As catalogs like The Matchbook Diaries, Oh, What a Match!, and Matchbook Mission can attest, the customized restaurant and bar matchbook has lengthy been a coveted memento for a sure sort of diner. When Eater explored the historical past of restaurant matches in 2015, the follow had died down a bit from earlier many years, with Jessica Ritz writing that matchbooks have been “now not a go-to restaurant memento” (for one factor, smoking charges had “plummeted,” Ritz famous).
But when my very own anecdotal eating and social media scrolling is any indicator, customized bar and restaurant matchbooks are on fireplace as soon as once more; in my rest room sits one from Gage & Tollner, and in a jar in my lounge are matches from Win Son, Cap’t Dan’s Good Time Tavern, and the meals model Omsom. Now, vibes aficionados have supplied a option to take the thought one step additional: making customized matchbooks for his or her houses.
Although I’m positive enterprising hosts have been in-the-know for some time, I first noticed the thought on TikTok earlier this 12 months from the creator The Gracie Grazette. Gracie’s rationale went as follows: You get matchbooks at “cool locations,” and your house generally is a “fabulous vacation spot,” so why not provide guests the memento of your individual customized matchbook? A microtrend gave the impression to be forming: I noticed customized matchbooks once more slightly later from the creator behind Tremont Dwelling after which once more on the Instagram feed of New York Occasions Cooking editor Tanya Sichynsky, her final title in metallic pink drop-shadowed textual content.
As Delaney of Tremont Dwelling — who now additionally sells customizable matchbook templates to be used on the celebration favor web site For Your Celebration — explains in a follow-up video, customized matchbooks can even make an ideal, unconventional present for birthdays, housewarmings, or engagements. They’re surprisingly inexpensive for one thing so considerate: As of this writing, a 50-pack of personalized matches will run you beneath $50 on For Your Celebration, however if you wish to actually decide to a design, WebstaurantStore affords a case of 2500 customizable matchbooks beginning at $121.
Aside from their plain performance, gathering matchbooks is in the end about old-timey nostalgia: The bowl of gathered matchbooks and matchboxes turns into a repository for reminiscences of fine restaurant meals and nights out (no marvel so many artists and Etsy sellers additionally create customized or themed matchbook artwork). Don’t your dinner events should be remembered that means too?