New protest of Psycho Donuts

From the San Jose Mercury-News:

A change in ownership at Psycho Donuts and a subsequent announcement about changes to the shop apparently wasn't enough to deter a determined coalition of mental health advocates this past weekend.

The Community Alliance United to Seek Equality broke months of silence on Aug. 2, rallying at the Orchard City Green for a demonstration against the controversial doughnut shop.

The gathering brought members of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Silicon Valley Independent Living Center and the Teamsters as well as other community members who wanted to voice their opposition to the shop, which offers doughnuts dubbed with names of mental conditions in addition to boasting a padded cell and straitjacket for

Beginning at 11 a.m., C.A.U.S.E. garnered more support for its cause, signing up new members and passing out T-shirts reading, "Disabilities are nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all." A number of speakers, including Assemblyman Jim Beall and Councilman Dan Furtado, also addressed the issues surrounding mental illness.

"It wasn't that long ago when society accepted segregation and all of the stigma that was attached to people of color," said Robin Salak, coordinator of the disability support program at Evergreen Valley College and a member of C.A.U.S.E.

"Today, most people would be opposed to any shop that made fun of a particular race, but for some reason they still find it acceptable to make fun of disabilities, particularly those that affect the brain." In recent months, the group took a step back to re-evaluate its strategy, opting to change course and not go forward with weekly protests in front of the shop. Some of its members have been hesitant to bring further attention to the shop, in fear that it may be giving owners free advertising.

During its most recent demonstration, the coalition remained for the most part at the Orchard City Green before marching through the Campbell farmers market and downtown Campbell and eventually surrounding the corner doughnut shop at S. Winchester Boulevard and Campbell Avenue. This time, though, they only stayed for 15 minutes.

Representatives from C.A.U.S.E. entered the shop with a list of demands for Jordan Zweigoron, now the sole owner, although he wasn't present at the shop. Meanwhile outside, coalition members took turns sticking Post-Its of the names of loved ones affected by mental illness on a sign that was later presented to the shop.

"We feel really good about this demonstration just because it was good for everyone who participated, and it does seem like there's something that possibly might happen as far as changes," Salak said.

Those changes could come on the heels of a broken partnership between Zweigoron and former co-owner Kipp Berdiansky. Zweigoron made the announcement about the change of ownership on the Psycho Donuts blog on July 29, although details on what exactly he plans to change about the shop remain vague.

"While I think that the majority of people out there think that what we are doing is fun, we really want it to be a positive place that everyone can enjoy," Zweigoron said in a phone interview. "I, sole owner of the business, have a lot more ability to build a business within my own vision, I guess.

"It's my decision to do something that maintains the fun and the style which is Psycho Donuts but in a way that is much more enjoyable for everyone," Zweigoron continued. "We don't want to sacrifice fun in any way, but we do want to change some things." Zweigoron said he and Berdiansky had been talking about a buyout of their partnership "for a while." He added that they parted ways on good terms.

"It was a straightforward thing where we didn't necessarily have the same vision of where we wanted to take the business," Zweigoron said. "What we agreed on is that one of us should take it forward and run with a vision that we exclusively had, and it ended up being me. As of [last] week, I am officially the owner of the business." Berdiansky, meanwhile, is moving forward and plans to open a new business, he wrote in an e-mail.

Zweigoron said he has in mind what he plans to do, but would like to keep it a secret for a while and "make that announcement within a day or two of putting those changes in place." Zweigoron reached out to NAMI and SVILC soon after making the announcement on the blog, but did not receive an immediate response. He said he hoped the announcement would initiate some goodwill between the two sides and perhaps prompt organizers to call off the rally.

Mental health advocates, however, remain skeptical.

"It just doesn't make any sense to me, and when things don't make sense there's usually a reason," said Salak, who hinted that C.A.U.S.E. has a "second round of plans," but did not elaborate.

"If Jordan doesn't do what we want him to do, the next plans might impact him a lot more than a protest," she said.