mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >
You guys seemed to like the punny names post so much, I thought I’d bring ‘em back by looking at store names with sometimes creative, yet all too often corny titles. Over the years, I’ve really seen some lulus. For instance, I recall taking my shirts and pants to a seamstress on the Upper West Side in NYC back in the early 90s who called her place Sew What? Then there was the lobster shack in Maine near my uncle’s camp called Lobster Tales. I also recall a little baked-goods place near Trinity College in Hartford called Muffin’ Fancy. I heard they later changed their name to Waiting for Godough to Rise. (Kidding with that last one, actually…)
But my favorite punny store names are those that work a little Shakespeare into the mix. For instance, there used to be a store that sold brass instruments in Moorestown, NJ called Tuba or Not Tuba. And here in L.A., we have the wonderfully original The Merchant of Tennis, which I believe started in Toronto and is now a chain.
What about you all? Certainly each and every one of you loyal Wrap readers have driven through a town (or grew up in one) with a punny shop name worth sharing.
ummm, there was a kinda dirty one in Utica, NY. a pet grooming place called (no lie) “Doggy Styles.”
posted by mri on 11-2-2007 at 7:09 am
when in edinburgh this summer, i saw a gift shop called ‘thistle do nicely’.
posted by richel on 11-2-2007 at 7:13 am
One of my friends used to work at a dog grooming place also called Doggy Styles in Chatham, NJ. There’s also a cheese shop called C’est cheese in Morristown NJ.
posted by Evan on 11-2-2007 at 7:24 am
“C’est Cheese”… ouch, that hurts.
posted by Joseph on 11-2-2007 at 7:27 am
Love “C’est Cheese”–very clever!
I like the coffee shop names one often sees, like “Central Perk” (was that the one on Friends?) or the one in Albany, Texas, called “The Daily Grind”.
posted by Karen on 11-2-2007 at 7:44 am
I’ve noticed hairdressers tend to be most prone to using punny names. “Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow” and “Pharoh’s Hairum” are just two I can recall.
posted by Chris D. on 11-2-2007 at 7:57 am
I used to eat at Hello Deli and once drove past Deli Llama
posted by melanie tarrant on 11-2-2007 at 8:15 am
There’s a restaurant in Haltom City, Texas called “Pullet Surprise.”
posted by Pete on 11-2-2007 at 8:18 am
There used to be a hair salon in Savannah, Georgia called “The Wizard of Ahhhhs.”
posted by Amy on 11-2-2007 at 8:18 am
There was a restaurant in Richmond, VA called “Jamaica Me Crazy.” The sign remains, but sadly the restaurant has closed.
posted by Johnny Carp on 11-2-2007 at 8:24 am
Coffee houses seem to have the market cornered on this schtick. I knew one called “Latte-da.”
posted by Lebetho on 11-2-2007 at 8:44 am
I am not convinced this stores name was intended to be a pun - or just struck me funny, but years ago in Vernon, TX there was a store called: Norm’s Bate Shop.
posted by Elizabeth on 11-2-2007 at 8:48 am
There’s a hair salon in Pittsburgh called “Word of Mouf”.
posted by Carol N on 11-2-2007 at 8:52 am
In Las Vegas we have a hair salon called Curl up and Dye.
Also a coffe house called Holy Grounds.
posted by Kristi on 11-2-2007 at 9:00 am
In our town we have a store which sells yarn and various knitting supplies called Taming of the Ewe.
posted by Jennifer on 11-2-2007 at 9:01 am
An industrial-supply type store here goes by the name “The Hose House.” The building sports the line “The best little hose house in Kentucky.”
posted by Miss Cellania on 11-2-2007 at 9:05 am
your “Tuba or not Tuba” reminds me of a shop in an old episode of Police Squad (where “The Naked Gun” movies came from) called “Tuba-Ligations”
:)
posted by Clotho on 11-2-2007 at 9:08 am
Remember the Curl Up and Dye salon from the movie Earth Girls are Easy?
posted by Miss Cellania on 11-2-2007 at 9:13 am
these aren’t so much puns, as just a couple of unfortunate families that went into the wrong line of business…
but in my wife’s home town of kiel, wisconsin, there is a place called Ditter Plumbing….and another one named Ramminger Interiors.
