Restaurant Names and How They Got Them
What’s in a restaurant name? Usually, a good story as well as good food.
A few years ago I shared the history of restaurant names such as Hug-Hes, Plates & Palates, Chuck-A-Rama, Eva, Tona Sushi and Copper Onion got their names. You can check that story out here.
Just about every time I interview a restaurateur, I ask about the name. Here are the back stories of 13 local restaurants’ names.
Can a name make or break a restaurant? I don’t know, but having a memorable, easy-to-pronounce name doesn’t hurt.
TONYBURGERS (7 locations in Utah): The owner isn’t named Tony. Owners Chris and Nicole Carver of Kaysville named their original restaurant for Chris’s younger brother, Tony, who “who used to cook us these really thick burgers when we were younger,” said Chris. “We called them Tonyburgers.”
They thought “Tonyburgers” rolled off the tongue better than “Chrisburgers” or “Nickiburgers.”
NAPOLI’S in South Ogden: Owner Antonio Geminiani said his parents opened their first restaurant in the Bronx, New York in 1987. His mother is from Napoli (the Italian word for Naples) and his father is from Sicily, so they ended up calling it Napoli’s.
They later expanded to Texas, Iowa, Arkansas, and Missouri. I looked online and found several Napoli’s in these areas. Although none had the same exact menu as the Ogden location, they are similar.
i.d.k. BARBECUE in Tropic, Huntsville and Ogden: When owners Kevin and Emily Clark were dating, Kevin would ask Emily where she wanted to eat dinner, and she would always answer, “I don’t know. Where do you want to go?”
Kevin would tease that he should open a restaurant called “I Don’t Know,” so she wouldn’t have that as an answer anymore.
“It was a joke, we never thought we would open a restaurant, but it turned out to be a premonition.”
SUSHI PRO in Ogden: Proprietor Joe Pan brought the conveyor belt sushi to Ogden, and is currently operating the only conveyor belt sushi restaurant in Utah (as far as we know).
He initially was going to call it Sushi Plus, but then decided to go with Sushi Pro.
SCRAMBLED in Layton: Owner Oscar Rodriguez’s restaurant specializes in breakfast, and the name tells the story. He thought of the name Scrambled! while “trying to think of something marketable, something trendy like the restaurants in New York City, and I wanted to incorporate yellow into our logo.” If you look to the upper righthand corner of the above photo, you’ll see the Scrambled! logo in the background.
W THAI CHEF in Kaysville: The “W” in the restaurant’s name stands for the owner’s first name, Winai. Originally from Thailand, Winai Ketbot first came to Utah in 2002 as a Buddhist missionary. After graduating from culinary school, he worked at his mother’s restaurant before opening his own in 2022.
ANNIE’S DINER in Kaysville: The original owner, Annie Sill Curry, grew up working in her parents’ Sill’s Café, the longtime Layton landmark known for its down-home breakfasts. In 2003, she opened Granny Annie’s at 286 N. 400 West, and it soon gained a reputation for its tried-and-true breakfast menu, including the signature Kaysville Special– hash browns, eggs, bacon, gravy and a Utah-style scone. Jason Sanders, a Kaysville attorney, heard that Annie, now 75, was trying to find a buyer, he jumped in to buy the restaurant and save it from closing.
Sanders changed the name to Annie’s Diner, “because she’s not here, but we wanted to keep her name in it. We are carrying on the heart that Annie had when she opened this place. We are elevating it.”
BLUE FIN SUSHI in Layton: The name “Blue Fin,” comes from the bluefin tuna, which is the restaurant’s top-selling fish.
“It’s known for being the best tuna,” said co-owner Tyler Bess. “It’s very expensive; hardly anybody can get their hands on it to serve it. It has the quality and exclusivity we were going for. People come here for it because they can’t get it anywhere else.”
NO MANCHES WAY in Ogden: Maria Chavez said that in Spanish, “No Manches Way” roughly translates to “No way, dude!” But it can be used as a slang term with different meanings, depending on the mood.
The restaurant specializes in birria, the top seller is the quesabirria —tortillas filled with the braised shredded beef and mozzarella cheese, cooked on a flat-top grill until the tortilla is glistening and crisp, and the cheese is melty. They come with a cup of birria dipping broth.
WIMPY AND FRITZ: With its skater dude vibe, this doesn’t seem like your grandfather’s typical Mexican restaurant. But in a way, it is. Co-owners Lane “Lefty” Montoya and Brian Zinsmann named the restaurant after their grandfathers. Montoya’s grandfather was nicknamed Wimpy, and Zinsmann’s grandfather was nicknamed Fritz.
Sydney’s Place in Mantua: Manager/owner Denise Hardy named it Sydney’s, after her late mother. It’s also Denise’s first name (Sydney Denise). And Denise’s daughter, who works at the restaurant, is named Sydney as well.
“My mom passed away from cancer and never got to see it,” said Hardy, with catch of emotion in her voice. “Just to see her name on a building would have made her so happy. That’s the biggest joy to me.”
But Denise didn’t forget her dad — she named the Flintski chicken sandwich for him.
TABLE TWENTY-FIVE in Ogden: When owners Justin and Jaimie Buehler went out on their first date, both of them talked of wanting to open their own restaurant. This conversation, while sitting at a California restaurant’s “table number 25,” marked the start of their relationship.
And years later, when they finally fulfilled their dream of opening a restaurant, it was on Ogden’s Historic 25th Street.
Want to share any back stories on other restaurant names? Feel free to leave a comment!