Chocolateer Says Village Sign Law Isn't So Sweet

A chocolate shop in the Village of Branch is crying foul after the village forced it to remove signs in front of the store advertising its sweets.

Yottabyte, located on Singer Lane, posted on Facebook that it was ordered to take down two signs hanging on its fence, one advertising s'mores and one for chocolate-covered strawberries. Many fans of the shop commented, saying how unfair it was that the store had to take down the signs, yet a Dairy Barn next door has been allowed to be vacant for years.

But according to Branch Trustee John Carro, who is in charge of overseeing the village's signage, Yottabyte wasn't targeted, even though it has had the signs up for months.

"The building inspector probably saw it and talked to her first," he said. "If we just allowed everyone to put signs up, every store in our village would put them up."

Carro explained that the village's code allows stores to put up specials signs for a few weeks for grand openings. After that, each store is only allowed a certain square footage of signs based on the size of the shop. Though he didn't have the specifics on Yottabyte's case, Carro said the building inspector most likely saw that the store had too many signs up and ordered them taken down.

"[The law] has been around for years," Carro said. "We have sign color rules, too. We try to be consistent and neat. Additional signage other than what you have on your building becomes unruly."

Photo: Google Maps