KENNEBUNK – A federal judge has ruled that a restaurant owner whose table umbrellas advertise Hebrew National hot dogs must comply with a local sign law.

Brian Bartley, owner of Bartley’s Dockside Restaurant, argued in a lawsuit that a town code enforcement officer said he found the umbrellas “personally offensive” and ordered them removed.

Bartley says Paul Demers singled out as illegal the umbrellas labeled “Hebrew National Beef Franks,” among others at his restaurant. Demers denies the claim.

In the lawsuit brought against the town in January, Bartley said selectmen refused to renew his eatery’s liquor permit because of its outdoor table umbrellas.

The suit described the umbrellas as having “commercially neutral logos” that are protected by the U.S. Constitution. But town officials said Bartley had failed to comply with an ordinance that allows a maximum of three signs.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Gene Carter refused to allow Bartley to display the Hebrew National umbrellas unless he gets a sign permit.