London coffee house Fuckoffee was forced to take down its store sign and change its name after the owner of the building deemed the name ‘offensive.’
Last week, the owners of the café received notice from their landlord’s lawyer, ordering the signs be taken down.
“If you or your Sub-Tenant do not immediately remove the sign about the Property shop front “Fuckoffe,” and make good any damage caused to the exterior of the building, our client will have no option but to remove the sign themselves or issue court proceedings seeking an injunction requiring you to remove the sign,” reads a portion of the legal letter.
Here’s the sign:
Here’s the full letter:
A petition was started in support of the sign and to “see the return of sense of humour to the UK.”
“There is a small, indie coffee shop in Bermondsey called Fuckoffee,” reads a message on the online petition. “They have had a few anally retentive and gormless people complain about their name and now they have their money grabbing corporate landlord demand they take the sign down as it is deemed to be “offensive.”
“We, the undersigned, confirm we have a sense of humour and find the continued attack on our beloved Fuckoffee an insult to freedom of expression, freedom of speech and humour.”
Speaking with BigHospitality, A U.K.-based online resource for those working in the hospitality industry, shop owner Adrian Jones said the name started off as a joke.
“I was on holiday last year and I had a bottle of wine, and I text my maintenance man to put a sign up saying ‘Fuckoffee,’ Jones told BigHospitality. “I didn’t have any Internet, so when I got back it had all gone wild.”
Jones claims revenue shot up 20 per cent following the name change.
On Tuesday, Fuckoffee obliged and took the sign down.
However, a new sign with a slight tweak to the name was erected.
Fans tweeted in support of the new sign.
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