# Restaurants Cutting Off Customers Neckties with Scissors **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 18, 2015, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988 "2015-10-18T10:16:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/1 "2015-10-18T10:16:30Z")
Was this ever a real thing? I recall hearing about such places back in the 1970s. The idea was that such restaurants were supposed to be laid-back with zero tolerance for any kind of formal wear, and if anyone dared show up wearing a necktie, it would get snipped off at the door. But I never actually encountered such a place, and it seems to me that would leave the business open to all sorts of lawsuits. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/2 "2015-10-18T10:32:29Z")
The closest I’ve heard of is people doing it as a shitty practical joke. A restaurant doing it for the reason you describe would be even stupider - “laid-back” and “destructively hostile to formal wear” are obviously mutually exclusive. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/3 "2015-10-18T11:08:10Z")
Well, I remember going to the Trail Dust Steak House in Dallas as a teenager. I remember seeing a whole collection of ties pinned up on the wall. Can’t say I ever actually saw them cut one off. But then again, I think I’ve only been there one or two times. ETA: This was back in the mid 80’s don’t even know if the place is still around or not. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/4 "2015-10-18T11:25:46Z")
Yeah, it was even part of Trail Dust’s sign: [http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2009/1229/20091229\_\_cdtraildust\_JP010~p1.jpg](http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2009/1229/20091229__cdtraildust_JP010~p1.jpg) A google image search has a few images of people getting their ties cut. [https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1807&bih=1040&q=trail+dust+steakhouse&oq=trail+dust+st&gs\_l=img.3.0.0l2j0i30l3j0i24l5.1066.3071.0.4511.13.12.0.0.0.0.297.1314.0j7j2.9.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..4.9.1312.i4t2AAOzpW4](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1807&bih=1040&q=trail+dust+steakhouse&oq=trail+dust+st&gs_l=img.3.0.0l2j0i30l3j0i24l5.1066.3071.0.4511.13.12.0.0.0.0.297.1314.0j7j2.9.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..4.9.1312.i4t2AAOzpW4) (There’s also a shot of the building getting demoed, so I’m assuming it’s not there now. That area of 35 (formerly known as “Restaurant Row”) has changed quite a bit since the 80s.) ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/5 "2015-10-18T11:39:23Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > Yeah, it was even part of Trail Dust’s sign: [http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2009/1229/20091229\_\_cdtraildust\_JP010~p1.jpg](http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2009/1229/20091229__cdtraildust_JP010~p1.jpg) > > A google image search has a few images of people getting their ties cut. > > [trail dust steakhouse - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1807&bih=1040&q=trail+dust+steakhouse&oq=trail+dust+st&gs_l=img.3.0.0l2j0i30l3j0i24l5.1066.3071.0.4511.13.12.0.0.0.0.297.1314.0j7j2.9.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..4.9.1312.i4t2AAOzpW4) > > (There’s also a shot of the building getting demoed, so I’m assuming it’s not there now. That area of 35 (formerly known as “Restaurant Row”) has changed quite a bit since the 80s.) LOL. That place looked like it was just begging for a lawsuit. They had a giant slide that was comically set right next to the bar. Check these guys out in action. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_FolwUiBSB4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FolwUiBSB4) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/6 "2015-10-18T12:21:08Z")
I’m guessing that they publicized it enough that almost all of the people wearing ties there were doing so deliberately with the intention of getting them cut off, and that the ~1% of tie-wearers who didn’t realize what was going to happen were given the choice to just take it off and put it in their pocket. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/7 "2015-10-18T13:03:26Z")
Went to an outdoor cowboy banquet kind of thing in Arizona. We all got on a bus at the hotel, and on the bus they handed out ties to everyone. When we got there they had a couple of people cutting the ties off as you got off the bus. Wow! That was exciting, putting on a cheap novelty tie for a few minutes so some really bored people wearing cowboy outfits could cut the ties off. Anyway, whenever I’ve heard of these places it’s always a gimmick like that, people wearing the ties just to get them cut off. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/8 "2015-10-18T13:05:20Z")
