Business names that drive me nuts
Recently, Mark's Amoco gas station at 1301 University Avenue was renamed to University Landing Strip gas station. What? Who came up with that name? Is this supposed to be some sort of parody of the University Station gas station at University Village? At least that building was built to somewhat resemble a train station. Calling a gas station University Station is kind of cute, but calling a gas station University Landing Strip is just bizarre.
Simply put, there are some local businesses around Grand Forks-East Grand Forks that make me stop and wonder just what exactly someone was smoking thinking when they came up with the business's name.
How about Trojan Promotions in downtown Grand Forks? A new visitor to our downtown might think we have a condom superstore right across from Town Square. Or what about People Barbers in the Grand Cities Mall? Why do they feel the need to point out that they "barber" people? What else would they be barbering? Monkeys? Then there's He/She's Salon...Grand Forks' own transsexual hair salon.
And we wonder why small businesses have a tendency to fail from time to time! What business names drive you nuts?
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can't think of any specific names, but i do have a pet peeve with a certain business on washington.
HOW LONG IS EIDE GOING TO LEAVE THEIR OVERHANG UNFINISHED. it is such an eyesore.
they just started redoing. cool it.
Maybe University Landing Strip is where UND female students get their pubic hair styled?
har har
p.s. I am from Grand Forks and I thought Trojan Promotions was a Trojan condom place. The font they use even looks the same.
University Landing Strip is now owned by Berger from Emerado. He owns Berger's Landing Strip, the Conoco station in Emerado. It is near the Air Force Base, get it? Landing strip - Air Force? Anyway, I guess he can always get two advertisements for the price of one since both gas stations have similar names.
Back on the name thing, I think what killed "Boston's", is that people started to notice that it wasn't "Boston's Gourmet Pizza", it's "Boston's THE Gourmet Pizza"
What is He/She's anyways? Is it just a haircutting place for anyone? That name has always bugged me when I drive by.
Boston's didn't get killed. They were made an offer they couldn't refuse...
You believe everything you read?
Not one that drives me nuts...but I always thought that Hitch and Go should sell their names to their neighbor up S. Washington...make the "moonlight wedding chappel" change their name to Hitch and Go...more descriptive, I would think!
What about "Golden Corral"? That name just screams "herd".
Re:Anonymous said...
You believe everything you read?
10:45 AM, September 28, 2008
...not from you.
what about the stupid name "loaf & jug"...to think someone actually got paid to come up with that one!
I prefer "Kum & Go", at least it gives ya a good chuckle ;)
Is Charlotte's Web diner still around?
@ 6:25
it died when winter came, its egg sac burst open releasing thousands of smaller restaurants with a bright future ahead of them. Several remained but didn't survive.
how about valley dairy? is there milk in those underground tanks?
When I first moved to GF the name "Valley Dairy" made no sense. I didn't realize you could get more than milk and gas there.
Valley Dairy! Hah! I didn't even know that they were a gas station for the longest time because the only one I knew about was the one on S. Wash near Taco Bell.
We never got gas anywhere, but Conoco (now Cenex) on S. Wash because my parents had intense customer loyalties.
I thought Valley Dairy was a milk shop and because my 4 year old mind hated milk, I thought it was the lamest place ever.
Valley Dairy was a dairy years ago.
The business evolved into a gas and C store.
"Valley Dairy! Hah! I didn't even know that they were a gas station for the longest time because the only one I knew about was the one on S. Wash near Taco Bell."
Maybe you needed to drive around the town a little more.
Regarding trojan promotions... compare:
http://www.trojanpromotions.com/
to:
http://www.trojancondoms.com/
Who can explain the meaning of "Weivoda Carpet Girl" to us?
Because the original owner was named Weivoda (Harold) and his wife(?) or daughter(?) did television commercials as the Carpet Girl.
Interesting. Do you know how long back the Carpet Girl commercials were?
Don't remember, but someone here might know.
Harold was known as TigervMan due to the Siberian tiger he raised behind the carpet girl store. I think the tiger died a few years ago. It had a large cage she shared with a poodle or some type of small dog.
So that explains the tiger picture on the billboard. Thanks for that info - the place has always been a mystery to me since I moved here.
I always liked the gas station/convenience store names that implied that they sold gas and snacks. Like "Food & Fuel" or "Tank and Tummy". But my all-time favorite is "Pump & Munch". No joke.
Let's not forget "Duds & Suds" !
Damn, I thougt that was a great idea...
What is a Toasted Frog? I asked the owner a couple of yrs. ago and he had no reason for the name other than sitting around one night the name came up and sounded catchy. It sounds totally contrived and corny imho.
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