Buc-ee the Beaver has claimed another victim. Buc-ee's is suing a Georgia convenience store chain over what it says is a suspiciously similar cartoon animal mascot - the latest in a long line of legal fights over its famous buck-toothed beaver.
Federal Lawsuit Filed Against Teddy's Market
The Texas-based travel center giant filed a federal lawsuit on May 1 against Teddy's Market, claiming the small chain copied key parts of its brand, from a smiling animal logo to its color scheme and life-size mascot statues outside stores. Buc-ee's claims the Teddy's logo features a grinning, hat-wearing cartoon animal with white eye highlights, a black nose, a pink tongue and lighter coloring around the mouth - details it says are too close to its own beloved beaver mascot.
Similarities in Branding and Names
The lawsuit even points to the names of the two chains, arguing that 'Buc-ee's' and 'Teddy's' are both two-syllable, six-letter possessives ending in an 'eez' sound. It says this is deliberate. Buc-ee's claims the rival branding is likely to 'deceive, confuse, and mislead' customers into believing Teddy's goods and services are authorized, sponsored or endorsed by Buc-ee's.
Legal Demands and Prior Cases
Now, the chain is demanding the court force Teddy's to abandon its current branding, hand over any profits tied to the disputed imagery, destroy all allegedly infringing materials and pay triple damages under federal trademark law. Buc-ee's also wants the US Patent and Trademark Office to reject the four trademark applications Teddy's filed in May 2024.
This wouldn't be the first time that Buc-ee's sued other companies. The company has sued or threatened legal action against Texas-based convenience store Chicks, Texas gas station Super Fuels, Texas travel center Choke Canyon, Mexican convenience store Buk-II's Super Marcado and Missouri's Duckees.
Teddy's Market Response
Teddy's owner, Karan Ahuja, told CBS News Atlanta he disagrees with the lawsuit's allegations and declined further comment due to the pending litigation. Teddy's Market opened its first store in Canton, Georgia, in November 2024 and a second in Ball Ground in January 2025. A third location is planned for Decatur, along the same Georgia highway corridor where Buc-ee's has stores.
Previous Trademark Disputes
Last year, Buc-ee's was accused of 'bullying' an underwear start-up over their squirrel logo. The company sent Nut Huggers founder Jarrad Hewett a three-page letter accusing his company of trademark infringement. Nut Huggers, a brand specializing in underwear and activewear, uses a logo with a smiling cartoon squirrel clutching two acorns - a cheeky nod to the brand's name and its playful tone. Buc-ee's demanded that Hewett stop using not only the squirrel logo, but any cartoon rodents, the colors red, yellow and brown, baseball hats and side-profile images.
Buc-ee's Expansion Plans
Buc-ee's also has been aggressively expanding in recent months - rolling out ambitious plans to plant its supersized travel centers across even more states in 2026. The states getting new locations include Arizona, Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Kentucky. Against that backdrop, the policy shift marks a notable - and for many customers, controversial - change in how Buc-ee's operates at the pump.
The beloved Texas-born mega gas station chain boasts locations that sprawl across up to 75,000 square feet of land. The announcement of a new Buc-ee's location in Fort Pierce, Florida, made headlines in January after early plans suggested the gas station would span 76,000 square feet - about half the size of a Walmart Supercenter and even bigger than the company's current largest store in Luling, Texas.
More than a gas station, Buc-ee's has turned pit stops into destinations. Inside, shoppers can find freshly made barbecue sandwiches, mountains of the chain's famous Beaver Nuggets - the chain's caramelized corn puff snack - house-brand jerky cut and packaged on site, and aisles of branded apparel emblazoned with Buc-ee's grinning beaver mascot.
