NH Vietnamese Restaurant Removes Sign Because City Hall Is Concerned Its Word Play Name Is Offensive
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Via Daily Mail:
A New Hampshire restaurant that’s preparing to open has removed a sign advertising its name over concerns that it sounded like profanity.
The name of the Vietnamese restaurant in a public building next to City Hall in Keene is a play on a type of soup, which is spelled P-H-O, but is pronounced ‘fuh’ and the name of the location.
City Manager Elizabeth Dragon said Pho Keene Great is intended to sound like profanity and that owner Isabelle Jolie didn’t get permission to hang any temporary sign which is required under the conditions of the lease.
According to the Sentinel Source, Dragon mentioned to Jolie ‘a concern about the appropriateness of the “intended play on words” on a city building’.
The Christmas Eve message came after the poster went up three days earlier on December 21, just in time for the weekend.
Her Monday message reportedly mentioned how the lease restrictions were even tougher than the city’s usual rules because of it’s attachment to City Hall.
‘And it was intentionally written that way because it’s a publicly owned building, and we do have to be concerned about anything that could be interpreted by the public as offensive or use of profanity,’ Dragon said to Jolie.
Dragon said her issue isn’t a personal one and she thinks the ‘clever marketing strategy’ is great for the city in general. The manager even claimed she looked forward to trying what’s on offer but said they needed to strike a balance.
‘We really do want them to be successful,’ Dragon said. ‘I’m personally looking forward to frequenting her restaurant, but I do want to have a conversation with her about the sign and make sure that we are all comfortable moving forward.’
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So are they going to force the removal of signs for Fudpuckers and Dicks?
Some people really need to grow up.
The one I eat at is named Pho20 as a play on words for 420.
Too much nannyism.
That's awesome.
If they really believe that, then they should offer to change the name to "Keene Pho." But I think we all know they were trying to get away with using an obscenity as their name. At least be honest about it. Don't accuse people of discrimination when you know that's not the situation.