posted by steverino on 11-2-2007 at 9:18 am
Knew of someone who owned a landscaping company called Beds and Bushes.
posted by Jill on 11-2-2007 at 9:23 am
A windshield repair company called Glasshole Doctor.
posted by daddysmax on 11-2-2007 at 9:36 am
A couple towns over is a little drive-through coffee place called Java the Hut.
posted by Camille on 11-2-2007 at 9:44 am
There was a chimney sweep service in my town called “Ash Wipers”. I always got a big kick out of that when I was growing up.
posted by Pam on 11-2-2007 at 9:47 am
This doesn’t totally fit in this category… but somewhere around Waco, TX on I-35, there’s a big sign for a fast food chicken place. It’s called “Bush’s Chicken.” I had my picture taken in front of the sign. I’m sure it existed before Bush became president…. but STILL!
posted by jenny on 11-2-2007 at 9:58 am
This also does not fit, but one of my favorite funny store sign stories was in a mall here in Dayton.
I saw some kids snapping a picture with their cell phone of a “Chick-Fil-A” sign. I was confused at first, but then I noticed that the letter C was actually burnt out…
posted by Ashley on 11-2-2007 at 10:07 am
Hair places called Upper Cut, PERMutations, It Will Grow Back (Lol), Clip-Art Hair (ugh)… the UK has some terrible punny shop names.. As for other types of shops, Pizza place called Pizza The Action (makes me shudder), an optician called Spex In The City, a Thai restaurant called Beau Thai, Chicken Restaurant called the Chick Inn, a hilarious one I think is the shoe shop called Buy One Get One Free, and also, R. Soles! No word of a lie, these are all actual businesses here in Birmingham England. Also, a furniture store called Sweet F.A. its a wonder how they get away with it heh… There’s a junk shop called Junk And Disorderly, jewel shop called Indivijewel, tailors called Sew Fantastic, the imaginative My Bike Shop, the honest Decent Property Services, the poncy AristoHats, the Floral and Hardy florists, Nina’s internet cafe called NinComSoup, the Footloose Chiropody Clinic, the best dry-cleaners, Touching Cloth, then theres the Wheelie Serious bike shop…
Yup, Birmingham UK sure has its fair share of nutters opening shops around the place :)
posted by soops on 11-2-2007 at 10:14 am
there’s a coffee shop in San Pedro, CA called Sacred Grounds… really cool place with decent open mikes
posted by ally on 11-2-2007 at 10:18 am
There’s a closed-down espresso stand in my town that was named, “Bean Me Up”
posted by Rose on 11-2-2007 at 10:29 am
There is a cafe on Hw.80 in east Texas called
The “Wild Flour Cafe” wonder what their biscuts are like !
posted by skip on 11-2-2007 at 10:31 am
Oh yeah Miss C, we got 2 or 3 Curl Up And Dye hair salons in the city :D
Also a ‘Fill Me Up Scotty’ snack bar.
posted by soops on 11-2-2007 at 10:34 am
There is a place in Atlantic City called “Gambler’s Pair-a-dice.”
posted by Rachel on 11-2-2007 at 10:45 am
I grew up in Chestnut Hill, a small community in Philadelphia, PA and there was a sewing store called “The Knit Wit”. It was later brought out and renamed “Just Sew”.
posted by Ted on 11-2-2007 at 10:46 am
A used-book shop (on the west side of town) in NW Ohio: West Side Stories.
A bar and grill, recently sold and renamed, in Lancaster County PA, almost in the community of Eden, PA: East of Eden.
A used clothes store next door to an upscale dress shop: New To New Consignment Clothes.
posted by Paul Ding on 11-2-2007 at 10:50 am
I thought of another one I’ve seen. A thai noodle shop called PHO SHO.
Snoop Dogg would approve!
posted by Jill on 11-2-2007 at 10:52 am
There’s a pet grooming place in St. Louis called Groomingdale’s.
posted by Anita on 11-2-2007 at 11:24 am
There’s a farm implement dealer near Abbotsford, WI called The Farmacy. And there’s a ton of terrible tavern names, like the Stumble Inn, The Ace of Clubs, The Office (as in, I’m going to The Office), and about two dozen (Name)’s Never Inn(s).
