Beaner's Coffee to get less offensive name

LANSING, Mich., Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The Beaner’s coffee shop chain, based in Michigan, is changing its name to avoid it being mistaken for an ethnic slur.

The chain -- which has 77 franchises in nine states and is growing -- will adopt the name Biggby Coffee by Jan. 31, 2008, The Lansing (Mich.) State Journal reported Sunday.

The old name was not an intentional insult to Hispanics, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Bob Fish told the newspaper. But the company has realized that -- even if adopted in ignorance -- names can hurt.

There are also good business reasons to change the name, Fish said. Some potential customers may have been turned off by the name, and that issue will only become bigger as the chain expands into markets with larger Hispanic populations.

The new name, a reference to the old name's first letter, beat out about 100 other names that start with the letter ‘B.’