Fall Mantle

Jim asked

Stinky's Restaurant

My brother in law is an expert in marketing.  Among other things I have learned from Corey is that real estate developers hire marketing firms to name new subdivisions and the streets in them. I hate anything contrived. You can immediately recognize a contrived name for such developments because there’s an “at” or “on” thrown in there for no apparent reason. Included in this concept are names such as The Golf Homes at Eagle Point, Kingsmill on the James, etc.  My brother refers to all such developments in generic fashion as being called, “Pretentions at Broken Wind.”

This is how we end up with street names these days such as Balmoral Trace, Winster Fax, The Cool Amber Forest, Leatherstocking Lane, and Tarleton Bivouac, my personal favorite for ordering delivery from Domino’s.  Try relaying that street name to someone who dropped out of high school.  Tarleton Bivouac is an unfortunate address for residents in the Williamsburg area of Virginia off Route 60.  Another favorite I ran across last year In Virginia was “Narvel Blackstock Lane, “ Narvel being the husband and manager of country star Reba McEntire and thus needing his own personal street.

I have lived on some streets with lovely names which emerged organically, rather than from the fertile mind of a marketer.  Knollwood Road, Wind Road, McKeen Place, Burnside Avenue, the generic Main Street. Mill Pond Road, Kohr Road, West End Avenue (New York City), Center Drive, Adrian Street, and my current Constitution Avenue, all strong names which just came about rather than being planned to match with other names in the area.  

Now to be fair, there are those really unfortunately named streets which did just occur naturally.  A few of them are in the Norfolk area; Quarantine and Omohundro (sounds like a name for the Hunchback of Notre Dame’s uglier brother) Streets, as well as Pleasure House Road in Virginia Beach. And yes, it is named after just what you think.  This seems problematic for Bayside Baptist Church which is located there.   I always wonder what the Southern Baptist Convention thinks about that!

All this brings me to Stinky’s, pictured above.  I think Stinky’s really needed a marketing name developer or whatever you call them.  I’m not sure what is worse, the name which seems to question either the hygiene or the cooking skill of the owner, or the skunk logo, which brings to mind a really noxious odor.  Please also note the yellow Stinky-mobile in the pic which is for catering.  All I could say when I saw this diner in the Grafton neighborhood of Yorktown, Virginia was, “Seriously?”

I think they must be related to the owners of another diner, located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina which is called, “Eat and Get the Hell Out.”  Seriously.