A mini-controversy has erupted over a giant cup of coffee and bagel recently added to the roof of a Palo Alto eatery.

The city has ordered Izzy’s Brooklyn Bagels at 477 S. California Ave. to remove the 7-foot-tall display because it violates the city’s prohibition on roof signs. Manager Maria Arzate said the green coffee cup and sesame-seed bagel are scheduled to come down Saturday.

“In order to have roof signs, the city and city council would have to change the sign code,” Brian Reynolds, one of the city’s two code enforcement officers, said in an email interview Thursday.

But concert promoter Mark Weiss and muralist Greg Brown are hoping to convince the city to spare the cheerful display, arguing it is more art than advertisement. Indeed, it was crafted by Mohammed “Slim” Soumah, who also painted the “Under the Sun” mural on the east wall of nearby Country Sun Natural Foods.

“It’s somewhere between being a sign and being a comment on signs,” Weiss told The Daily News. “There’s something compelling about it.”

Weiss said he has already reached out to four of the city’s nine council members about securing an exception for Izzy’s.

Arzate said it was Soumah who approached the bagel shop with the idea for the display. He had done other work for the business, including designing an awning for its East Palo Alto location.

Unaware of the sign ordinance, Izzy’s gave Soumah the go-ahead to install the coffee cup and bagel at the end of November.

“It wasn’t really the plan to leave it there for long,” Arzate said, between manning the cash register and taking phone orders Thursday afternoon. “It was more like a try-out for us.”

The feedback from customers has been nothing but positive, said Arzate, adding that she is also a fan.

“I love it,” Arzate said. “It’s a piece of art to me. It’s not just a sign.”

However, Reynolds said the display came to his attention after someone lodged a complaint with the city. Public safety was his first concern, but then he learned that roof signs are illegal. If it isn’t removed soon, Izzy’s could be penalized by as much as $500 per day.

Arzate said she doubted the display posed much of a public safety threat. It’s constructed out of Styrofoam coated in epoxy.

“It’s not like it’s going to kill anyone,” she said. “It cannot happen because it’s really attached to the ceiling.”

For now, the fate of the coffee cup and bagel is uncertain. Arzate said it will be up to Izzy’s owner Israel Rind to pursue an exception, but he is out of the country until Jan. 3. She thinks the display will end up at the East Palo Alto shop.

“I provided them information for after they remove the sign to speak with planning staff to see what their options may be,” Reynolds said.

Arzate said she wasn’t disappointed by the turn of events. If anything, it’s raised the 18-year-old bagel shop’s profile.

“People hear about us,” Arzate said with a laugh. “And it’s just about the sign, not the product, which is very good.”

Email Jason Green at jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; follow him at twitter.com/jgreendailynews.