Buc-ee's sues yet another convenience store over logo similarities

Buc-ee's is suing yet another convenience store, this time in Ohio, for a cheerful mascot the travel stop giant claims is too similar to its own.

Buc-ee's filed a lawsuit against Coles IP Holdings, LLC, which owns the Ohio convenience store and gas station chain Mickey Mart, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on Feb. 18. Buc-ee's is suing for trademark infringement and unfair competition. Buc-ee's is also trying to cancel Coles IP Holdings' trademark registrations, a process that began in August 2025, according to court documents.

With about 42 Ohio locations, according to its website, Mickey Mart features a smiling cartoon moose within a red hexagon as its logo. Buc-ee's argues, in court documents, that the animalistic logo is too similar to its own – a toothy beaver wearing a red ballcap inside a bright yellow circle. Both animals are facing right and display wide eyes and a smile, Buc-ee's says in court documents.

Possessive name too close to Buc-ee's, travel center says

In addition to the logo, Buc-ee's argues, in court documents, that Mickey Mart is transitioning its branding to "Mickey's" at its stores, on signage and online, which "closely resembles" the Buc-ee's trademark.

"(Mickey Mart's) unauthorized use of (Buc-ee's) logos is likely to cause confusion among consumers," Buc-ee's states in court documents. "Consumers are likely to perceive a connection or association as to the source, sponsorship or affiliation of the parties’ products and services, when in fact none exists, given the similarity of the parties’ logos, trade channels and consumer bases."

Neither Buc-ee's nor Mickey Mart immediately responded for comment about the lawsuit when contacted by USA TODAY on Feb. 25.

Not the first time Buc-ee's has filed a lawsuit regarding their likeness

Historically, Buc-ee's has been eager to jump on convenience stores that feature a gleeful animal mascot, claiming the similarities may cause confusion for consumers who may think Buc-ee's is associated with the smaller, often local or regional chains. Here's a look at some of the businesses Buc-ee's has sued over the years:

May 2025: Born United in South Carolina, Owl & Anchor in Arizona, and Prometheus Esoterica in Florida

Varying from the bulk of its lawsuits, which tend to involve convenience stores, Buc-ee's sued three apparel brands in May 2025: South Carolina conservative apparel brand Born United, Owl & Anchor in Arizona and Florida-based oddities apparel brand Prometheus Esoterica. The three cases remained open, as of Feb. 25.

In court documents, Buc-ee's argued Born United used its popular beaver mascot in several of its designs, titled "Tac-Bucc," wearing military garb, holding a gun. As of Feb. 25, Tac-Bucc merchandise was not available on the Born United website.

Buc-ee's argued similarity in its case against Owl & Anchor, that the brand used the Beaver mascot in various merchandise designs, including stickers. Owl & Anchor filed for bankruptcy in August 2025, court documents state.

Finally, Buc-ee's sued Orlando-based Prometheus Esoterica for similar trademark infringement, claiming the oddities shop used the beaver mascot on t-shirts and stickers without permission. As of Feb. 25, the Buc-ee's-centric designs were not on the Prometheus Esoterica website.

April 2025: Barc-ee's in Marshfield, Missouri

In April 2025, Buc-ee's filed a federal lawsuit against Barc-ee's, a business in southwest Missouri that offered a dog park, coffee and food shops and a miniature Western-themed city. Buc-ee's argued that the Barc-ee's logo, which featured a smiling dog riding in a car, was too similar to Buc-ee's imagery, as some Buc-ee's merchandise features the iconic beaver inside a car, too. Barc-ee's has been closed since March 2025, initially due to "unexpected construction challenges."

January 2025: Super Fuels in North Texas

Buc-ee's filed a lawsuit against North Texas gas station Super Fuels in January 2025, claiming the Super Fuels logo, which features a brown, smiling dog in a red cape is too similar to Buc-ee's beaver. The case was closed in April 2025, and as of Feb. 25, Super Fuels remained open, according to court documents.

November 2024: Duckees in Kimberling City, Missouri

In November 2024, Buc-ee's filed a federal lawsuit against Duckees, a liquor store also located in southwest Missouri. Buc-ee's claimed Duckees used a similar animal-centric logo on its merchandise – a cartoon duck wearing sunglasses in a green shirt and red bowtie, all inside a yellow circle. The case was dismissed by a Missouri judge in October 2025, according to court documents.

July 2023: Buk-II's Super Mercado in Mexico

In July 2023, an image of a Mexican convenience store called Buk-II's Super Marcado went viral on social media for its humorous replication of Buc-ee's iconic logo. Buc-ee's threatened legal action but none was taken.

Since, the Mexican convenience store has changed its name to Mini Super Buk-II's and updated its logo to a different rodent wearing a red shirt and sporting a mullet. According to Google, the convenience store is now closed.

2018: Choke Canyon in Atascosa, Texas

In 2018, Buc-ee's won a federal lawsuit against Choke Canyon, a travel center in South Texas. A jury found that Choke Canyon's alligator logo resembled Buc-ee's too closely, according to the Houston Chronicle. As of Feb. 25, Choke Canyon remained open but with a different logo.

March 2013: Chicks in Texas

Winding back the clock more than a decade, Buc-ee's sued Texas-based convenience store Chicks in March 2013, claiming that the latter's logo, depicting two smiling chickens against a red, yellow and black background, was too similar to Buc-ee's "iconic marks."

Though Chicks' lawyers moved to dismiss the complaint, Chicks ultimately closed in 2014.

Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at [email protected].