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PHO KEENE GREAT
The Vietnamese restaurant is open for business. |
Keene, New Hampshire's newest restaurant is serving up steaming bowls of pho much to the delight of local foodies.
Pho Keene Great — is an obvious play on words -- is doing great business after city officials -- with a knowing smile -- approved the restaurant name. Initial objections from some city officials that the name was profane was overridden by the city council which decided to go along with the pun.
Tthe French-Vietnamese restaurant opened earlier this March.
Back in January, City Manager Elizabeth Dragon ordered the restaurant to take down its sign over concerns it's offensive but she reversed course two weeks later.
"We are excited to have a new restaurant open in the community," Dragon said in an email, according to NHPR.
The restaurant is located in Central Square in downtown Keene near the city library and in the same building as city hall. City officials were concerned over the restaurant's seemingly profane tone in such a public space.
Owner Isabella Jolie had a dream to open a French-Vietnamese restaurant to honor her sister Trang, who passed away from lupus. After serving pho from a small trailer for two years, Jolie renovated space for a permanent restaurant in Keene, New Hampshire, in the same building at Keene's City Hall.
"We liked the name because it's lighthearted and fun," Jolie wrote in a Facebook post. "It's a name that reflects Vietnam's national dish, comfort food and our most popular culinary product, pho! Keene, of course, is the location."
Jolie ran a poll on her restaurant's Facebook page asking if the name is offensive and 97 percent of more than 3,400 voters said no.
Two weeks after being ordered to remove the sign, Keene city officials have given their approval for the restaurant's name. Pho Keene Great has lived up to its name and turned the controversy to its advantage. Not surprisingly, the restaurant sells T-shirts and tote bags with the its name emblazoned on the front.
"We are excited to have a new restaurant open in the community," Dragon said in an email, according to NHPR.
The restaurant is located in Central Square in downtown Keene near the city library and in the same building as city hall. City officials were concerned over the restaurant's seemingly profane tone in such a public space.
Owner Isabella Jolie had a dream to open a French-Vietnamese restaurant to honor her sister Trang, who passed away from lupus. After serving pho from a small trailer for two years, Jolie renovated space for a permanent restaurant in Keene, New Hampshire, in the same building at Keene's City Hall.
"We liked the name because it's lighthearted and fun," Jolie wrote in a Facebook post. "It's a name that reflects Vietnam's national dish, comfort food and our most popular culinary product, pho! Keene, of course, is the location."
Jolie ran a poll on her restaurant's Facebook page asking if the name is offensive and 97 percent of more than 3,400 voters said no.
Two weeks after being ordered to remove the sign, Keene city officials have given their approval for the restaurant's name. Pho Keene Great has lived up to its name and turned the controversy to its advantage. Not surprisingly, the restaurant sells T-shirts and tote bags with the its name emblazoned on the front.
Jolie said Dragon "did the right thing" by approving the sign Friday. "Now let us focus on Pho," Jolie wrote. Reviewers gave the restaurant 4.7 out of 5 stars.
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