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DOWNEY – from www.downeybeat.com – Since Nicholas Velez recently hoisted his banner announcing the name of his sports bar in downtown Downey, he’s gotten a lot of flack.
But he’s asking the public to give him a chance to explain why he is changing the name of the Downtown Bar B Que to ‘Bastards.’
“This establishment is veteran/service member owned and operated,” Velez said this week while working refurbishing the inside of the restaurant.
“It is named in respect of those who have served in the finest infantry unit of the United States Marine Corps, nicknamed the ‘Magnificent Bastards,’ 2nd battalion 4th Marines, and the courageous corpsmen of the United States Navy who care, or have cared, for them.”
“To some the name Bastards might be offensive. To others like myself, and all those men who served in 2nd battalion 4th marines, it is a badge of honor,” Velez said. “I wake up every day proud to be a bastard, so we did not name our restaurant ‘Bastards’ to offend anyone.”
Downtown Bar-B-Que owner Ralph Granata sold the restaurant at Downey Avenue and Second Street to Velez on March 31, after selling his family’s other establishment, the 58-year-old Granata’s Italian Restaurant, to Frank E. White on October 1, 2011.
Council Member Mario Guerra, has heard both Velez’s side of the story as well as public outcry regarding the new business.
“I met with Velez and heard his story. I understand and I respect that,” Guerra said. “My son served in the Marines and here in the city, there’s a lot of veterans.”
“You can take the name both ways, and the reason behind it is awesome,” Guerra said.
“He’s a very respectable young man and it fits well in our city and downtown. I’m not quite sure there’s anything we can do, but honestly, initially we did not like the name either. And I know it may be disturbing for some people and I understand that, but he fought for our country. He fought for his right to be able to name that.”
First Amendment attorney Roger Jon Diamond on Santa Monica said there’s nothing the city can do about the name.
“It’s a First Amendment right to use the name,” Diamond said. “There’s a case set up from the court years ago regarding this situation. He is constitutionally protected under the First Amendment, free speech.”
Diamond referred to the 1971 case Cohen v. California when 19-year-old Paul Robert Cohen was arrested on suspicion of disturbing the peace for wearing a jacket with the words “F— the Draft” inside a Los Angeles courthouse. Cohen’s case was later dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court. The court found that the First Amendment prohibits states from making the public display of a single four-letter expletive a criminal offense without a more specific and compelling reason than a general tendency to disturb the peace.
Officials from other cities said cities sometimes can negotiate with a business owner by offering incentives to change a business’s name, such offering parking allowances or longer hours of operation.
Velez explains Bastard’s isn’t only a restaurant, it is a place where veterans like himself can get together and “therapeutically” vent. Velez also fund raises for the Wounded Warrior Project, as well as promoting cancer awareness among veterans.
Bastards is unofficially set to open within the next two weeks.