A French-Vietnamese restaurant in the state of New Hampshire in USA has been asked to take down a sign advertising its name over concerns that it sounds like profanity. According to Fox News, the restaurant, named Pho Keene Great, is not scheduled to open till March. However, it had already displayed a small sign with its name on the window - which it has now been asked to remove.
The name of the restaurant is a play on the national dish of Vietnam - pho (pronounced 'fuh') - and the name of the city (Keene). Unfortunately for Pho Keene Great, is also sounds like an expletive.
City Manager Elizabeth Dragon said the restaurant owner, Isabelle Jolie, did not get permission before hanging a sign outside the restaurant. While Isabelle has had the sign taken down, she is set to meet the city manager this week regarding the issue.
"City manager has deemed our business name as offensive and a permanent sign with our business name, will not be allowed. The one that is pictured, is a temporary sign, and it was requested that we take it down due to her opinion that it is offensive name and a contract violation as it relates to City ordinance," said the restaurant on its Facebook page, sharing a picture of the sign.
It also held a Facebook poll to determine how many people found the name to be offensive. "We had 3,400 votes that our business name is NOT OFFENSIVE and 117 votes for YES OFFENSIVE," said Pho Keene Great in another post.
"We're trying to do all we can to make sure she's successful in her business," said Elizabeth Dragon to New Hampshire Public Radio. "It's just that we have to strike a balance because it is a public building."
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