# Bad Business Names **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 3, 2007, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609 "2007-05-03T14:04:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/41 "2007-05-03T20:03:11Z")
tdn: > [@](#): > > There’s something about a restaurant called Shalom Hunan that cracks me up. Why? Is there a better way to convey “Kosher Chinese”? ---
**Author:** ![rhythmonly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@rhythmonly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhythmonly)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/42 "2007-05-03T20:06:42Z")
There was a liquor store awhile back called Satan’s Spirits. They had a card room in the back. Yes, they had T-Shirts. Yes, the shirts read “Liquor in the front; Poker in the rear”. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/43 "2007-05-03T20:40:28Z")
> [@](#): > > Why? Is there a better way to convey “Kosher Chinese”? Well, there’s a place in Toronto called **Ginzberg and Wong’s** … ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/44 "2007-05-03T20:54:46Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Well, there’s a place in Toronto called **Ginzberg and Wong’s** … [/QUOTE] And after you go there, you can get a massage at Sutherland-Chan. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/45 "2007-05-03T22:11:54Z")
[QUOTE=Terrorcotta] S & M Auto Repair. Always makes me wonder… [/QUOTE] There used to be a **T & A Cafe** in downtown Boise, but I don’t think it’s there anymore. There is no listing for them in the online telephone directory, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![el\_nombre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9dc877/32.png) [@el\_nombre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/el_nombre)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/46 "2007-05-03T22:22:01Z")
Here in Vegas there’s a Hotel/Casino plus about 50 gas station called **Terrible’s**. I know a guy from out of town who always mistakes it for Horrible’s. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/47 "2007-05-03T22:56:16Z")
> [@Smitty](#): > > The definition of “reliant” is having or showing dependence. In other words, NOT dependable in and of itself! Could be part of an increasing trend in American English where the “direction” of adjectives is reversed. For example, I recently heard someone say that she was “gracious enough” to have a loving family and a nice house in a good neighborhood. Made my skin crawl, but language is fluid, American English especially. As to the OP: How about the **A** uto **S** ervice **S** tation, with a huge sign where the first letter of each word is big and red? Can’t remember whether I saw this in Clairemont (neighborhood of San Diego I hardly go to anymore), Bowie, MD or Norfolk, VA. Though not in and of itself a terrible name, a number of businesses in Santee and El Cajon (San Diego suburbs) are called “Cottonwood”, and given the substantial white-power presence in the area I can’t help but think of Peckerwoods when I see it. > [@el\_nombre](#): > > Here in Vegas there’s a Hotel/Casino plus about 50 gas station called Terrible’s. Having stayed there, I can assure you that its name is a proper warning. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/48 "2007-05-03T23:52:18Z")
For years there was a strip shopping center nearby that featured **Linoleum Dick’s** , a flooring contractor/retailer. The apostrophe was apparently stolen as soon as the sign went up, so it was just Linoleum Dicks. At some point the shopping center was remodeled and a new sign put up. This one displayed “Dick’s Linoleum”. People complained, and they actually changed the sign back. It’s gone now, and that stretch of Bascom Avenue just is not the same. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/49 "2007-05-04T00:02:13Z")
This is obviously one of those intentional corny ones, but there used to be a greengrocer opposite a cemetery in Southampton. The name of the shop was ‘The Melon Cauli’. Also, there’s a Fish & Chip shop near me called ‘The Codfather’ ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/50 "2007-05-04T00:36:58Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] You haven’t laughed until the first time you see one of [these guys’](http://www.schwing.com/) telescoping concrete pumps standing at a 45 degree angle, 25 feet in the air. [/QUOTE] And the other big manufacturer of concrete pumper trucks is Putzmeister, which is amusing in its own way. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/51 "2007-05-04T03:42:31Z")
Years ago in Hackensack, NJ, I drove past Abrasive Consultants, Inc. But they don’t hardly have anything on [Blase Manufacturing](http://blasemfg.com/), of Stratford, CT. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/52 "2007-05-04T03:59:03Z")
