Sunday, January 16, 2011

We Called it What?

A few short months ago, my work had me in Atlanta for a few days. Upon leaving the city I was told I have to go by this little Mexican restaurant on the way out of town to eat. Well, okay, no problem for me. What is the name of this Mexican restaurant?

Mexican Restaurant.

I wasn't sure I understood, so I asked again. "What is this place called?"

Well, needless to say, I found the place and took a pick of the sign:

It was almost named "Restaurant", but they were feeling creative.

Ah, I see. In fact, I was so stunned that I couldn't help but wonder about what the owners were smoking when they were deciding on what to name the place. I mean, I imagine that there is some poor immigrant family that is struggling to open a place to get their piece of the American dream. They have the plan, the location, the expertise... all they needed was a name... what could they possibly call the place?

After many late nights and even more arguments they finally settle on the perfect name and the rest is history.

I told the story to several of my friends and family when I got home and I was kinda sad that I didn't see any awesome names like that for places of business here in Knoxville. I guess all the really cool names were taken by a bunch of big city places. Oh well, you can't have it all.

Then, just a few days ago I was sitting in a fast food place in the most popular shopping district in the city and there it was. A name just as good... no, even better than the little Mexican place in Atlanta.

Take that, Mexican Restaurant!
Again, poor immigrants clawing their way to the pinnacle of their dreams for a better life. Maybe they even hired a firm to come up with the best possible name. I could see the interview process before hiring the marketing firm.

Entrepreneur: "Have you ever provided a business name for any other clients?"

Name branding firm: "Yes, we named a Mexican Restaurant in Atlanta."

Entrepreneur: "Fantastic, you're hired!"

So, it makes me think, should my current work in progress ever get picked up by a publisher I will strongly recommend it be titled, "Science Fiction Novel."

7 comments:

A Beer for the Shower said...

Asian restaurant names are always hilarious, especially when the owner is not keen on English. I remember in San Francisco we passed a great restaurant called "Deliclous Asian Food."

It's 'deliclous'? Sign me up!

-Bryan

Rusty Carl said...

Wow. That would be awesome. I've all but decided if I ever get to open my own business I'm going all out and naming it something awesome. "Ricardo's Poo Poo Palace" has a nice ring to it.

Nancy said...

Don't forget for awhile Knoxville did boast of the "#1 China Buffet" off Papermill. btw saw your tweet about doing another thousand words and hats off to you.

Some Guy said...

Hey thanks for your comment on my blog-- I actually know Cowboys From Hell and think it's a fantastic song, but I don't know the rest of Pantera so I couldn't really recommend them.

Anyway, nice article. That's pretty funny, though honestly I wouldn't let a name like that deter me from eating... Mexican food is Mexican food, and it's good! I'm not so sure about the Chinese back rub though...

Rusty Carl said...

Nancy - thanks for the encouragement, word count for Sunday was 0. Not quite what I had set as a goal. Oh well, I'll try again today and see how it goes.

Guy - I loved your post about metal, Pantera more or less changed my life (um, that might be a bit of an overstatement). When I first heard Cowboys I all but threw everything else I owned in the trash. I don't think I listened to anything else in my life as much as I did that album. Good memories.

But still, Dream Theater, Dio, Metallica, man, I wasted years of my life doing nothing but listening to those guys. Awesome.

Agreed about the name of a restaurant not keeping me away. Unless of course the sign said, "Crappy Mexican Food", then I might stay away.

Mister Sharaf said...

haha, its a Mexican restaurant :D what else do you need

Anonymous said...

Males sense to me. Simple, yet effective. Now I'm off to the Breakfast Place.