re-rebranding

old-schoolers will remember roslyn bakery. the bakery chain, with its distinctive (and distinctively-shaped) signs, was an indianapolis institution. their buttermilk jumbles were perhaps my sister's favorite cookie growing up.

at the end of the '90s, the whole chain shut down suddenly after the main bakery downtown failed two health inspections in a row. (i'm fuzzy on the details, but i know it involved copious numbers of rats.) the brand was eventually relaunched and sold in local supermarkets, but the many roslyn stores remained shuttered, until they were bought or leased by new clients.

most of the new tenants didn't have cash to tear down those funny-shaped signs, at least not right away. so it was fascinating to watch as new upstart businesses simply slapped their names on the existing signs, appropriating the roslyn trademark shape in the name of 21st century beepers or panda express. for years i daydreamed about driving around town and photographing all the former roslyn signs that had been rebranded... but i waited too long. most have since been removed. (if anyone has any old photos of roslyn signs, either rebranded or in their original form, please send 'em my way.)

this sign, downtown, at the former panda express, is one of the few remaining roslyn signs i know of. the photo is by robin jerstad of the IBJ. as you can see, panda express is now gone, and now the location is becoming a dunkin donuts. you can still see the words "panda express" on the sign, but now a dunkin logo has been slapped on it, too. i suspect that sooner or later, dunkin will tear down this sign and put up a more rectangular one, so i'm glad i came across this photo while the sign's still up. ¶