Buc-ee’s chain draws outcry in Ohio for launching fight over a mini
mart's beaver logo
[August 24, 2026] By
JULIE CARR SMYTH
BEAVERCREEK, Ohio (AP) — 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 Buc-ee’s, 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 Buc-ee’s Ltd. trademark infringement lawsuit.
Supporters of Beaver’s Mini Mart have attacked Buc-ee’s 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 John
Oliver has even weighed in on the kerfuffle.
On an episode of “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” the comedian
detailed Buc-ee’s aggressive history of trademark lawsuits targeting
various woodland creatures and launched a website hawking merchandise
bearing a knockoff “Buc-off” logo and a squirrel mascot named Mr.
Nutterbutter. On X, #boycottbucees trended.
Buc-ee’s sued Beaver’s 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’s drive away.
Buc-ee’s argues the shop’s beaver logo too closely resembles the
convenience store giant’s branded Buc-ee (“Bucky”) 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’s 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) Buc-ee’s 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, Buc-ee’s 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’s
response: “A moose is not a beaver.”)
The Buc-ee’s beaver logo features the face of a beaver with prominent
buck teeth wearing a red ball cap against a yellow backdrop. The
Beaver’s 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.
“I love Buc-ee's, but I don't plan on going back until they start making
better business decisions,” 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 “a little
spiteful.” 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, filed a trade
name registration on Oct. 23.
[to top of second column] |
A view of the Buc-ee's storefront in Huber Heights, Ohio, Friday,
Aug. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Julie Carr Smyth)
 The small business, incorporated in
2017, changed its name from Hanes Road Carryout to Beaver’s 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.
“We want to say thank you to the community and the entire country
for supporting us and our business,” he said. “We are overwhelmed by
your support for our business and other small businesses
everywhere.”
The Associated Press has been unable to reach Boparai at Beaver’s
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 — including a Lego store and a root
beer shop — 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 Buc-ee’s store in April, described the
lawsuit as “absurd.”
“It is Beavercreek, for heaven’s sake,” the governor told reporters.
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