Restaurants with stripes

In this week's reading, the author mentioned how shops would use striped awnings to "make a good impression and seem to guarantee the freshness and excellence of what is sold within," or also to convey an "elegant, youthful, gay, and summerlike air."

I always walk by the Rockridge shopping center to catch the shuttle bus, and I noticed that Boston Market has a black-red-white striped awning outside. As I thought about it, other chain restaurants seem to use striped awnings. Each restaurant location might vary when choosing to have an awning or not, but if they do choose one, chances are that it's striped. Some restaurants I thought of were Applebee's, TGI Fridays, and Bennigan's.

What those restaurants have in common are that they're trying to promote themselves as being part of the community or neighborhood, a place you would eat at when having a good time with your family or friends. Applebee's slogan is even "There's no place like the Neighborhood." In that way, the striped awnings create that young and energetic vibe Pastoureau is talking about. It also creates a feeling that the restaurant is local and familiar, a place you can return to any time for the same food.