Buc-ee’s Chain Is Fighting With Knock-Off ‘Buk-ii’s’ Store In Mexico
I don’t know, looks pretty different to me…
Buc-ee's, the travel stop chain known for its incredibly huge gas stations and delicious in-house BBQ, is expanding. The company now has nearly 60 locations across the southern United States and soon, it will open a 75,000-square-foot outlet in Texas that's set to be the largest gas station in the world. With all that said, you still won't see one south of the border in Mexico. Instead, you might find a little building with a familiar-looking mascot outside and a mighty similar name—Buk-ii's—that's turning into a bit of an international issue.
The knockoff store stands in Matamoros, Mexico, on the bank of the Rio Grande, just south of Brownsville, Texas selling groceries, Buk-ii's swag, and other goods. Buc-ee's knows about it and has for months, and it doesn't think it's funny. Instead, as local CBS affiliate Valley Central reported in September, the chain has threatened legal action over the clearly derivative branding.
Mini Super Buk-ii's, which was formerly named Buk-ii's Super Mercado, has apparently defended its logo by clarifying that's not a beaver out front, it's a gopher. Easy mistake to make, I know. That wasn't enough for the Texas chain as it told Valley Central, “The business in question has infringed upon the intellectual property of Buc-ee’s that has been cultivated for decades."
Since being threatened with legal action, Buk-ii's has since modified its logo to show a rodent wearing a red shirt and sporting a mullet. It's a lot less blatant, to be sure, as the old one had a flat-bill red ballcap just like the real Buc-ee's beaver.
The coast is far from clear, though of course the internet has banded together in support of Buk-ii's. A photo of the store went viral on social media over the summer, and if you Google the name, you'll even find results for unofficial branded merch:
Then there are makers in the Minecraft community who recreated the store in their virtual worlds with admittedly impressive detail:
And finally, there's even a TikTok account you can follow if you want a little bit of Buk-ii's in your doomscroll feed.
Don't be surprised if we hear at least one more update saying the store is changing it up. Buc-ee's really isn't happy about it and I have a hunch that the company that rakes in an estimated $275 million in annual revenue can afford to stop it. Then again, there's also a bootleg fast food joint in Matamoros named Guataburger so who knows?
Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@thedrive.com
