Kansas City Food Blog

The restaurants are gone, the matchbooks linger on....

​Even though it's illegal to smoke in restaurants anymore, one of the symbols of those carefree, let's-light-up-shall-we days -- the matchbook, or box of matches imprinted with the restaurant's name and logo -- is suddenly back in favor, according to an article this week in The New York Times. People love matches because they're free, they're a memento of a pleasant meal or a first date, they're always handy to have around the house and, most important for the restaurant industry, they're an inexpensive form of advertising.

"Particularly during this challenging economic time," the story quotes the National Restaurant Association's Maureen Ryan, "matches are an effective way for restaurants to get their name in front of people without spending a lot of money."

And if you hold on to them long enough, those snazzy matchboxes and matchbooks often outlast the restaurants that give them away. Note the matchbook covers above. Discuss.