2008 Woodie Awards
Jungle Jim's receives Cintas award for clean, innovative restrooms
Rebecca Kelley
Issue date: 8/31/07 Section: Front Page
Public restrooms are generally places to avoid, but at Jungle Jim's International Market in Fairfield, Ohio, the facilities are a spot of honor.
Jungle Jim's received the Cintas "America's Best Restroom" award in August for their unique approach to a common convenience.
Visitors to the store encounter what appears to be a handicapped-size portable toilet in the middle of the store. According to Phill Adams, director of development for Jungle Jim's, newcomers to the market are quite evident. When they stand in front of the doors waiting for their turn to use the restroom, he said they are seen with confused looks when multiple people leave the bathroom at a time. When they enter the restroom however, the reaction is fairly unanimous.
"Usually, it's a look of 'you've got to be kidding me,'" Adams said. "It's very deceiving."
Miami University junior and Fairfield resident Heather Reed is a Jungle Jim's fan and visited the contest Web site to help support the store. She agrees that it is humorous to see people's
reactions to what they think are portable restrooms.
"It's fun to watch people's reactions as you leave the restroom and they enter it," Reed said. "It's a clever idea."
Guests find that the primitive outside of the facilities is actually a facade, as the "portable toilet" doors lead down a hallway to a spacious, jungle-themed bathroom.
"When I first went to Jungle Jim's, I wouldn't use the bathroom because it looked like a port-a-potty," first-year Joel Thompson said. "It's just a really nice bathroom. It was surprising."
Jim Bonaminio, the owner of Jungle Jim's and a Miami University business school graduate, came up with the idea for the lavatory design.
According to Adams, the theme dates back to Bonaminio's years spent running a roadside fruit stand, where the only restrooms were portable toilets. When he opened his international market, he wanted to carry over what Adams describes as "the construction look."
Jungle Jim's received the Cintas "America's Best Restroom" award in August for their unique approach to a common convenience.
Visitors to the store encounter what appears to be a handicapped-size portable toilet in the middle of the store. According to Phill Adams, director of development for Jungle Jim's, newcomers to the market are quite evident. When they stand in front of the doors waiting for their turn to use the restroom, he said they are seen with confused looks when multiple people leave the bathroom at a time. When they enter the restroom however, the reaction is fairly unanimous.
"Usually, it's a look of 'you've got to be kidding me,'" Adams said. "It's very deceiving."
Miami University junior and Fairfield resident Heather Reed is a Jungle Jim's fan and visited the contest Web site to help support the store. She agrees that it is humorous to see people's
reactions to what they think are portable restrooms.
"It's fun to watch people's reactions as you leave the restroom and they enter it," Reed said. "It's a clever idea."
Guests find that the primitive outside of the facilities is actually a facade, as the "portable toilet" doors lead down a hallway to a spacious, jungle-themed bathroom.
"When I first went to Jungle Jim's, I wouldn't use the bathroom because it looked like a port-a-potty," first-year Joel Thompson said. "It's just a really nice bathroom. It was surprising."
Jim Bonaminio, the owner of Jungle Jim's and a Miami University business school graduate, came up with the idea for the lavatory design.
According to Adams, the theme dates back to Bonaminio's years spent running a roadside fruit stand, where the only restrooms were portable toilets. When he opened his international market, he wanted to carry over what Adams describes as "the construction look."
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