The best non-intentional family names types I’ve ever seen are in Steven’s Point, WI: Twit Chiropractic and in Marshfield, WI: Bents Chiropractic.
posted by frumpiefox on 11-2-2007 at 11:25 am
Cooperstown, NY, couple blocks from the Baseball Hall of Fame, a failed attempt at a Mexican restaurant: Baseball Jalapeno (I never got it until I said it out loud).
Also in town, I like this name: Li’l Bo Tique.
posted by cybergoober on 11-2-2007 at 11:28 am
Restaurants:
Aunt Chilada’s
Que Pasta
Pizza My Heart
It’s not a pun, but there used to be a combination Italian/Chinese restaurant in Linkoping, Sweden, called Marco Polo, which I thought was appropriate.
And I’ve heard of a Chinese/German restaurant somewhere. I don’t know the name, but if you eat there, 30 minutes later you’re hungry for power.
Dan
posted by Dan Henderson on 11-2-2007 at 11:40 am
In Hastings, England, on the side of a truck: William the Concreter.
posted by jaclyn on 11-2-2007 at 12:07 pm
There’s this wonderful little hair salon in Pittsburgh called We’re Hair.
posted by Elizabeth on 11-2-2007 at 12:20 pm
My favorite is the Chew-Choo Dinner Train near Sultan, WA.
posted by Rachel on 11-2-2007 at 12:28 pm
Gift Shop - The Present Moment
Quilt/Fabric shop
Pieceful Gathering
Pieceful Heart
Prints Charming
Portable Toilet Rental Companies
Honey Bucket
Johnny B Kleen
Out Back Outhouse
Comforts of Home
Big John
Drop Zone
Life Savers
Jack Pot
Oui Oui Enterprises
All of the above are Chicago area businesses.
jen
posted by Jen Smith on 11-2-2007 at 12:31 pm
We have a hair salon called “The Best Little Hairhouse In Texas”
posted by Kelly on 11-2-2007 at 12:37 pm
Had my windshield fixed by A Pain in the Glass.
posted by Beth on 11-2-2007 at 12:37 pm
There’s a place in Pittsburgh that sells dance tights called “Tight Spot.”
posted by amber on 11-2-2007 at 12:39 pm
There’s a barber shop in Champaign, IL called “From Hair to “
posted by Jordan on 11-2-2007 at 1:30 pm
In California, there’s a chain of eyeglass stores called “Site For Sore Eyes”.
In Las Vegas, there’s the “Dew Drop Inn” (a bar), as well as two punny hair cutting places: “Scissors Palace” and “Hannah and Her Scissors”
Since you like Shakespearean puns, how about the towing service called “Oedipus Wrecks”?
posted by greymatters on 11-2-2007 at 1:32 pm
In Beaverton, Oregon;
“The Enchanted Florist”
(insert your own joke here)
posted by DuckFan on 11-2-2007 at 1:44 pm
Also, used to be in Wheeler, Oregon (alas, gone now) The Wheeler Inn, with a life-size mannaquin pushing a wheelbarrow with a woman in a cocktail dress holding a martini glass in it.
Too politically incorrect I guess….
posted by DuckFan on 11-2-2007 at 1:55 pm
From a road trip last year:
the “PIE-o-neer Cafe”… in Pie Town, New Mexico
(delicious pie, btw)
North of Austin, TX:
“Once Upon a Child”
(which is not only a horrendous pun, but kinda pervy too) :p
posted by tona b. on 11-2-2007 at 2:02 pm
Dallas, TX has “Legal Grounds,” a coffee shop owned by lawyers (really). There’s a pet boutique called “Haute Dogs and Fat Cats.” I think the combination bar and laundromat called, “The Bar of Soap” is still around, but maybe not. There are a couple of locations of an oyster bar & grill called, “Shuck and Jive” as well.
