# Strangest business combinations you've ever seen **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 15, 2015, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627 "2015-11-15T13:16:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/41 "2015-11-16T00:12:46Z")
> [@missred](#): > > I just thought of another. Aa boyfriend and I went up to the mountains a few years ago and stopped at a military surplus store. Roaming around we found a curtained off back room that was limited to 21 and up. It was an adult toystore. “Hey man, you see these condoms on the ground? They’re used, man! USED!” ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/42 "2015-11-16T00:40:34Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Not sure if this counts but I got a speeding ticket in a rural county of North Texas one time. When I went to pay the ticket, I discovered the court was in a filling station. The judge was out there pumping gas! Somewhere in VA, the judge swapped robes - white barber’s robe for a black judicial one. > [@Shoeless](#): > > I’ve seen ads on TV for some personal injury lawyer who is also a doctor. It’s not clear from the ads though whether he practices law and medicine out of the same office. The proctologist & psychiatrist who went into business together - Called their practice Odds & Ends. Grabs own shirt collar & bumrushes self out the door ---
**Author:** ![Nefario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/59ef9b/32.png) [@Nefario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nefario)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/43 "2015-11-16T02:21:42Z")
In the 80’s in Lexington KY there was bar with a open archway in the shared wall to a large hardware store next door. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/44 "2015-11-16T02:27:33Z")
My current eye doctor’s office is half optometrist office/half hair salon. It’s a bit odd. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/45 "2015-11-16T02:44:27Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Somewhere in this state exists a hardware/pet store. A ferreteria? 😉 (hardware store in Spanish, not for ferrets!) ---
**Author:** ![Timetrvlr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Timetrvlr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timetrvlr)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/46 "2015-11-16T04:45:57Z")
Recently, in our small town, “Andre’s Electronic Experts” built a large new building. I supposed they would sell electronics and they do, TV’s, sound equipment, and large appliances. That only uses part of the building, the rest is devoted to"Andre’s Carwash", two self-serve bays and two automatic carwash bays. and one vacant storefront that is for rent. This is not a mom and pop business but a chain that operates in many western Canada cities. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/47 "2015-11-16T04:51:02Z")
Slightly off topic: I once drove past a strip mall in the L.A. area, where the back of the stores faced the highway and, while I’m sure the front of the mall had distinctive signage, the side facing the highway had short signs describing each business generically. The upshot was two signs abutting each other, in the same typeface: “Mexican Food Cleaners” ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/48 "2015-11-16T05:00:11Z")
Up until recently, in Milwaukee, we had a store that did video rental _and tanning_. My guess was always that the owner was one of those people that probably sold a little bit of everything and got a good deal on a tanning bed. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/49 "2015-11-16T05:41:43Z")
Like the OP, I used to work at a motorcycle shop that had a junk-mail printing/mailing business in the back. It actually made more money than the franchise motorcycle dealer! I can tell you about a place that does exotic livestock, microbrew, novelty hosiery and foreign car service, but the name escapes me just now… ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/50 "2015-11-16T10:52:19Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I’ve seen ads on TV for some personal injury lawyer who is also a doctor. It’s not clear from the ads though whether he practices law and medicine out of the same office. [Realtor/dentist/birther lawyer Orly Taitz.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orly_Taitz) I’m from West Virginia, where a friend was once associated with a preacher whose church was housed in a filling station, which also housed a religious radio station. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/51 "2015-11-16T14:56:03Z")
[Checkpoint Charlie’s](http://www.nola.com/bar-guide/index.ssf/2011/07/checkpoint_charlies.html), [Igor’s Lounge](http://www.yelp.com/biz/igors-lounge-and-game-room-new-orleans), and [Igor’s Buddha Belly](http://www.yelp.com/biz/igors-buddha-belly-bar-and-grill-new-orleans) are all combo bar/laundromats in New Orleans, although I kinda think it’s a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/52 "2015-11-16T17:15:39Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Up until recently, in Milwaukee, we had a store that did video rental _and tanning_. My guess was always that the owner was one of those people that probably sold a little bit of everything and got a good deal on a tanning bed. There have been a lot of those over the years. Not sure why. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/53 "2015-11-16T17:17:00Z")
Now that I think about it, there’s a little hole in the wall antique store in my town that doubles as a flooring store. Not sure how much of each they do, but apparently it’s been in business for several generations, one way or another. ---
**Author:** ![Alpheidae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Alpheidae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpheidae)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/54 "2015-11-16T17:48:02Z")
One of my customers is a tax preparation business… that also sells high-end luxury French soaps. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/55 "2015-11-16T18:00:38Z")
Military surplus store and art gallery. ---
**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:** [November 16, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/56 "2015-11-16T18:05:16Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Up until recently, in Milwaukee, we had a store that did video rental _and tanning_. My guess was always that the owner was one of those people that probably sold a little bit of everything and got a good deal on a tanning bed. That has always been par for the course for the Captain Video chain around here. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/57 "2015-11-16T18:11:03Z")
Wine kits and wine making supplies are often sold by florists, for some reason. I’ve been to [Smoke n’ Guns](http://smokengunsoakmont.com/). They sell cigars and have a cigar/coffee bar, plus they sell guns and ammunition. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/58 "2015-11-16T18:20:31Z")
After all these years, this one still cracks me up. Near my high school there was a combo bait shop and pancake house called, Bait and Cakes. Call me crazy, but I never was tempted to eat there. In what I thought was a genius move, at the time that tanning salons were all the rage, a local laundromat chain put tanning booths in all of their locations. You have a captive audience, largely female, who have nothing to do while they wait for their clothes to spin round and round. Plus the demographic wasn’t necessarily one that was overly concerned about the side effects of tanning. Once the tanning thing started to die out, they replaced the tanning booths with manicure/pedicure stations. Everyone was happy and the places were making money like crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/59 "2015-11-16T18:33:59Z")
A few years ago, out in the middle of nowhere and with a hungry family to feed, I pulled in to the first restaurant I saw. It was a BBQ place/antique store/towing service. The BBQ was some of the best I’ve ever had and the antique store had some cool stuff. Fortunately, I did not have to try the towing service. I’m sure it was top notch! ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627/60 "2015-11-16T18:56:16Z")
There is a bicycle shop in Albuquerque that has one counter-case filled with reloading supplies. I worked for a guy that was in the water utility equipment business, and also operated a gravel pit. One day the gravel pit guy had an emergency, so I took a day off from my engineering/programming work, and wrote tickets in the scale house. At an computer/electronics company I worked for the president added up the commissions he was paying travel agents, and bought up a failing travel agency, so we were an engineer, build to spec electronics company, and a travel agency. The electronics end of the company went through a couple acquisitions, but I still occasionally hear radio ads for the travel agency. I got my first FAA flight physical from an oncologist. She said she loved doing the flight physicals as a sideline because they were the only patients she had that were not either dying or in fear of dying in the near future. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-business-combinations-youve-ever-seen/737627.md?page=4)