How do Wilmington restaurant names compare to the most common in the U.S.?
Aside from good food and location, what else can play a role in a restaurant's success? How about the name? Ideally, you want something memorable that also offers a taste of what’s on the menu.
But more often than you might think, restaurateurs inadvertently replicate the names.
A new report from the Tinting Chicago graphics company analyzed Google reviews for more than 300,000 restaurants across the county to find the most common names.
Here’s a look at how the Wilmington area compares.
Popular in Chinese
Many restaurants with commonly used names focus on a similar style of cuisine. From No. 1, they are China Wok, China King, China House and China Star. The report included only those restaurants with at least 50 Google reviews in cities with at least 100 restaurants and 65,000 residents. It found that there are 80 different restaurants named China Wok across the country. There are two in Wilmington – at 1929 Oleander Drive and 2307 N. College Road.
China King, the second most common name, is found at three local restaurants at 845 S. 17th St., Wilmington; in Pender at 112 E. Fremont St., Burgaw; and in Brunswick County at 925 Seaside Road, Ocean Isle Beach. This area is also home to other top names like a China Star in Wilmington, a Great Wall restaurant in Supply, and a China Garden in Surf City.
Who’s that?
Restaurants with names or nicknames are also popular. Among them Joe is the most commonly used, followed by Tony, Jimmy, Mama, Nick, Mike, Johnny, Lee, Charlie and Jack. There are about 152 restaurants in the United States that use Joe. In this area, there’s Loco Jo's Bar & Grill in Southport and Joe’s Oasis, another bar and grill in Wilmington. Kai-Joe's serves tacos with a Hawaiian vibe in Oak Island and there’s Island Jo coffee shop there, too. Bud & Joe’s Sandbar is a hangout in Kure Beach.
You can find Fat Tony's Italian Pub in downtown Wilmington and Smoky Tony’s BBQ in Holly Ridge. Aside from the Jimmy John’s sandwich chain, there’s also the classic Wrightsville Beach bar, Jimmy's, and Smokin Jimmies Chicken & Seafood at 2105 Carolina Beach Road.
Your Mama and more
For restaurants with a motherly theme, there’s Mamma Lucia Italian restaurant on Eastwood Road and Mama Brava’s in the Holden Beach area. For Latin flavors, try Mama C’s Taqueria in Southport and Central Mamma's Mexican Restaurant & Taqueria in Calabash. Also, here’s hoping for a quick return of Burgaw’s MeMa's Chick'n' & Ribs when they open their new space.
In terms of other types of specialty restaurants, common names are Hibachi Express, Taste of India and America’s Best Wings. The Tinting Chicago analysis also found the best reviewed locations for common restaurant names. The only North Carolina spot on the list is Hibachi Express in King near Winston-Salem, which has a 4.7 star-rating.
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Allison Ballard is the food and dining reporter at the StarNews. You can reach her at aballard@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington, NC, restaurant names some of the most common in the US
