Lately, there has been a lot of hoopla surrounding the recently opened “Psycho Donuts,” in downtown Campbell.
When I last visited on Wednesday morning, I saw a picketer in front of the shop, holding a sign that read “Boycott Psycho Donuts.” A note was posted on the glass door that said, “Sorry, sold out today!”
The owners Kipp Berdianski and Jordan Zweigoron are two former tech employees who said in a Mercury News article that they were trying to re-invent the often stale concept of the donut in a fun, unexpected way.
The donuts themselves are very good. Most of them deviate from the uninspired, standard flavors of decades past and are adorned with innovative toppings, such as coco puffs and pretzels. While it’s clear the donuts are popular, it’s their names and the theme of the shop that seems to be causing controversy.
“Brain Hemorrhage” and “Split Personality,” are just a few of the names that the owners have used to label their sweet concoctions. The interior is decorated with colorful, zany pictures and includes padded walls and a straight jacket, resembling a psych ward. Female servers are dressed in naughty nurse uniforms.
It’s supposed to be funny, to be taken with a grain of salt.
But the whole idea leaves a bitter taste in some people’s mouths. Here is a post from the review Web site Yelp:
“This place just makes me sad. Sad in the way ignorance and prejudice make you sad, because making fun of serious diseases hurts people. It also promotes stigma. That’s not very funny or cool.”
Oh, C’mon, right? The owners have no malicious intent. They don’t mean any harm. Are critics, such as this Yelper, being a tad too sensitive?
Maybe, but I smell a lawsuit.
It would be a shame if they had to close up shop because of unintentional insults. When the gimmick has worn thin, it will have to be the food that brings customers back. I predict that “Psycho Donuts” will be forced to tone down their psychotic image and let their donuts speak for themselves.
-Elizabeth Kang
Staff Writer
5 Comments
April 17, 2009 at 9:29 am
“Unintentional” insults? I don’t think so. Who on earth would think there’s anything “fun” about a mental hospital?
April 17, 2009 at 12:16 pm
I am a disabled veteran from the ‘Cold War’ era. I was medically retired from the US Army after a training accident left me with a severe and permanent brain injury. I am speaking to the customers of “Psycho Donuts” in Campbell. Not only are these entrepreneurs capitalizing on the backs of my fellow disabled veterans, but at the expense of all decent people who are sensitive to basic human rights and dignity.
Imagine yourself as a lower-class citizen in England during the Middle Ages. Now see yourself as the court jester in the town square or a monkey on the shoulder of a clown meant to amuse the King. You feel the indignity of the spit, smirks and jeers, all day, every day. Switch to current day and substitute the jester and the monkey for brave veteran troops returning from Iraq…with a severe brain injury from a roadside bomb or a rocket-propelled grenade.
Twenty miles north from the Campbell donut shop, soldiers at the Palo Alto PolyTrauma Rehabilitation Center are struggling with a new, strange version of themselves, struggling with a brain that interprets colors, sounds, touch, voices and pictures in weird ways…and nobody can understand this new perspective…the only thing they know is they’re alone and these changes will last forever. When they joined the military they didn’t sign up for ridicule and the butt of public humor. They didn’t expect a greeting like they are receiving from this seemingly harmless donut shop. But they did have a “Massive Head Trauma.”
Let’s protect the dignity of our veterans…let’s not trivialize brain injury. It’s so devastating, so permanent. One of their pastries is called “Massive Head Trauma” — this is the kind of scorn that can send our wounded warriors and their families into a downward spiral of depression. We feel like outsiders as it is. All survivors of head trauma are embarrassed by this display. Veterans of all wars are disgusted. “Support our troops” is the vogue catch-phrase of our age…let’s be true to our convictions….
Tell Mayor Kennedy and the Campbell City Council that language is a reflection of intelligence, and Campbell is developing a reputation of callous ignorance.
April 28, 2009 at 4:32 pm
if it’s wrong to call people gay, how is this any different…
it doesn’t really bother me though.
April 29, 2009 at 5:20 pm
I’ve started a new blog to combat the stigmatizing of the mentally ill. You can check it out at http://psychodonuts.wordpress.com.
September 3, 2009 at 12:10 pm
I hope to see you all protesting at El Pollo Loco later this week. Then I expect you’ll be boycotting Warner Brothers, makers of Looney Tunes. And let’s not forget Crazy George! That guy’s making fun of the insane!
Seriously, people, you need to lighten up. It’s a gimmick. When I see you parading through the farmers’ market every Sunday it just reminds me to go down and buy a doughnut. They’re really good.