Posted on: Friday, December 26, 2003

'Bad Ass' called bad influence

By Stuart A. Hirsch
The Indianapolis Star

AVON, Ind. — Trouble follows the born-in-Hawai'i Bad Ass Coffee Co. wherever it lands. The latest squabble over its naughty name erupted here in Avon.

Citing concern for the welfare of his seven children, David Keen is challenging the town's decision to issue a sign permit for the business.

Keen wants the sign taken down.

The Avon resident bases his complaint on a section of the zoning ordinance that prohibits signs that display obscene, indecent or immoral messages.

Hendricks County's newest specialty coffee store, part of a Salt Lake City company that exclusively features the Kona coffees grown on the Big Island, falls into that category, he said. The store opened last week.

"I'm not calling it obscene; I'm calling it indecent," Keen said. "I know it's a controversial issue whether that's an indecent word, but I do know that if our children say that word in school, they'll get detention."

Town planner William Peoples is aware the sign might be considered offensive or tasteless by some. Other communities across the country have had similar controversies over the company's name.

"There's nothing we can really do about the content of the sign. We're very restricted on what we can and cannot do," Peoples said. "We understand that it has a double meaning, but we've got to err on the side of free speech."

He said the town is prepared to defend the sign on that basis. A hearing on the case will be held next month.

As the story behind the name goes, it recalls the days when tough little donkeys hauled coffee beans up and down the volcanic mountains.

The company says its name honors the hard-working beasts local residents called "the bad ass ones."

"I tend to think that with the amount of publicity we've had, the majority of people get it," said J. Michael Cunningham, who owns the Avon store.

The name has drawn jeers from Alabama to Utah. But the company never has been forced to remove a sign.

Nonetheless, Keen said, he believes the sign could have a harmful effect on his children, and he's willing to avoid driving past that section of U.S. 36 and all of the retail shops in the immediate vicinity.