When my parents lived in Highland, Calif., they took their basset hound to “The Barking Lot” grooming place to get her a bath.
posted by ansav on 11-2-2007 at 2:43 pm
My favorite dive bar is in San Diego - “The High Dive”
Their t-shirts have a funny looking guy in goggles, an intertube, and one of those striped 1930s ‘modesty’ bathing suits on a diving board. If you’re in SD, the building is angled so that every night at 9:00, everyone watches the Sea World fireworks through the front doors.
posted by Mary on 11-2-2007 at 2:45 pm
My favorite cafe in Portland (Oregon) is called Common Grounds. It’s a pun, but it also conveys a certain type of community vibe to it.
posted by Seth on 11-2-2007 at 3:07 pm
San Diego boasts “Pho Kit” and “Pho King”. I’ve also heard that there’s a “Pho Shizzle” near Berkeley.
posted by tycho on 11-2-2007 at 4:29 pm
Downtown Minneapolis used to have a sandwich place called D.B. Kaplans with about 100 sandwiches on the menu, each one a howler of a pun. “Any Pork in a Storm” and “Ike and Tina Tuna” come to mind….
posted by lee on 11-2-2007 at 6:06 pm
Slave to the Grind = coffee shop (in New York)
Vacman and Bobbin = vacuum and sewing machine repair shop (in Southern Florida)
posted by babkagal on 11-2-2007 at 7:03 pm
In Portland there is a great Thai restaurant named Beau Thai.
posted by al on 11-2-2007 at 8:31 pm
There is a towing company called Kamel Tow in El Paso, TX. >
posted by David on 11-2-2007 at 9:48 pm
In Scottsdale, Arizona there’s a store called Patty O’ Furniture.
posted by Amber on 11-2-2007 at 10:03 pm
One store name’s stuck with me for years: Sox Appeal (and all they sold was–you guessed it–socks).
posted by Julia on 11-2-2007 at 11:03 pm
Once went to a music shop that was up som stairs and owned by a guy called Kevin called ‘Stairway to Kevin’. Also once saw a Thai restaurant called Thaitannic (their spelling)
posted by Tim on 11-3-2007 at 12:48 am
sewing shop in Antigo, WI
-The Cutting Edge
bar in Marshfield, WI
-Nutz Deep II
the second one isn’t a pun just a great name
posted by Ryan on 11-3-2007 at 4:44 am
Kelly said: “We have a hair salon called “The Best Little Hairhouse In Texas””
Near McAllen, Texas, there used to be a linoleum/carpet shop called “The Best Little Floor House in Texas.” There was also a place that sold pecans in bulk called (what else?) “The Nut House.”
posted by Bibli0phile on 11-3-2007 at 4:17 pm
both in houston, texas:
pms plumbing
s&m travel
posted by casual_observer on 11-3-2007 at 4:57 pm
there is a liquor store in Terrell TX called “BOO’s”
posted by Skip on 11-4-2007 at 8:23 am
There’s a hair salon in Frederick, Maryland on Jefferson Street called “Jefferson Hairplane.”
posted by Jennifer on 11-4-2007 at 10:32 am
I used to work at a tennis store in Caldwell, NJ called “What a Racquet.” Great store, actually.
posted by Kelly on 11-4-2007 at 2:50 pm
I used to have my lawn care done by a company called Grass Kickers.
posted by Karen on 11-4-2007 at 3:29 pm
Down in south Florida, there used to be a Chinese take-out place called “Holy Chow”
posted by Meri on 11-4-2007 at 5:05 pm
Flower store in New Jersey: The Enchanted Florist
posted by DL on 11-4-2007 at 7:00 pm
The best sandwich shop in SF: Love and Haight, in Lower Haight, natch!
Hair salon in the East Village in NYC: Mo’Hair Salon.
Vegetarian restaurant in Greenwich Village in NYC: Sacred Chow.
posted by Anonymouse on 11-7-2007 at 3:12 pm
There is a hair salon near me called “Curl up and Dye”. Also a woodworking place called “Knot Just Trim”
posted by Jenny on 11-10-2007 at 8:31 pm
here near columbus, ohio, we have/had a mexican food place called “Nacho Mama’s”
posted by r on 11-11-2007 at 4:52 pm
There is a store in Melbourne called ‘Back To The Futon’
posted by dRRiveLLLL on 11-15-2007 at 11:43 am
A maternity shop in Southeast Asia called “In My Womb”
posted by Maggie on 2-28-2008 at 10:02 am