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February 27, 2006

Hemenway's a finalist in best-bathroom contest

Call it the Toilet Bowl.

A bathroom supply company sponsoring an online poll to find America's best bathroom has narrowed the field down to five sparkling-clean, sweet-smelling potties.

And the finalists include one in Rhode Island -- Hemenway's Seafood Grille & Oyster Bar in Providence.
The four others are Atlantic City's Borgata hotel and casino, a Michigan bistro, an Illinois airport and an Ohio restaurant.

Sponsored by Cincinnati-based Cintas Corporation, manufacturer of Sanis restroom supplies, the America's Best Restroom contest was started in 2001 to spotlight businesses that maintain exceptional hygiene and stylistic grace in their potties. Nominations can be made by anyone, and about 30 are received annually.

"We're definitely pleased," said Chris Phillips, managing partner for the restaurant.

Like the quality of the food, the condition of the restrooms speaks to the concern a restaurant has for its customers, according to Phillips.

To help make that point, Hemenway's displays flowers in its bathrooms and also stocks them with hand lotions.

Prompted by an egg timer, the host staff checks the bathrooms every 15 minutes to make sure they're clean and haven't run out of supplies. A cleaning company comes in weekly to do a more thorough job.

Still, the bathrooms don't draw a lot of comments, according to Phillips. He says customers seem to expect it.

Cast your vote for the winner here.

Posted by Jack Perry  at 2:09 PM | Permalink

Comments

Posted by: me at February 27, 2006 04:17 PM