# Restaurant decor **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 10, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229 "2006-06-10T19:30:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/1 "2006-06-10T19:30:29Z")
I have a question about restaurant décor. Places like TGI Fridays, Applebees, and Red Robin all have similar decors. Oldish looking pictures, old signs, and various odd things attached to the walls. Do they have companies that scour antique shops for these items, or is there a company that makes brand new Old stuff for the displays? If they buy brand new old stuff, does corporate have a road map that says put the Burma Shave sign next to the Tuba on the West wall, or do they just ship a box o shit to the store and say knock yourselves out. ---
**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:** [June 10, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/2 "2006-06-10T19:43:00Z")
Sooner or later, Cecil is going to answer all questions. He hasn’t done that yet, but he did answer [this](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/021115.html) one. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/3 "2006-06-10T19:45:48Z")
Cracker Barrel _claims_ the signs and such are all originals. They have a team scouring flea markets and the like. But I don’t believe that they all are. CB will do a mock setup at HQ for each new store. The re-arrange the signs and such until they are “just right”. Then they take pictures and note positions. The stuff is taken down and shipped to the new store where the signs are put up according to the plan. (Source: a newspaper article a few years ago.) It takes a lot of effort to fake being genuine. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/4 "2006-06-10T22:14:00Z")
It’s all about flair, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/5 "2006-06-10T22:30:02Z")
…and the obligatory Simpsons reference: [Moe Syzlak] If you like good food, good fun, and a whole lot of crazy crap on the walls, then come on down to Uncle Moe’s Family Feedbag. [/MS] ---
**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:** [June 10, 2006, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/6 "2006-06-10T22:40:39Z")
I still refer to those restaurants as “crap on the wall restaurants” after that Simpsons episode. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/7 "2006-06-10T23:15:16Z")
In my restaurant remodel work, one of the things I do is work with the people who got the junk, figuring out the best place to put it and how to secure it. The one couple I know seem to make a pretty good living at it. They scour flea markets, gagrage sales, junk yards, large trash day in major cities, and donated items from friends, acquaintances, and previous remodels. This is just one personal anecdote, tho. Don’t take it as gospel. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/8 "2006-06-11T02:41:15Z")
My dad is an antique lure and decoy dealer (side hobby) and he’s gotten some business from chain decorators. Not from restaurants, as it happens, but from a place like Banana Republic wanting 300 old canvas decoys for some themed display in some number of stores across the chain. I mention this because it makes it credible to me that the stuff is (or could be) authentic. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/9 "2006-06-11T02:51:40Z")
Give me a good cheeseburger and I’ll forgive just about _anything_ hanging on the walls. Then, and only then, I’ll crtiique the decor. 😉 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/10 "2006-06-11T15:42:59Z")
excuse the hijack, but I’ve just got to know: Are you “man george,” or “mange orge?” ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/11 "2006-06-11T16:02:33Z")
> [@KlondikeGeoff](#): > > excuse the hijack, but I’ve just got to know: > > Are you “man george,” or > > “mange orge?” I’m man george, compliments of an ex-girlfriend (20 yrs ago). I have no idea where it came from. She also called me “Jaws”. 😕 :dubious: Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/12 "2006-06-11T20:53:07Z")
Count me as one who doesn’t like this kind of decor. I remember when this style (junk decor) was in style-it was like being surrounded by junk. I remember one place-they had old skis, sleighd, musical instruments, etc., wired up to the ceiling! I find this stuff distracting-plus it gathers dusta nd cobwebs. I like the modern look, bare walls, a few nice pictures. Why people think this look is beyond me-it reminds me of a victorian house, full of gewgaws , vases, all with a doiley underneath. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/13 "2006-06-11T21:06:19Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Count me as one who doesn’t like this kind of decor. I remember when this style (junk decor) was in style-it was like being surrounded by junk. I remember one place-they had old skis, sleighd, musical instruments, etc., wired up to the ceiling! I find this stuff distracting-plus it gathers dusta nd cobwebs. I like the modern look, bare walls, a few nice pictures. Why people think this look is beyond me-it reminds me of a victorian house, full of gewgaws , vases, all with a doiley underneath. Aha, like from Ikea! ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/14 "2006-06-11T21:08:32Z")
Yeah, well, authentic or not, when you’re in one of those places, since they’re so cookie cutter and contrived, you might be Anywhere, USA, and that’s my beef with the whole idea. It’s bad enough that when you drive down a street in just about any city, it looks pretty much like any other city, lined with Pizza Huts, Burger Kings, and all manner of franchises. And then, when you get inside one, it looks exactly like all the others, thanks to the boys at the warehouse who have put up the plan on a faux wall, taken pictures, and then sent all the stuff, plus the picture to the sheep at the store to reproduce for us customers. Where IS the individuality? Everybody repeat after me: “I can think for myself.” ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/15 "2006-06-11T21:12:18Z")
Crazy crap on the walls doesn’t bother me too much. When that crazy crap on the wall periodically flails around while ‘singing’ recorded crap music, I start to get perturbed. Those of you who have eaten at a Bugaboo Creek know what I’m talking about. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/16 "2006-06-11T21:22:27Z")
Individuals get to play Whack-A-Mole, as the moles. I know! Or do you mean _conforming_ individuals. :dubious: Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/17 "2006-06-12T00:16:07Z")
There is a Friday’s restaurant here in Bogotá, Colombia and they have the same stuff on the walls that they have in all the Friday’s restaurants in Miami and other place. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/18 "2006-06-12T00:18:35Z")
> [@robcaro](#): > > other place. That should have been “other places.” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/19 "2006-06-12T00:30:30Z")
> [@robcaro](#): > > There is a Friday’s restaurant here in Bogotá, Colombia and they have the same stuff on the walls that they have in all the Friday’s restaurants in Miami and other place. Same here in Panama. That stuff must be shipped from the US. ---
**Author:** ![Caractacus\_Pott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Caractacus\_Pott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caractacus_Pott)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229/20 "2006-06-12T03:38:47Z")
> [@Scruloose](#): > > \Those of you who have eaten at a Bugaboo Creek know what I’m talking about. [slight hijack] Who thought “Bugaboo Creek” would be an appealing name for a restaurant? Am I the only one who thinks of a place swarming with mosquitoes and creepy-crawlies? **Scruloose** , do they supply complimentary Deep Woods Off? Maybe I should start a new thread on unappetizing restaurant names. [/slight hijack] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-decor/360229.md?page=2)