Buc-ee's has sunk its incisors into the wrong branch with its ridiculous and mean-spirited lawsuit against a mom-and-pop corner store that existed more than two decades before it waddled into Ohio.
If it is as great as its legions of fans claim, it would bark (or whatever sound beavers make) up another tree and drop the federal lawsuit against Beaver's Mini Mart in Beavercreek, a suburb of Dayton about an hour down the road from Columbus.
Scrappy Dayton area businesses, individuals and at least one Celtic band are poking the bear, in this case Buc-ee's, changing their logos to AI-generated beavers in solidarity with Beaver Mini Mart. Some have called for a boycott of the gap-toothed Texas-based gas station chain. The Barrel House, a Dayton brew
pub , is donating 10% of Aug. 4 draft sales to themini marts' GofundMe.
"Come and get us Buc-ee's. You don't own every beaver," a Facebook post from Rabbit Hole Books reads.
I know how seriously Beavercreek takes beavers
From the high school mascot, the Battling Beaver to Beaver-Vu Bowl and nearly 51-year-old Busy Beaver Arts & Crafts, Beavercreek takes beavers very seriously and not in an ironic way.
I know this firsthand. I spent two stints covering Beavercreek during my time as a reporter at the Dayton Daily News.
Back in 2005, I covered the hoopla over the city's 25th-anniversary beaver art installation. Twenty-five, 250-pound, 6 1/2 feet fiberglass beaver sculptures were adopted, decorated, and positioned all around the suburban community that now exceeds 47,000 residents.
There was a beaver in a toga, a flower child beaver, an airman beaver acknowledging nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, a regular old beaver, and a football player beaver.
“I think Disco Beaver could be in a restaurant," Julie Vann, the anniversary co-chair, told me just before the beavers were auctioned off fashion-show style at a black-tie gala. "There are a few people who would want Golfing Beaver in their backyard overlooking the golf course."
There was much consternation and comic relief when nine of the beavers were either "beavernapped," stolen, or vandalized. The now-26-year-old beavers were eventually equipped with a global positioning system.
Buc-ee's the bully
Ohio's first Buc-ee's opened in April in Huber Heights more than 10 miles from Beavercreek. A second one is planned for Mansfield. A bid to stop that project failed earlier this month due to signature issues.
Despite the clearly longstanding Beaver Pride, distance and the fact that the logos don't look alike, Buc-ee's has filed a trademark infringement.
Litigious Buc-ee's claims that customers will somehow think that a tiny non-gas-selling shop tucked in a suburban neighborhood is one of its over-the-top, brisket and jerky-slinging gas station locations. It is also suing Ohio-based gas station operator Mickey Mart over a smiling moose, of all things.
Protect Ohio beavers to protect the future
Buc-ee's has the right to defend its trademark, but it doesn't own beavers or the likenesses of all animated animals. Where is Psychologist Beaver when Buc-ee's needs her?
The story has gotten national attention.
Comedian Jon Oliver ended a recent episode of his "Last Week Tonight" by inviting Buc-ee's to "Buc-off."
Either it Buc-offs on its own or someone encourages it to.
The owners of the Blue Berry Cafe, a Dayton area business as local as the name implies, hit the nail on the beaver tail.
"I mean - I’ve lived in BEAVERcreek Ohio for 25 years. Why are “they” picking on this 'little guy'?" a post onFacebook reads. "Come on, Beavercreek and Ohio local officials. Don’t let the big guys do this to our hard-working small business owners. Show them the support they need and deserve."
If Beaver's Mini Mart falls to Buc-ee's extreme bullying, it will be open season on all critters, beavers or otherwise.
Texas' beaver can't be the only woodland creature in Ohio. If Buc-ee's can't be a good neighbor, Ohioans don't need its Beaver Nuggets and fudge.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 'Come and get us!' Buc-ee's bullying wrong beaver. Ohio telling it to 'Buc-off' | Opinion
