee’s] would just leave the small guys alone. Those mom-and-pop businesses are no threat to a company that is like the Disney World of gas stations,” he said.

Wilson stopped at Buc-ee’s for a break on his road trip from Indiana to Pennsylvania.

“Overall, I don’t think these lawsuits will hurt their business because Buc-ee’s seems to attract travelers, and on a road trip, you have to fuel up your car and use the bathroom,” he said.

“And who do you know stops at Buc-ee’s without coming in, walking around, and buying something?”