I’m pretty upset with myself. I grew up in the Austin area (and yet!) I never once heard of El Arroyo restaurant, not until a few days ago.
Since the 1980s, besides serving fine Tex-Mex cuisine to countless customers, the eatery has been posting imaginably funny and clever signs in its parking lot. In fact, if you search for the restaurant on the internet, you’ll find that just about everyone in the world seems to be aware of what the joint has been up to in recent decades. If you think I’m exaggerating, think again; the eatery has north of 269K Facebook followers.
You can find collections of their work here, here, and here. Take some time and read through lots of what you see. Doing so is like taking a masterclass in creative thinking and writing. To say that much of their signage is brilliant is a gross understatement.
(Believe it or not, the signs are so popular that the restaurant has published collections of its best work.)
I have only one request. Post your favorite sign in the comments section. (You’ll be happy that you did.)
Adios y gracias.
Post-Script: Check out more of my Wise & Shine work here and listen to some of my podcasts here.