# Really unfortunate business names **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 3, 2001, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143 "2001-07-03T23:24:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![SolarPhallusMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@SolarPhallusMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolarPhallusMan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/81 "2001-07-07T02:04:36Z")
I went to Buffalo for the weekend with my boyfriend, where we passed a funeral home by the name of **Amigone**. Hmm. I’d say so. ---
**Author:** ![sheerah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8baadc/32.png) [@sheerah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sheerah)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/82 "2001-07-07T02:29:36Z")
A seafood restaurant on the Outer Banks of North Carolina–pretty popular, too— goes by the name “Dirty Dicks.” Billboards, hats, t-shirts all proclaim, “I got my crabs from Dirty Dicks.” (Without an apostrophe.) Another t-shirt the restaurant sells reads, “Never been to the Outer Banks? You obviously don’t know Dick!” I giggled. Frequently. ---
**Author:** ![geekbooks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@geekbooks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geekbooks)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/83 "2001-07-07T02:42:08Z")
worst name for a piece of software: “PublishIT” (a long dead desktop publishing package) best name for a butcher: Meat City (can’t beat our meat!) ---
**Author:** ![Erroneous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71c47a/32.png) [@Erroneous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erroneous)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/84 "2001-07-07T02:45:41Z")
The little syringe disposal bins in public toilet cubicles here in Melbourne are put there by **Sweeny Todd Biological Waste Disposal**. I see what they’re getting at with that name, but geez…I really hope they don’t open up a pastry-supply branch any time soon. Also, a while ago I saw a **John Thomas Delivery** truck. Yikes. Firstly, who names their kid ‘John Thomas’? And if you DID have that unfortunate name, would you really put it in your business name? ---
**Author:** ![Mobius74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@Mobius74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mobius74)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/85 "2001-07-07T03:09:11Z")
Not exactly what this thread is about, but close enough to qualify, I believe: Years ago, when I was young and dinosaurs roamed the earth, my father took me to Chicago to spend the day at the museums. Had a great time and didn’t leave until it was getting dark. On the way home that evening (along whatever expressway we were on) was a SHELL gas station with an absolutely HUGE sign in the company’s traditional red on yellow. These letters were probably in excess of 12 feet high and could be seen easily from a mile away. Only the last four were lit, perhaps to let everyone know where they were going. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/86 "2001-07-07T04:02:18Z")
In Fords, NJ on Amboy Avenue: An automotive-type place that I guess works on wheels and tires. The big sign hanging out front says “Call 1-800-RIM-JOBS”. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/87 "2001-07-07T04:24:03Z")
In Las Cruces, New Mexico, there’s a chain of gas stations with the unfortunate name **BAR-F**. Most of the locals I met didn’t get it – they just saw it for the cattle brand connotation. The Goo Goo Dolls wrote a song called **Amigone** , with the [http=“[http://www.adfconstruction.com/Latest\_News\_\_\_Projects/Recent\_Projects/amigone.htm](http://www.adfconstruction.com/Latest_News___Projects/Recent_Projects/amigone.htm)”]Buffalo funeral home chain as their inspiration. It’s a common Italian-American name in the Buffalo area. It’s supposedly pronounced like “Am-uh-gon,” but everyone just says “Am-eye-gone.” Unlike Las Cruces, folks in Buffalo understood. 🙂 I wonder about the company name you see on lots of tractor trailer mudflaps - **[Heil](http://www.heiltrailer.com)**. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/88 "2001-07-07T06:53:01Z")
Oh, yeah! How could I forget this one! Those ski racks, or whatever they are on top of cars that say, “Thule.” Uh, most people evidently don’t know that the Thule Society was tied (probably loosely) in with the Nazi’s in pre-war Germany! I always snicker when I see them mounted to a Volkswagen. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/89 "2001-07-07T09:48:17Z")
a door shop in dublin is called “knobs and knockers” but i think they now what they’re doing. ---
**Author:** ![choosybeggar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/90 "2001-07-07T10:01:18Z")
Went to med school with a young woman whose fiance’s sir name was Bills. In marriage, she kept her maiden name, refusing to become **Dr. Bills** PS In one hospital I worked in, the burn surgeon’s name is **Dr. Measles** ---
