City’s Decision Is Pho Keene Censorship [PHIL-OSOPHY]

A New Hampshire restaurant might have the greatest tasting Vietnamese food, but the City Manager of Keene is not allowing a new business, located next to City Hall, to hang their business sign because it sounds like profanity.

The soon-to-be opened eatery is named Pho Keene Great. Pho, pronounced fuh, is a Vietnamese noodle dish.

City Manager Elizabeth Dragon said the owner, Isabelle Jolie, knew the name could be a problem when she signed the lease with the City, so when Jolie went to hang an outside sign, she was told no way!

Ms. Jolie has been working on renovating the Main Street property to get a lower rent from the City to help get the business going. Jolie used to operate a Vietnamese food truck.

The name was obviously intended to stir controversy, which it has done. It's also gotten the restaurant a lot of free publicity. But in the end it's just a witty name that only suggests profanity.

Jolie and the city manager plan to meet and discuss the issue. In the meantime, t-shirts with the name and logo are selling like hotcakes.

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 am to 10 am. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.