# Is there a name for this kind of restaurant decor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 24, 2014, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069 "2014-02-24T05:43:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/1 "2014-02-24T05:43:49Z")
The kind you see at Bennigan’s, Ruby Tuesday’s, Chili’s, etc., that kinda franchise-restaurant (is there a name for **that?),** all kinds of pictures on the wall and sometimes other things on the wall and faux-nostalgia and things, all apparently designed and planned in the corporate central office. ---
**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:** [February 24, 2014, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/2 "2014-02-24T05:50:39Z")
In the words of Moe Szyslak, they are “crazy crap on the wall” restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/3 "2014-02-24T07:36:50Z")
Flair? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/4 "2014-02-24T07:44:48Z")
If it doesn’t already have a name, we can give it one now: _pastiche americana_ ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/5 "2014-02-24T07:49:36Z")
I’ve no idea what such stated decor looks like, not being American; but I was told by one that there are vast warehouses where the discerning incipient restauranteur can go to stock up on ready-made fake antiques for his venture. ---
**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:** [February 24, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/6 "2014-02-24T15:12:43Z")
Dave Barry said it was “Kind of Rustic or Something” – the typical décor of Twelve Proctologists in Search of a Tax Shelter (his no-nonsense name for such places) was, he said, “as if someone with telekinetic powers like Carrie had gone insane in an antiques store or garage sale, and ended up embedding old farm equipment and bits of nostalgia in the walls.” ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/7 "2014-02-24T15:34:57Z")
I worked at a new Chili’s when I was in my 20s. A team from corporate came out with a truckload of that stuff to put it up on the walls before we opened. I call it faux Americana. ---
**Author:** ![orderfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orderfire/32/10908_2.png) [@orderfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orderfire)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/8 "2014-02-24T15:44:50Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I worked at a new Chili’s when I was in my 20s. A team from corporate came out with a truckload of that stuff to put it up on the walls before we opened. I call it faux Americana. Fauxmericana? ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/9 "2014-02-24T17:03:20Z")
Kitsch. Or rather ersatz kitsch. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/10 "2014-02-24T17:13:32Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > I’ve no idea what such stated decor looks like, not being American Here are a few good example pictures: [![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q5EWL-2YQOY/TTL7gh9fZYI/AAAAAAAABrA/WJKQTkLjcmc/s1600/DSC_0029.JPG) ](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q5EWL-2YQOY/TTL7gh9fZYI/AAAAAAAABrA/WJKQTkLjcmc/s1600/DSC_0029.JPG) [![](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4068/4439799206_25d1b6878e_o.jpg) ](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4068/4439799206_25d1b6878e_o.jpg) [https://pitchenginelive.blob.core.windows.net/dev/7bccfacc-c8eb-42d9-94c7-b4f1cbb515d5/6097f96f-0d12-435a-88e4-a3901eb057e1\_lc.jpeg](https://pitchenginelive.blob.core.windows.net/dev/7bccfacc-c8eb-42d9-94c7-b4f1cbb515d5/6097f96f-0d12-435a-88e4-a3901eb057e1_lc.jpeg) The first two are from TGI Fridays; the third is from an Applebee’s, which tends to at least have a thematic unity to what they place where on the walls (disclosure: I used to have Applebee’s as a client, when I worked in advertising). > [@Claverhouse](#): > > but I was told by one that there are vast warehouses where the discerning incipient restauranteur can go to stock up on ready-made fake antiques for his venture. This, I have heard, as well, though I suspect that the larger chains have their own warehouses, or make the stuff themselves. For example, you see a lot of the exact same stuff on the wall at any TGI Fridays that you might visit. ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/11 "2014-02-24T17:13:47Z")
Don’t say [ersatz](http://www.geoex.com/blog/2012/10/conversation-ruth-reichl). All that stuff is genuine kitsch! ---
**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:** [February 24, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/12 "2014-02-24T17:22:06Z")
Cecil Adams on “[Where do chain restaurants get their antiques?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2424/where-do-chain-restaurants-get-their-antiques)” (The answer for Cracker Barrel, at least, is its own warehouse, stocked with stuff from antique dealers around the country.) ---
**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:** [February 24, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/13 "2014-02-24T17:42:06Z")
In case anyone is curious _why_ the restaurants do this, [here](http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/13/business/business-sifting-through-junk-in-search-of-dining-ambience.html)’s an article, about eleven years old, about it. The article says that the restaurants do it for the entertainment value, for the visual stimulation and to spark conversations among the customers. Also, it’s meant to give the impression that the restaurant is American and authentic (although it seems to me that seeing the same crap in every location of a restaurant chain is the _opposite_ of authentic). And as shown in one of **kenobi 65** ’s examples above, Applebee’s makes a point of having local memorabilia. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/14 "2014-02-24T17:49:05Z")
I think Ruby Tuesday’s has gotten away from this look over the past couple of years. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/15 "2014-02-24T17:50:15Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > In the words of Moe Szyslak, they are “crazy crap on the wall” restaurants. YUPPIE: Hey, this isn’t faux dive! It’s just a dive! MOE: You’re a long way from home. I’ll start ya a tab. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/16 "2014-02-24T18:46:42Z")
Early American yard sale. **Dewey** , I have a couple of friends who work for Crackerbarrel’s antique warehouse (I live ~ 3 miles from CB hq) and it’s exactly like Cecil’s column says. Some of the locals have been known to dabble in the buying and selling if kitch as a sideline. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/17 "2014-02-24T18:47:52Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Claverhouse](#): > > > > I’ve no idea what such stated decor looks like, not being American. > > Here are a few good example pictures: > > [http://2.bp.blogspot.com/\_Q5EWL-2YQOY/TTL7gh9fZYI/AAAAAAAABrA/WJKQTkLjcmc/s1600/DSC\_0029.JPG](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q5EWL-2YQOY/TTL7gh9fZYI/AAAAAAAABrA/WJKQTkLjcmc/s1600/DSC_0029.JPG) > > [http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4068/4439799206\_25d1b6878e\_o.jpg](http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4068/4439799206_25d1b6878e_o.jpg) > > [https://pitchenginelive.blob.core.windows.net/dev/7bccfacc-c8eb-42d9-94c7-b4f1cbb515d5/6097f96f-0d12-435a-88e4-a3901eb057e1\_lc.jpeg](https://pitchenginelive.blob.core.windows.net/dev/7bccfacc-c8eb-42d9-94c7-b4f1cbb515d5/6097f96f-0d12-435a-88e4-a3901eb057e1_lc.jpeg) Eek ! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/18 "2014-02-24T19:35:58Z")
Is there a name for the Bennigan’s/Applebee’s/Chili’s kinda chain restaurant? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/19 "2014-02-24T19:39:14Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Is there a name for the Bennigan’s/Applebee’s/Chili’s kinda chain restaurant? [Casual Dining](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_casual_dining_restaurant_chains) Although those specifically fall under American/Bar & Grill ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069/20 "2014-02-24T19:40:16Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > In the words of Moe Szyslak, they are “crazy crap on the wall” restaurants. > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > YUPPIE: Hey, this isn’t faux dive! It’s just a dive! > > MOE: You’re a long way from home. I’ll start ya a tab. Dr. Hibbert: “Alright, where would you kids like to eat tonight?” Kid1: “The Spaghetti Laboratory!” Kid2: “Face Stuffers!” Kid3: “Professor P.J. Cornucopia’s Fantastic Foodmagorium and Great American Steakery!” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-restaurant-decor/682069.md?page=2)