Rye’s Board of Architectural Review has officially rejected a request by a bagel shop owner for permission to put a sign up over the store on Purchase Street with the cheeky name of the business – Badass Bagels.
Board Chairman Michael Harrington told The Record afterward that the word “Badass” was inappropriate to display at the entrance to Rye’s business district.
Rye city code requires the board to review all significant commercial signage in Rye with a focus on oversight of issues such as placement and size. Harrington said the board rejected the bagel shop’s request because the board also has a responsibility to protect “the economic stability, health, safety and general welfare of the community.”
Harrington said he was particularly troubled by the store, at 12 Purchase St., being across the street from the Little Learners Studio, which offers early childhood enrichment programs.
That concern was echoed by Rye resident Adam Paterno, who wrote a note opposing the sign’s approval before the board’s meeting.
“Local regulations typically prohibit offensive language, including profanity, due to its potential to offend viewers and the impact on community standards,” Paterno wrote the board. “While the First Amendment allows for freedom of speech, including offensive language, there are limitations, especially when it comes to public displays like signs that are visible to all, including children.”
Without an agreement with the board, the bagel shop has not been able to put up a storefront sign alerting the public that it exists since it opened in January. On a recent visit, a roughly one-foot sign saying #BADASSBAGELS was present near the bottom of the store’s window.
The name Badass Bagels has not incited such negative reaction in other places where it operates, according to owner Jennifer Balin. In November, Balin withdrew her original application for a Badass Bagels sign at the suggestion of the board chairman.
After the recent application rejection, Balin was not available for comment.
Badass Bagels opened in Armonk in January 2024 and the Architectural Review Board there approved its sign application, according to the town’s building department. Balin has yet to apply for a sign permit for her store in New Canaan, Conn., and the store puts out a temporary sign each day, according to Town Planner Sarah Carey.
In Rye, Balin has the right to appeal the decision first to the board and then, if denied, to the Board of Appeals. That body must decide if the denial was “arbitrary, capricious and/or unsupported by substantial evidence of record,” according to the city code.
Harrington, in an interview, and Paterno, in his letter, indicated they had no ill will toward Balin or her small business, and hoped she would agree with a compromise such as putting the word “Bagels” or “B.A.B” on a sign above her store.
Both volunteered that, in their opinions, Badass Bagels are “delicious.”
