About a month ago, I blogged about a new company that's taken over several gas stations/mini marts here in the Scranton area. They took the name Va Va. Cute. Creative.
At the time I questioned how the Wawa people felt about that. The names are awfully similar, but there was no way you could confuse a Wawa with a Va Va. On top of that, there are no Wawa stores in the Scranton area.
Take a look at what I found the other day. The store remains. The name is gone. This is the Va Va on Pittston Avenue in South Scranton. The store on the Scranton/Carbondale Highway in Dickson City has also lost its name.
What's up with that? Did the Va Va people get a call and/or cease and desist letter from the Wawa legal team? I don't know. I'm just speculating. Big companies do like to protect their names, and I can't blame them. They put a lot of time, effort, and especially money into building the brand.
The name isn't the only thing that's changed. Gas is up 47 cents in one month. A gas station by any other name is still expensive.