Buc-ee's sure has built a dam mess for itself with a lawsuit over beaver logos in the Ohio town named for the animal.
First came criticism from comedian John Oliver, Gov. Mike DeWine and Dispatch columnist Amelia Robinson. Now an Upper Arlington bakery is selling cookies with the Beaver's Mini Mart logo to raise money for the small business' defense.
Buc-ee's, a Texas gas station chain that opened its first Ohio store in April, sued Beaver's Mini Mart on July 28 saying the small store’s logo is too similar to the beaver featured on Buc-ee’s stores across the nation. Beaver's Mini Mart is in Beavercreek, a Dayton suburb where the local high school
and numerous business all use some form of a cartoon beaver in their logos.
The Original Goodie Shop sold out quickly when a couple dozen of its cookies for the cause went into the display case late Aug. 5. Owner Emilie Smith said she immediately began baking more so they'd be available when the Goodie Shop opened at 7 a.m. Aug. 6.
The frosted sugar cookies topped with the mini-mart's buck-toothed, smiling beaver are on sale for $3 at the bakery, which has operated at 2116 Tremont Center in Upper Arlington for 71 years. The Original Goodie Shop is donating $1 from each cookie directly to Beaver's Mini Mart to help pay its legal fees.
“They need to dismiss this lawsuit. This is ridiculous,” DeWine said during a visit to the Ohio State Fair on Aug. 5, as previously reported by The Dispatch. “It is Beavercreek for heaven’s sake. You know. You expect to find in Beavercreek things named 'beaver.'”
At the Goodie Shop, Smith also called the lawsuit "quite far-fetched."
"When you’re a small business and you receive a cease and desist, you probably don’t have the funds to fight a giant corporation like Buc-ee's in court," she said. "It feels like bullying on Buc-ee's part."
Follow Dispatch dining reporter Bob Vitale on Instagram at @dispatchdining. You can reach him directly at rvitale@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Central Ohio bakery sells cookies to help a small business fight Buc-ee's
