New Hampshire town and bakery take their ‘First Amendment’ legal battle over colossal pastry mural to trial
How will this cookie crumble?
A New Hampshire bakery and the town of Conway are headed to federal court Friday to settle a years-long First Amendment dispute over a brightly painted mural of baked goods atop the businesses roof.
The highly-contentious trial will kick off nearly three years after Leavitt’s Country Bakery owner Sean Young was informed his colorful 90-square-foot sign violated local code and needed to be modified or taken down – or face possible criminal charges or fines.
Young instead filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the town in January 2023, arguing officials infringed on his right to freedom of speech. He is suing for $1 in damages.
“Trial days are here!” The pastry shop, founded 45 years ago, posted on Facebook Thursday in response to an article highlighting the legal battle.
“Yes, the town is still fighting us over 2 1/2 years later. But the trial is finally here!”
The mural, painted by local art students in June 2022, depicts the sun shining over a vivid array of pastries, including chocolate and strawberry doughnuts with sprinkles, a muffin, cinnamon roll among other baked goods.
The painting, which looms large over Young’s storefront, is four times bigger than the local sign code allows.
As a result, zoning officials have contended the painting mirrored an advertisement rather than art – claiming that restricting the size of signs serves in the government’s interest in preserving the town’s aesthetics, according to court documents.
Part of Conway’s sign code states that the town has no intention of restricting individual free speech but has authority to place reasonable restrictions upon commercial speech.
Local officials have argued the mural would be welcome to stay if it depicted real-life mountains instead of pastries taking the form of mountains – or if the building it was illustrated across was not a bakery.
“The town of Conway can regulate signs, but it can’t pick and choose which signs to regulate based on what they say,” Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Rob Frommer, Young’s attorney, told The Post.
“The town told Leavitt’s it cannot have a mural that depicts mountains made of baked goods, but it could have a mural of real mountains. And that the exact same baked goods mural would be perfectly fine on a different business in Conway (if it isn’t a bakery),” he continued.
“We look forward to showing to the judge that the way Conway enforces its sign code is censorship that violates the First Amendment.”
Young told The Post he’s “focused” on the upcoming trial and declined to answer questions until after the legal case concludes.
The town of Conway did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Leavitt’s Country Bakery and the town agreed in February 2023 to pause court proceedings pending a vote on a revised sign code that would allow the painting to remain, but the vote failed to pass with the measure deemed too broad and complex.
Voters eventually passed a new ordinance last year that requires applicants to meet criteria for art on public and commercial property – a measure Young strongly opposed.
“Local officials don’t get to play art critic,” Young said at the time, local outlets reported.
The mural remains in place for now as a federal judge makes a determination.
With Post wires