**Author:** ![blur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dbc845/32.png) [@blur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blur)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/91 "2001-07-07T14:30:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hajario \* > \*\* I used to live down the street from **Liquor Box**. > > Haj \*\* Hey, I live down the street from a **Liquor Box**. A few towns over from me is **Master Bait and Tackle** ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/92 "2001-07-07T14:48:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bibliophage \* > There used to be a restaurant in New London, Connecticut, called the **Hygienic Restaurant**. One of the coastal towns here in North Carolina has a **Sanitary Seafood** , which to me has just always seemed like setting the bar a little low. Rock Hill, South Carolina, used to (may still, don’t know, haven’t been down there in ages) have a Chinese restaurant called **Kit Chen’s Kitchen**. ---
**Author:** ![virtee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/dbc845/32.png) [@virtee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/virtee)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/93 "2001-07-07T17:40:10Z")
There’s a restaurant called **Phuket Thai** in San Francisco. I tried it just because of the name and, amazingly, they were pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/94 "2001-07-07T17:59:15Z")
Not a business name, but I saw a sign on a run-down motel back East that advertised that it was “Super clean! Great weekly rats!” Um Chuck, I’d like to buy a vowel… ---
**Author:** ![kirk280980](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c77e96/32.png) [@kirk280980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirk280980)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/95 "2001-07-07T23:58:56Z")
A friend of mine who visited Hong Kong took a snapshot of a business sign to show everyone back home. The company name? Fuk Hing Business Machines! Exactly what most people say when their computer crashes. Oh, and he took a pic of a restaurant called “Fanny”. Here in the UK, that does NOT mean someone’s butt. I remember, as a kid, going out for a day trip with the parents to somewhere out in the sticks. We stopped off at a little country store, which proudly displayed the owner’s name above the door. It read, “Proprietor: Mr G BASTARD”. It would have felt sorry for the guy, but I was too busy laughing. ---
**Author:** ![choosybeggar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2001, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/96 "2001-07-08T00:44:41Z")
A bar near where I grew up was called “Tushie’s.” Beneath the bar’s name on their sign was the subtext, “parking in rear.” ---
**Author:** ![seriousart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@seriousart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seriousart)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2001, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/97 "2001-07-08T03:52:37Z")
Here in Kansas City we have a comic book store called CLINTS right on Main St. See, the thing is, they choose a really bad font, and it’s all capital letters, so the letters get kinda smooshed together. Consequently, that L and I look more like a U. I almost got into an accident the first time I drove by. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2001, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/98 "2001-07-08T05:45:27Z")
In San Diego there is a funeral home called “Goodbody Mortuary”. There is also a “Bob Stall Chevrolet”. I’ve seen several places called “S&M”: a sandwich shop and an auto garage among others. “Happy Hookers” seems to be a somewhat common name among towing companies, too. I’ve never flown in or out of Los Angeles International Airport, but I wonder if it says “LAX Security” outside their security office? ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2001, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/99 "2001-07-08T17:37:53Z")
I hear ads on the radio in Dallas all the time for a local tax attorney. They begin with “Hello, I’m Attorney Benjamin Dover…” Who the HELL would name their kid Ben Dover??? Who the hell would grow up with that name, go through law school, and NOT CHANGE IT? I could never hire a lawyer named Ben Dover. Sorry. Not gonna happen. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2001, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143/100 "2001-07-08T17:46:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kilt-wearin’ man \* > \*\*Who the HELL would name their kid Ben Dover??? Who the hell would grow up with that name, go through law school, and NOT CHANGE IT? I could never hire a lawyer named Ben Dover. Sorry. Not gonna happen. \*\* To be honest, I’d rather have a lawyer named Ben Dover, than to have an **opponent** who had a lawyer named that! 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-business-names/71143.md?page=6)