Buc-ee’s sues Georgia competitor with ‘confusingly similar’ brand
As beloved Texas-based convenience store chain Buc-ee’s expands in Georgia with a fourth location, it is seeking to stop a local competitor from operating under a “confusingly similar” brand.
The smiling cartoon beaver that welcomes customers into Buc-ee’s is being unlawfully mimicked by the “anthropomorphic animal mascot” of Teddy’s Market, Buc-ee’s said in a trademark infringement lawsuit filed in federal court Friday.
Buc-ee’s, which has more than 50 gas and convenience stores in a dozen states, says motorists and others viewing branding from the road or in passing could be lured to Teddy’s Market thinking it is Buc-ee’s. In that way, Teddy’s Market is taking Buc-ee’s’ business, the lawsuit claims.
“Plaintiff believes defendants have adopted and are using the confusingly similar infringing brand identity in a deliberate attempt to exploit and capitalize on the goodwill and success plaintiff has achieved under the Buc-ee’s marks and brand,” the lawsuit said.
Buc-ee’s wants a federal judge in Atlanta to order the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to refuse a registration application by Teddy’s Market, among other things. It says it has unfairly lost sales and profits to Teddy’s Market, which is injuring its general reputation.
Buc-ee’s declined to comment Tuesday.
Teddy’s Market owner and operator Karan Ahuja told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he disagrees with the assertions in the lawsuit. He declined to comment further as the case is being litigated.
The lawsuit is similar to one Buc-ee’s filed in February in federal court in Ohio against the owner and operator of the Mickey’s convenience stores there. A cartoon moose is at the center of that case, in which the Mickey’s defendant, Coles IP Holdings, has filed counterclaims against Buc-ee’s.
“Buc-ee’s claims ignore reality,” Coles IP Holdings said in its April 22 answer to Buc-ee’s lawsuit. “Ohio consumers can readily distinguish a moose from a beaver.”
Teddy’s Market opened its first location in Canton in November 2024 and a second location in nearby Ball Ground in January 2025, Ahuja confirmed. Those convenience stores are about 40 miles from the nearest Buc-ee’s, near Calhoun.
Ahuja and business associate Mickey Kapoor have leased a property on Glenwood Road in Decatur for a third Teddy’s Market location. Buc-ee’s filed with its lawsuit a portion of Ahuja’s transcribed testimony from a recent USPTO hearing in which he spoke about the new location.
Kapoor did not comment Tuesday on the lawsuit.
The proposed Teddy’s Market location in Decatur is about 70 miles from both the Buc-ee’s in Calhoun, which opened in 2021, and the fourth Buc-ee’s in Georgia, being built close to Macon. That Buc-ee’s is due to open next summer.
“The first two Teddy’s locations were opened within close proximity of the Buc-ee’s Calhoun location,” the lawsuit says. “The third Teddy’s location is planned to open along the same highway route on which all three Buc-ee’s stores are situated.”
Buc-ee’s’ other locations in Georgia are in Warner Robins and Brunswick.
Buc-ee’s says it has been building its trademarked brand since 1982. Its convenience stores and “travel centers” are famous for their massive size, typically spanning more than 50,000 square feet and comprising dozens of fueling stations, the company said in its lawsuit.
“What began as a single convenience store has rapidly grown into a national phenomenon, and has become ‘a must-stop, one-stop-shop’ for consumers across the country,” Buc-ee’s said. “Due in large part to the substantial growth and success of plaintiff’s travel centers and brand, the Buc-ee’s marks have become a cherished icon by legions of patrons across the nation.”
According to Buc-ee’s, its name, logo, in-store designs and use of store-entrance mascot statues are being misappropriated by Teddy’s Market.
The cartoon animal mascot used by Teddy’s Market “closely resembles a beaver,” Buc-ee’s said.
“Defendants’ use of the infringing brand identity is likely to cause (to the extent it has not already caused) confusion, mistake, and/or deception among consumers,” Buc-ee’s wrote in its lawsuit.
The company claims Teddy’s Market is liable for trademark infringement and dilution, unfair competition, unjust enrichment and deceptive trade under Georgia and federal law.
About the Author
Journalist Rosie Manins is a senior courts and legal affairs reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
