SNOHOMISH – Five naked pigs apparently don’t fit the image of this town’s historic district. Plus, naked pigs might inspire others to paint naked people on their buildings, a restaurant owner says.
The BBQ Shack, a restaurant that opened last week at Second Street and Avenue D, features five pink pigs painted on a white concrete wall. One of them is ready to be grilled. Another is trying to get away in a hot air balloon. The other three appear to be to enticing drivers to stop.
But a white tarp hangs over them.
The restaurant opened with a side of the building covered because the city denied a sign permit for the pigs, said Janelle Carpenter of Snohomish, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Steve.
“They think it’s very out of place. It’s barbecue. … It’s crazy,” Janelle Carpenter said.
She said the couple originally planned to open the business in October and were informed by the City Council that they wouldn’t need a permit to paint the outside of the 600-square-foot building. Janelle Carpenter had the pigs painted on one side of the building and a black 1957 Chevrolet convertible on another side. The town is well-known for its classic car shows.
But close to the painting’s completion, Janelle Carpenter learned that she could paint the building a color, but painting pigs or other objects required a city permit because those are considered murals.
The city’s Design Review Board, which makes recommendations about exterior changes to buildings in the historic district, objected to the painting for two reasons, Janelle Carpenter said.
First, it doesn’t fit the district’s landscape, she said. And second, the naked pigs might inspire others to paint naked people.
“It’s sad that adults have to fight over something like this,” Steve Carpenter said.
The issue is ridiculous, said Tom Grissett of Snohomish, who was eating barbecue pork at the diner on Wednesday.
“How offensive can a pig be?” Grissett said, adding that naked pigs are not unusual.
“When was the last time you saw pigs with clothes on?” he asked.
The issue cracks up Scott Honaker, who was eating a beef sandwich for lunch.
“That’s embarrassing” for the town, said the 40-year-old Snohomish resident.
Karen Guzak, chairwoman of the Design Review Board, which is made of up of five design professionals, declined to say why the board objected to the painting, because the permit denial has been appealed.
Dwight Hartman, the city’s planning manager, denied the permit based on recommendations from the board. He also declined to comment on why.
The city never told the business to cover up the pigs, but a lawyer hired by Janelle Carpenter brought up the idea, Hartman said.
Janelle Carpenter said she couldn’t wait any longer to open her business. She spent about $3,500 on the painting, and has paid $1,100 a month to lease the building since September.
Steve Carpenter said he doesn’t know when the fate of the pigs will be decided.
“It’s going to stay. We have an attorney,” he said.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
Dan Bates / The Herald
Steve Carpenter uncovers the naked pigs painted on the wall of his BBQ Shack restaurant in Snohomish. He has appealed a city decision barring the mural.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