[Pinnacle Peak](http://www.pinnaclepeaksteakhouse.com/No_Ties_Allowed.html) restaurants in SoCal do this. You’re given plenty of notice about the ties, as I recall, so anyone getting a tie cut off has worn one on purpose. They used to hang up the cut ties in the restaurant. I don’t know if they still do this. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/9 "2015-10-18T13:28:49Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > Yeah, it was even part of Trail Dust’s sign: [http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2009/1229/20091229\_\_cdtraildust\_JP010~p1.jpg](http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2009/1229/20091229__cdtraildust_JP010~p1.jpg) > > A google image search has a few images of people getting their ties cut. > > [trail dust steakhouse - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1807&bih=1040&q=trail+dust+steakhouse&oq=trail+dust+st&gs_l=img.3.0.0l2j0i30l3j0i24l5.1066.3071.0.4511.13.12.0.0.0.0.297.1314.0j7j2.9.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..4.9.1312.i4t2AAOzpW4) > > (There’s also a shot of the building getting demoed, so I’m assuming it’s not there now. That area of 35 (formerly known as “Restaurant Row”) has changed quite a bit since the 80s.) I went there a few times, but never wearing a tie. And that area’s all expensive strip clubs now, yes? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/10 "2015-10-18T13:57:37Z")
Thanks for the replies. So it sounds like it was a real thing but jokey at the same time, and no one really got their favorite lucky tie snipped off against their will. That makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/11 "2015-10-18T14:39:19Z")
From what I remember of 1970s neckties, cutting them off patrons would only improve the necktie. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/12 "2015-10-18T15:05:56Z")
> [@Cheez\_Whia](#): > > [Pinnacle Peak](http://www.pinnaclepeaksteakhouse.com/No_Ties_Allowed.html) restaurants in SoCal do this. You’re given plenty of notice about the ties, as I recall, so anyone getting a tie cut off has worn one on purpose. They used to hang up the cut ties in the restaurant. I don’t know if they still do this. What happens if I show up wearing a bow tie? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/13 "2015-10-18T15:17:58Z")
They still cut it. There’s a Pinnacle Peak about 15 miles from here that used to be one of my standard dating restaurants. If you were wearing a tie to the table, it was going to get cut off. The hostess \*specifically \*tells you that when you are seated, and asks if you are OK with it. If not, you get a chance to remove the tie. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/14 "2015-10-18T15:54:12Z")
> [@Cheez\_Whia](#): > > [Pinnacle Peak](http://www.pinnaclepeaksteakhouse.com/No_Ties_Allowed.html) restaurants in SoCal do this. You’re given plenty of notice about the ties, as I recall, so anyone getting a tie cut off has worn one on purpose. They used to hang up the cut ties in the restaurant. I don’t know if they still do this. The one in Garden Grove has been closed for quite a few years, but after hearing about it from my brother-in-law, I went in with my least-favorite tie to have it executed. This was in 1991. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/15 "2015-10-18T16:06:39Z")
There is a day in the year in Germany when this happens, but I don’t know what it’s called. I do remember some really pissed off diplomats who lost expensive silk ties because of ignorance of the custom. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/16 "2015-10-18T16:06:50Z")
> [@Cheez\_Whia](#): > > [Pinnacle Peak](http://www.pinnaclepeaksteakhouse.com/No_Ties_Allowed.html) restaurants in SoCal do this. You’re given plenty of notice about the ties, as I recall, so anyone getting a tie cut off has worn one on purpose. They used to hang up the cut ties in the restaurant. I don’t know if they still do this. Jesus, what a lame gimmick. There website is all braggy about “unsuspecting” people having their ties cut. As if that ever happened. It would be a good side business to buy up ties from thrift stores for a couple of bucks each and sell them to doofuses for ten dollars so they can have the opportunity for a hilarious Instagram selfie. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/17 "2015-10-18T16:14:45Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Jesus, what a lame gimmick. There website is all braggy about “unsuspecting” people having their ties cut. As if that ever happened. It would be a good side business to buy up ties from thrift stores for a couple of bucks each and sell them to doofuses for ten dollars so they can have the opportunity for a hilarious Instagram selfie. Ugh. Their\* ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/18 "2015-10-18T17:20:23Z")
Patrons at Pinnacle Peak are hardly “unsuspecting.” ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/19 "2015-10-18T17:27:15Z")
WTF! The OP posted a thread and has no links for it and not one damn insult ! So I can post my damn threads any way I want to and not get any insults! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988/20 "2015-10-18T17:40:46Z")
I wouldn’t count on that if I were you. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-cutting-off-customers-neckties-with-scissors/734988.md?page=2)