NH restaurant removes sign over concerns it’s offensive

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.” The restaurant calls itself by the name of the soup, followed by the words “Keene Great.”

City Manager Elizabeth Dragon said it’s intended to sound like profanity and that owner Isabelle Jolie didn’t get permission to hang any sign.

Jolie said she doesn’t think the name is offensive.

Dragon tells New Hampshire Public Radio the city wants Jolie to be successful, but that it has to strike a balance.

Both sides plan to meet soon.

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