Not all get a kick out of
isle coffee chain’s ‘bad’ name

---

Associated Press

MANASSAS, Va. >> Shannon Nelson and her two young sons were pulling into the Toys "R" Us parking lot when they saw something shocking: A "Bad Ass" sign.

Just a few doors from Family Christian Stores and across the parking lot from the toy store sits Bad Ass Coffee Co., a chain gourmet coffee shop set to open next month.

"My son said, 'Isn't that a swear word?' I said, 'It sure is,'" Nelson said.

Store owner Nelson Frey of Manassas said he hopes people will enjoy the name and logo once they step inside the store.

"Nine out of 10 people who walk by or peek in to investigate say they get a kick out of it," Frey said.

Frey said he picked the store site because it was a busy location with good visibility. "It never crossed my mind about being next to the Christian store," he said.

The Bad Ass Coffee Co. of Hawaii chain opened its first store in Kailua-Kona in 1989 and has since opened stores on the U.S. mainland and in Canada. It was named for the coffee-hauling donkeys of old Kona.