ACLU defends Mo. eatery's use of 'drugstore' in name

SMITHVILLE, Mo. (AP) -- An attorney for the owners of a restaurant that were told by the state to remove "drugstore" from the name said the demand infringes on free speech.

In a letter to the Missouri Board of Pharmacy, attorney William E. Raney also challenges the agency to show evidence that the restaurant's name, Justus Drugstore: A Restaurant, has confused anyone into thinking they could go there to fill prescriptions, The Kansas City Star reported Thursday.

"In no way are drugs offered for sale or are drugs implied to be offered for sale for human consumption," wrote Raney, a Kansas City attorney who is also board president for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas & Western Missouri.

The ACLU voted Wednesday to support the restaurant's owners, Jonathan Justus and his wife, Camille Eklof, in their fight against the state to hold onto the restaurant's name. Raney and another ACLU board member, Steven Streen, have offered to take the case pro bono, or without cost.

Dan Winter, the ACLU's executive director, said "the fact that the state can come in and make these ludicrous allegations against a mom-and-pop operation" makes it a free-speech issue, even though it involves commercial speech.

The pharmacy board's executive director, Debra Ringgenberg, sent Justus and Eklof a letter June 10 demanding that they stop using "drugstore" in the restaurant's name, citing a state law prohibiting Missouri businesses from using "drugstore," "pharmacy" or "apothecary" unless they are supervised by a licensed pharmacist. The letter gave the owners 30 days to change the name.

Board members were scheduled to discuss the case this week but have put off those discussions until September.

Justus and Eklof opened the restaurant 14 months ago and have generated good reviews in local and national publications. The name comes from the building's prior use as a drugstore under Justus' grandfather and mother.

"This is my heritage in a very deep sense," Justus said in an e-mail to The Star.

Ringgenberg, who was out of the office Thursday at a board meeting, didn't immediately return a phone call for comment.

Raney said he has offered to meet with the board and discuss some sort of settlement, although he added that removing the word "drugstore" from the restaurant's name wasn't on the table.

"I think a lot of people have rallied to their defense, and the board is going to have to consider that there are more issues here than just the regulation of pharmacies," he said.

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com