FRIDAY FUNNY: The Best Of The Rest…Room

The restroom, decorated with ornate, gilded mirrors, sassy text plates, and bricks laid as if by a drunken mason on bender, invites guests into an Alice In Wonderland-like grotto – to relieve themselves and re-live childhood fairy tales.

Posted by Heidi Schwartz

While most people would likely characterize their trip to the restroom as a fairly unremarkable experience, the folks at Cintas think it should be unforgettable! The reality is that restrooms matter to the public. How a business maintains its facilities is a reflection of a business’ commitment to customer service.

Now, a growing number of companies are going the extra mile to create the most memorable restrooms imaginable. And it is these establishments being recognized in Cintas’ America’s Best Restroom® award of 2013.

The Cintas’ America’s Best Restroom® Contest not only promotes a business, it also recognizes the effort made by facilities management teams around the country to put their best restrooms to the test.

So who is the best for 2013? The 12th annual Cintas’ America’s Best Restroom® King of the Throne winner is the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, MN.

The Varsity Theater, formerly The University Theater, was one of the last vaudeville houses in Minneapolis and hosted everything from minstrel shows, to comedians, to screenings of early silent films. In 2005, the current incarnation of The Varsity Theater opened its doors as a vaudeville house for the 21st Century.

One part old-fashioned powder room one part lounge, this restroom allows concert-goers to take a break in an area from which one can still view and hear the stage. Bartenders even serve drinks over the back counter into the restroom area, offering a VIP experience to every guest.

The sinks were designed with shower head-faucets with a foot pedal operation, a la grade school restrooms. The lounge and hand washing area is coed, creating quite a social atmosphere, particularly when concert-goers are trying to figure out how to activate the sinks and they need to ask one another for the tip—use your toes. Oh and yes, the women’s side of the restroom features four times as many stalls as the men’s side.

“Cintas launched the America’s Best Restroom Contest 12 years ago to raise awareness of the importance of hygiene and to salute those businesses which strive for restroom excellence in both function and design,” said John Engel, Cintas’ Senior Marketing Manager.