But I don’t do it because they probably disabled the drive-thru and because I’m a follow the rules kind of guy and I’m pretty sure that would violate somebody’s rule.
An Old Dunkin’ Donuts building sits next to the old Taco Bell. It’s a Subway now. I stop there for lunch a few times a month, but it’ll never really be a Subway. It’s a Duncan Donuts that just so happens to serve foot long oven roasted chicken sandwiches on Italian.
On that same street, about a block away, an old Big Boy restaurant has been converted into a Pizza Hut. I’ll never see it as a Pizza Hut. The vision of the Big Boy statue that used to sit out front is still too vivid, even though it’s been gone for 25 years or more.
If I could have things my way, I’d adopt the philosophy of Stars Hollow – the fictional town from the Gilmore Girls (no asking how I know about such things).
Luke owns and operates a cafe in the same building his dad used to own a hardware store he called Williams Hardware. In one of the first season episodes, the camera pans away from Luke's cafe and you can still see the Williams Hardware sign. Nobody seemed to mind. They knew they could enter Williams Hardware to order a cheeseburger.
Another store owner has a restaurant called Al’s Pancake World. It doesn’t serve pancakes. He started by serving pancakes but switched to international cuisine shortly thereafter. He didn’t change the name because he printed too many napkins with the original name. The town isn’t in an uproar over the non-name change.
Star’s Hollow respects tradition. I like that.
I’m in favor of passing an ordinance in my own home town that says once a building is named, it can never be renamed. How fun would it be to watch someone from out of town go through a Taco Bell drive-thru and be greeted by an insurance agent who says, “Welcome to State Farm. We have discount rates available on car insurance today. Would you like that in a combo with renter's insurance?”
