Back in June 2024, a canine-focused Missouri business announced itself as Barc-ee’s. Owner John Lopez told the Springfield News-Leader in Springfield, Missouri that he was hoping his 7,500-square-foot coffee shop, game yard and outdoor dog park could be a community hang, also a place where folks could stop off the road, buy some things, spend time with their traveling pups.
“Most of the time when you’re traveling with your dog, you’re kind of just holding the leash while you’re pumping gas,” Lopez told the News-Leader.
Lopez also wanted to put billboards up along the highway tempting folks to stop at Barc-ees. But Buc-ee’s, the massive gas station and convenience store business that started in 1982 in Lake Jackson and has since become a nationwide phenomenon, thought all of this felt a little too close for comfort. In March, Buc-ee’s filed a lawsuit in U.S. Western District Court of Missouri against the entities overseeing Barc-ee’s, alleging the name and imagery all attempted to mimic the Buc-ee’s brand to benefit Barc-ee’s.
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In the wake of the suit, Lopez decided to comment publicly on the Barc-ee’s Facebook page March 24. First, Barc-ee’s had to close temporarily over construction issues, but also, the lawsuit:
“Although I prefer my business challenges to come with a side of coffee rather than a court summons, this is just a part of the entrepreneur game,” Lopez wrote. “My legal team believes we are not legally infringing on any trademarks. The remarks from a legal team that specializes in trademarks also believe that I could win if it went to trial, but it may not be worth the fight. Beavers are cunning creatures.”
In the following days, Barc-ee’s notified its fans over Facebook that it was facing the potential shutdown of its page. Most of the folks who commented to these posts said, “Why not just re-brand?”
On March 31, Barc-ee’s provided another update, posting an image of an AI dog-human mulling over Photoshop, and telling fans it was “busy reimagining, rethinking and envisioning where all of this is taking us.”
“Many do not realize that what they see is not just an easy ‘quick fix’ solution at hand to resolve ALL that is taking place for us,” read the post. “That interesting herbivore is not the only thing in our arena pushing us to reassess. There have been many things that have forced us into this revising season we are in.”
On April 17, Barc-ees, using an AI image of a different dog-human turning keys over to three women, announced that Barc-ee’s was officially closed for good. But the image of the dog and the keys symbolized it was turning over the land to a business called The Bean & Bubble Babes, who serve coffee, lemonade and bubble tea.
Then came an image of a third dog-human thinking up ideas for a “business plan.” Finally, on April 18, Barc-ee’s posted yet another cartoon dog, this one not quite human but still wearing a baseball hat and seemingly moving on from something. Currently, the Barc-ee’s Facebook page, which still exists as of April 27, tells folks to “stay tuned for new and exciting transformations.”
See here for the background. The thing is, the Barc-ee’s concept is a sound one. Maybe it might work better in a larger city than as an interstate rest stop, but the idea has appeal. What boggles my mind is that anyone could have thought the name would pass muster, given Buc-ee’s extreme willingness to defend its brand name and logo. There had to have been any number of name and image combinations that would have worked for them. Instead, we got the lawsuit, the “temporary” closure, and whatever this descent into Enron 2.0-levels of madness and AI imagery is. In a world where the baseline level of derangement is much higher than I’d like, I greatly enjoy this particular farce. I just hope no would-be Barc-ee’s employees were harmed by all this foolishness.