Buc-ee's trademark lawsuit against Beaver's Mini Mart has sparked national attention and a wave of support for the Beavercreek, Ohio, convenience store, which supporters have characterized as a David vs. Goliath-esque legal saga.
Since Texas-based chain's lawsuit was filed July 28, supporters have rallied behind Beaver's Mini Mart and owner Vik Boparai, portraying the fight as an underdog battle between a local convenience store and a national chain. Supporters even launched a GoFundMe to help Boparai cover legal fees, which had raised more than $60,000 as of Aug. 11. Public records suggest Boparai's business interests extend beyond a single store, raising questions about how the two sides compare.
Both businesses are privately-owned companies
and are not required to disclose their financial information, but publicly available information provides additional context about both sides of that dispute.
Who are Vik Boparai and Arch Aplin?
Boparai, whose full name is Vikramjit Singh Boparai, has owned the Beavercreek mini mart for a decade. He's 42 years old.
Secretary of state filings list Boparai's address in Beavercreek. According to Greene County property records, he owns a home in Xenia valued at $1.1 million.
Co-CEO and founder of Buc-ee's Arch Aplin owns two properties in Brazoria County, Texas, a home worth approximately $1.1 million and private golf course valued at $304,300, according to Texas property records.
A Texas A&M University alumnus, Aplin also donated $60 million to fund the university's Aplin Center, an "experimental learning hub" focused on hospitality, retail and marketing education.
How many other businesses does Boparai own?
In an Aug. 7 press release, Boparai said Beaver's Mini Mart is "not our only small business." He said that his family operates five convenience stores and that he co-owns another business with two partners. The Enquirer asked Boparai for the names of these stores and businesses but did not receive a response by publication.
The Ohio Secretary of State's Office lists Boparai as a statutory agent for 20 distinct business names, though the filings do not indicate his ownership stake in all of them. A statutory agent can receive any official notices or legal documents sent to the business. Eleven are registered as corporations and nine as domestic limited liability corporations or LLCs.
The corporations are gas stations and convenience stores in multiple Ohio communities, according to the filings.
The Enquirer identified some addresses using the state's list of active retailers and other public records:
- Hanes Road Carryout Inc., 1592 Hanes Road, Beavercreek.
- Sabina IGA Inc., 440 E. Washington St., Sabina. The store is now called Sabina Market and operates under new ownership.
- Hocking Hills Gas and Go Inc. The Enquirer was unable to find a verifiable address online.
- Sabina Road Food and Gas Inc., 117 Greenfield Sabina Road, Greenfield.
- New Holland Gas and Go Inc., 38 E. Front St., New Holland.
- Ansonia Food Mart Inc., 201 S. Main St., Ansonia.
- Arcanum IGA Inc., 201 S. Main St., Arcanum. Google Maps' street view shows an empty gas station at this location.
- DeGraff IGA Inc., 300 Cretcher Ave., De Graff. Google Maps lists the store as permanently closed.
- Urbana Food & Gas Inc., 1325 N. Main St. A person who answered the phone said they did not know who owned the store.
- Dixie Gas and Go Inc. The Enquirer was unable to find a verifiable address online.
- Huber Gas & Go, Inc., 7789 Brandt Pike, Huber Heights.
It's unclear if the nine LLCs are associated with those locations. Boparai did not respond to questions about his relationship and involvement with them.
According to the National Association of Convenience Stores, 63% of the country's convenience stores are owned by companies that operate 10 or fewer stores. Buc-ee's has 56 stores across the country, usually occupying more than 60,000 square feet.
Convenience stores making an annual revenue less than $36.5 million are considered small businesses by the U.S. Small Business Administration. It's not known how much revenue Beaver's Mini Mart generates in a year, but the store employs four people, according to a Aug. 7 news release.
Forbes estimated Buc-ee's 2016 revenue to be $275 million.
"I don't know why they would sue a small business like mine," owner Vik Boparai told The Enquirer last week. "I have two kids and this store is how I feed them."
Confusion over trademark filing fuels dispute
The trade name filing has been a point of confusion.
Aplin told a Dayton TV station the mini mart tried to file a trademark for "Beavermart," saying Buc-ee's sued to defend its trademark. Huber Heights Mayor Jeff Gore also posted on Facebook Aug. 7 that Aplin told him Boparai filed a federal trademark. Buc-ee's opened its first Ohio store in Huber Heights in April.
Gore said Aplin told him that Buc-ee's would drop its lawsuit "if Vik dropped the Beavermart trademark nationally," according to Gore's Facebook post.
Boparai, meanwhile, says he did not file for a federal trademark. He registered the trade name "Beaver's Mini Mart"with the state of Ohio in October 2025 at the request of his bank, he said in an earlier statement, "so that our bank would continue to allow us to deposit credit card payments under our business name."
Gore later updated his Facebook post to state that "Vik Boparai didn't file a federal trademark." But he did not delete the initial post, which had received over 7,800 likes as of Aug. 11. Gore previously declined to answer questions from The Enquirer and did not respond to another request for comment before publication of this story.
Buc-ee's is asking Beaver's to give up its logo and the Beaver's trade name, saying both can mislead consumers to believe the store is affiliated with the Buc-ee's brand. The lawsuit is pending in federal court.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What to know about the businesses at center of Buc-ee's trademark suit
