diff --git a/src/main/scala/com/typesafe/sbt/packager/GenericPackageSettings.scala b/src/main/scala/com/typesafe/sbt/packager/GenericPackageSettings.scala
index 455813b10..7ff7208e8 100644
--- a/src/main/scala/com/typesafe/sbt/packager/GenericPackageSettings.scala
+++ b/src/main/scala/com/typesafe/sbt/packager/GenericPackageSettings.scala
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ trait GenericPackageSettings
 
     // Default place to install code.
     defaultLinuxInstallLocation := "/usr/share",
+    defaultLinuxLogsLocation := "/var/log",
 
     // First we look at the src/linux files
     linuxPackageMappings <++= (sourceDirectory in Linux) map { dir =>
diff --git a/src/main/scala/com/typesafe/sbt/packager/Keys.scala b/src/main/scala/com/typesafe/sbt/packager/Keys.scala
index 9644686f4..8cb7ad1ac 100644
--- a/src/main/scala/com/typesafe/sbt/packager/Keys.scala
+++ b/src/main/scala/com/typesafe/sbt/packager/Keys.scala
@@ -29,4 +29,5 @@ object Keys extends linux.Keys
          |  APP_DEFINES - the defines to go into the app
          |  """.stripMargin)
   val defaultLinuxInstallLocation = SettingKey[String]("defaultLinuxInstallLocation", "The location where we will install generic linux packages.")
+  val defaultLinuxLogsLocation = SettingKey[String]("defaultLinuxLogsLocation", "The location where application logs will be stored.")
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main/scala/com/typesafe/sbt/packager/archetypes/JavaServerApplication.scala b/src/main/scala/com/typesafe/sbt/packager/archetypes/JavaServerApplication.scala
index 709f686cb..41daa8a7d 100644
--- a/src/main/scala/com/typesafe/sbt/packager/archetypes/JavaServerApplication.scala
+++ b/src/main/scala/com/typesafe/sbt/packager/archetypes/JavaServerApplication.scala
@@ -62,9 +62,13 @@ object JavaServerAppPackaging {
             s <- script.toSeq
           } yield LinuxPackageMapping(Seq(s -> path)).withPerms(permissions)
         },
-      // TODO the /var/log should be generalized like defaultLinuxInstallLocation
-      linuxPackageMappings in Debian <+= (normalizedName) map {
-        name => packageTemplateMapping("/var/log/" + name)()
+      // TODO should we specify daemonGroup in configs?
+      linuxPackageMappings in Debian <+= (normalizedName, defaultLinuxLogsLocation, target in Debian, daemonUser in Debian) map {
+        (name, logsDir, target, user) =>
+          // create empty var/log directory
+          val d = target / logsDir
+          d.mkdirs()
+          LinuxPackageMapping(Seq(d -> s"$logsDir/$name"), LinuxFileMetaData(user, user))
       },
       linuxPackageSymlinks in Debian <+= (normalizedName, defaultLinuxInstallLocation) map {
         (name, install) => LinuxSymlink(install + "/" + name + "/logs", "/var/log/" + name)