I remember reading through my mother’s old High School yearbook years ago when I was a child. I recall only one detail that has stuck with me ever since. The yearbook had a disproportionate number of advertisements sponsored by furniture stores that doubled as funeral parlors.
I didn’t pay attention to the well-wishes of her classmates, or the candid photographs of the marching band, or the triumphs of the football team. Even then, all those many years ago, it was the unusual juxtaposition that attracted my attention. I suppose odd hybrid stores with mixed purposes were a lot more prevalent in farm country back in the 1950’s. Then Walmart swept them all away a generation or two later.
Canada and China
One should not be surprised therefore to learn that I found a similar fascination with a Google Street View image that I crossed yesterday evening as I researched an entirely different subject.[1]
I’d discovered Meh’s Canadian & Chinese Cuisine in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia. I tried to find their menu on a website to learn the secret of their oddly bifurcated cuisine. Unfortunately I left disappointed after more fruitless searching that I care to admit.
It’s amazing where I find Chinese restaurants. They seem to exist in even the smallest, most remote and undoubtedly obscure towns that I’ve ever visited.
El Salvador, Mexico and China
I know of a similar odd combination closer to home.
I pass the New Moon Salvadorean – Mexican – Chinese Restaurant about once a week. My sons always point to the sign as we drive by, not because they comprehend the unusual combination but because they know its excites me so much to see it. The restaurateurs actually do have a website and they revel in their unique cuisine. “Enjoy some Pupusa Revueltas with your Shrimp Fried Rice or try some Steamed Meat Dumplings with your Carne Asada.”
A diner on one of the online rating sites commented that it’s not fusion, it’s CONfusion. Others responded that it’s not supposed to be a fusion cuisine at all. No fusing ever takes place here. The owners appeal to two completely different clientele using a single storefront.
Like, furniture shop and funeral parlor.
I’ve never eaten there. However, I’ll provide some incentive to any County Counters in the audience to give it a shot. It’s located in Falls Church, an independent city that’s considered the smallest county-equivalent entity in the United States. So it counts the same as San Bernardino although ten thousand times smaller.
If anyone knows of other weird business combinations, go ahead and post them in the comments. Extra credit goes to posts that include a Street View link or embedded Flickr image.
12MC Loves Footnotes!
[1]I usually work on several blog postings simultaneously. I can’t determine when a new topic might catch my attention and push me down a completely different path for awhile. Eventually I’ll get back on track. I’ll be sure to come up with a suitable honor for anyone who can guess my original line of my research. Hint: it has nothing to do with Canadian or Chinese cuisine.
Leave a Reply