Owners of a new coffee business say their suggestive name refers to a donkey.

The Bad Ass Coffee Company, at 143 S. Riverside Ave., is scheduled to open at 6 a.m. Monday.

"It’s really a story about a donkey," said owner Mark Owen.

But the signs have some citizens frowning. Some have called Medford City Hall to ask that the signs be changed.

"We’ve received a few complaints," said Mark Windle, senior accounting clerk in the Finance Department, who handles business licenses.

The state constitution protects free expression and "prohibits us from regulating the contents of a sign," he said.

Medford Senior Planner Jim Maize said the planning department also has had a few requests that the city remove the signs.

"It’s untouchable," said Maize, adding that the city can only regulate things such as the size and height of signs.

"Unfortunately, we can’t regulate bad taste," he said.

City Attorney Ron Doyle said they’re right.

"Oregon provides some of the broadest protections for freedom of expression," he said, adding that the state constitution provides that "government may not regulate expressive conduct or speech."

If the sign portrays something that’s harmful to someone, such as abuse or child pornography, or "causes harmful secondary effects," that can be prohibited, he said.

But for someone to argue that they don’t want their children to see obscene speech or nude dancing because it upsets them is a stretch, he said.

The franchise has more than 20 stores nationwide. The first Bad Ass Coffee opened in Kona, Hawaii, in 1989. The company claims the name refers to bean-hauling donkeys that coffee harvesters in Hawaii purportedly called the "bad-ass ones."

In addition to Owen, the Medford store is owned by Mike Taylor and Rick and Andrea Cook. Owen and Taylor have been friends since they were Crater High School classmates. The four partners own the franchise development rights for the state, and this is their first Oregon store.

The Medford store, across the street from Rogue Community College, serves Kona coffee and has a Hawaiian motif, including a life-sized surfer catching a wave, Hawaiian sunset murals, palm trees and a salt water fish tank.

In addition to seating for about 50 people, the store will offer a drive-thru window and online ordering. Eventually, the store will roast its own beans on-site. The store also will sell hats and T-shirts and other "Bad Ass" merchandise.

Owen said he has heard from some people who don’t like the word "ass" on a major downtown street sign.

"If the name offends you we respect your belief, and that’s one of the freedoms we enjoy in this country," he said. "If the name doesn’t offend you, come on in."

He said they are creating a friendly place to hang out.

"The aloha spirit is alive and well at The Bad Ass Coffee Company," he said.

Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail mlanders@mailtribune.com