Coffee company with strange name works for America

In response to Bonnie McAfee's Feb. 22 letter ("Name of new coffee shop has her boiling mad"), I would like to humbly emphasize Bad Ass Coffee Company's commitment to community and specifically to our community of troops overseas.

It's important to note that all Bad Ass Coffee Company stores that we have organizationally approved to open have opened. It was the decision of Bad Ass Coffee Company, not another government entity, organization or group of individuals, to forego opening the location in Antioch, Ill., mentioned in Ms. McAfee's letter.

Bad Ass Coffee Company supports every community in which our stores reside. Not only do we provide quality products served in an atmosphere of laid-back Hawaiian aloha spirit, we also provide a welcome respite to all our customers.

Additionally, we enjoy providing quality coffee to our troops via our Cup O' Joe program nationwide. Last week the community of Redding, Calif., joined Bad Ass Coffee Company in support of our Cup O' Joe program. It was a tremendous success and many community members commented on how important the Cup O' Joe program is.

Bad Ass Coffee has donated thousands of bags of delicious, American-grown coffee (grown in Hawaii) to soldiers overseas for years, and the wonderful response from our soldiers and their families is just one more reason we continue to support the troops.

The unique program was even recently noted in the Giving section of The New York Times. Stefani Jackenthal, writer of The New York Times' article, sees the program as an opportunity to "ease the difficulties of war while fostering a connection to home."

I hope the Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks community is as excited as we are about our newest location. Narinder and Nandini Kumar, the owners of the location, are committed to the same type of excellence in coffee, service and community relations that we are.

Our company name is based on a Hawaiian legend, and that legend represents quality Hawaiian coffee and quality Hawaiian beans that have been brought down the mountainside by donkeys for generations. It's a name that symbolizes our devotion to excellence. The Bad Ass Coffee Company currently offers 53 franchise locations throughout the United States, and we hope the Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks community will embrace our commitment to being a partner in their community. Harold Hill Corporate principal Bad Ass Coffee Company Salt Lake City