Buc-ee’s Goes to Court – How Louisiana Locations Could Be Affected

(KMDL-FM) Take a drive down almost any interstate highway in South Louisiana, and you will notice two things during your drive. There are a lot of signs that offer the services of attorneys, and there are quite a few signs that invite you to "relieve yourself" in more ways than one at a Buc-ee's Travel Center.

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We don't know if the highway signs had anything to do with the two getting together, but apparently, the folks at Buc-ee's have found a reason to go to court. And naturally, when a big company goes to court, there are questions as to whether or not that case or the outcome of that case could have any effect on growth plans.

When Will Buc-ee's Be Open in Louisiana?

As many of you are aware, Louisiana fans of Buc-ee's have been impatiently waiting for our own in-state location of the popular travel stop. There are currently two plans in place for Buc-ee's coming to Louisiana. One of those locations will be along I-20 in north Louisiana near Ruston.

The other location will be built near the interchange of I-49 and I-10 at the Louisiana Avenue exit off of I-10 in Lafayette. Neither the Ruston location nor the Lafayette location is open. In fact, they are still being constructed.

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The current forecast for when those two stores will open for business suggests the Ruston store will open early next year. The Lafayette store will open several months later. Right now, a rumored opening date in July is being tossed about online, but we have not been made aware of any firm plans or a specific date. In fact, some informed sources are now suggesting an opening in 2028.

The reason Buc-ee's is going to court is over what they believe is an infringement of their copyrighted logo. You're probably familiar with this beaver, aren't you?

Well, the folks at Buc-ee's believe that a convenience store in Ohio is infringing on their copyrighted property. The suit, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, claims that the owners of Mickey Mart, an Ohio-based convenience store chain, also known as Mickey's has a logo that is just too close for the "Beaver to bear".

The suit alleges that Mickey Mart, aka Mickey's, has recently adopted a logo that features a cartoon animal in their logo. In the case of Mickey's, that cartoon animal is a moose. In the case of Buc-ee's, that's a beaver.

As you can see on that YouTube thumbnail cover are two different logos. It's pretty obvious to see which logo belongs to what brand. What might not be obvious is how anyone could look at one of those logos and think of the other logo. But that will be for the courts to decide, not you and me.  The video is from KHOU TV in Houston, Texas. 

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This isn't the first, and based on history, won't be the last time Buc-ee's legal team will bring another business into court to protect their copyright. There have been multiple cases in recent years where Buc-ees alleged infringement.

There have been cases against Owl & Anchor, Prometheus Esoterica, Born United, and other store chains that choose to use a cartoon animal as its logoed spokesperson.

Will Pending Litigation Affect The Opening of the Lafayette, Louisiana Buc-ee's?

It is highly unlikely that the outcome of this case will have any measured affect on the current plans to grow the Buc-ee's brand in Louisiana. As of this report, we have not been made aware of any changes in the construction schedule or proposed timelines for both the Lafayette and the Ruston stores.

Should there be changes, we will update that information as it is made available to us.