‘The’ Wall Street Journal had an interesting article on this very topic yesterday. Lynn http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903895904576546910525327024.html?KEYWORDS=an+article+of+faith+for+marketers From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of T. J. Ray Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 6:19 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Definite Article Question Someone asked why we supply "the" before some business names and not before others. In this town we have restaurants with names such as Snack Shack, Boure, Downtown Grill, McDonald's. Why would someone need to say "I'm going to eat at Boure" as opposed to "I'm dining at the Snack Shack"? To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/