Joe's Diner (placeholder name)

Joe's Diner is a placeholder name for a fictional or hypothetical everyman's restaurant. Although there are franchises that use the name, its rhetorical use is often to describe a small, local business contrasted against large businesses or franchises. The phrase "Eat at Joe's" is a complementary fictional or hypothetical typical advertisement for such an establishment, and has itself become a snowclone in the form of "X at Joe's", "Eat at Y's", or simply "X at Y's".

In addition to the fictional and hypothetical senses, there are of course many real eating establishments named "Joe's Diner". Some were so named prior to the popularity of the term as a placeholder name, and their existence contributed to the rise of this placeholder name. Others were created after the name became popular for this purpose, and were named to take advantage of the term.A famous example is the Joe's Diner located in Lee, Massachusetts, which was the subject of Norman Rockwell's work "The Runaway." The actual Joe of Joe's Diner is the man behind the counter in this classic picture.

Examples

:Carrie Bickner, "Web Design on a Shoestring" (2003) p. 34.::"I don't care whether you are working in Joe's Diner or at The Four Seasons; your customer should never have to give your service enough thought to evaluate it.":Clayton W. Barrows, Thomas F. Powers, Jo Marie Powers, "Introduction to the Hospitality Industry, Fifth Edition and NRAEF Workbook Package" (2002) p. 148.::"In the hamburger segment, for instance, competition had gone from Joe's Diner versus McDonald's to McDonald's versus Burger King versus Wendy's versus Hardee's.":John G. Koeltl, John S. Kiernan, "The Litigation Manual" (1999) p. 163.::"If you are trying a case in an unfamiliar jurisdiction, arrive a few days early. Walk around town. Get a haircut at the local barbershop. Grab a burger at Joe's Diner.": John B. Caouette, Edward I. Altman, Paul Narayanan, "Managing Credit Risk: The Next Great Financial Challenge" (1998) p. 88.::"You cannot use the same traditional credit analysis for evaluating Kellogg's and Joe's Diner.":Fred Steingold, "Legal Master Guide for Small Business" (1983) p. 206.::"Whether your business is called "Exxon" or "Joe's Diner," the name is a valuable asset."

The expression, "Eat at Joe's", was a frequently-used gag in the Warner Bros. cartoons during the 1940s, typically used when an image of a neon sign or other complicated tubing would appear. One example occurs in "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery", in which Daffy Duck faces a host of dangerous characters, subduing them all, the final one being "Neon Noodle", whom he quickly twists into the shape of an "Eat at Joe's" neon sign, with a triumphant cry of "Tah-dah!" In another example, "Super-Rabbit", the scientist's laboratory shows liquid flowing through tubing, which at one point takes the shape of the sign.

Another cartoon, a joke-laden cruise, mentions the actual Sloppy Joe's Restaurant rather than using the generic "Eat at Joe's" gag.