It probably wouldn’t be a good name for a lawn service anywhere else, but…several of the hockey players from our local SPHL team have decided to stay here in Columbus and work during the summer. They have started a company to do lawn maintainance. The name of the hockey team is the Columbus Cottonmouths, nicknamed the Snakes. They are calling their lawn service “Snakes in the Grass”. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/53 "2007-05-04T04:02:10Z")
[QUOTE=Max Torque] My cable company just changed its name to “SuddenLink”. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I associate “sudden” things with unexpected and unpleasant things. As in, “Suddenly, the wolves sprang, rending Hubert limb from limb,” or, “I was minding my own business, when suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and I noticed my intestines were not where I normally keep them.” I don’t want “sudden” cable service. Cheap, reliable, yes, but not “sudden”. [/QUOTE] I was in Seattle and noticed a Kinko’s-type chain. It was called “Sudden Printing.” I had the exact same reaction you did… “Suddenly, twenty reams of 20 weight paper fell on my crotch.” Every South and Central Texan shops at H.E.B. It’s a lot better than its first name, the [C.C. Butt Grocery Store](http://heb.com/aboutHEB/history.jsp). ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/54 "2007-05-04T04:35:12Z")
For an interesting combination of cuisines, there’s a restaurant in Augusta, GA called _Malley’s Bagels 'n Grits_. The bagels are excellent, and the grits are fabulous! But I certainly was taken aback by the name the first time I saw it. There’s also a chain of restaurants there with the annoying and cutesy name of _Wifesaver_. Har de har har. The most unintentionally humorous business names are some I saw in Japan. The popular windsurfing equipment company, whose name is emblazoned (in English) on signs all over Kyushu? _Break Wind_. And for hilarity, _nothing_ can beat the delivery company whose trucks bear, in English lettering three feet high, their name: _Lapid Expless_. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/55 "2007-05-04T05:16:11Z")
Justin Case Auto Repair. Not sure if it is a pun or the guys real name. My favorite fish store in Miami was “Some Things Fishy.” While often times it is brought up as a joke, there is a urologist in town named Dr. Cockburn. Evidently, there are several according to a Google search. Pirhana Plumbing doesn’t really inspire me to call them. The thought of a school of pirhana living in my toilet scares the bejeebus out of me. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/56 "2007-05-04T06:20:46Z")
[QUOTE=rhythmonly] There was a liquor store awhile back called Satan’s Spirits. They had a card room in the back. Yes, they had T-Shirts. Yes, the shirts read “Liquor in the front; Poker in the rear”. [/QUOTE] When I lived in Denver, I often drove past a bar called **Liquor Box**. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Manatee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/50afbb/32.png) [@Manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manatee)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/57 "2007-05-04T06:50:20Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Well, there’s a place in Toronto called **Ginzberg and Wong’s** … [/QUOTE] We used to have a place near us called Chow’s Kosherama. ---
**Author:** ![bartleby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bartleby/32/10491_2.png) [@bartleby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bartleby)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/58 "2007-05-04T15:44:26Z")
My favorite was a hole-in-the-wall Chinese place in NYC when i lived there briefly, it was called Soon-Fat, that got changed pretty quickly… Here in town we have Butt Construction. Makes my wife laugh every time she sees it. I’ve also seen some car dealers here with some unfortunate names… can’t bring any to mind at the moment though. -d ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/59 "2007-05-04T16:15:25Z")
There was a firm in Sydney, back in the 90s, called ANALGAS. I have no idea who or what they were, but they were in the telephone book. Around the same time, there was a scrap metal mob called AUSSCRAP. C’mon, that second ‘S’ doesn’t help, guys. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609/60 "2007-05-04T16:47:29Z")
-chinese restaurant in Cambrdge, MA : “PU-PU HOT POT”! -funeral home in missouri : "Crummy " Funeral Home -town in Oregon: “BORING” Oregon! I wonder what the town slogan is? -Have fun in Boring? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-business-names/402609.md?page=4)