What started as a simple birthday wish turned into a full-blown sign war in Morehead City, North Carolina, and it’s been nothing short of hilarious. It all began in mid-July when restaurant manager Samuel Turnage put up a sign at Ioanni’s Grill & Bar to wish his father, “Happy Birthday Jeff.” The sign was meant to be temporary, but with the summer rush at the coastal eatery, Samuel got busy and, well, kind of forgot about it.

Weeks passed, and Jeff Turnage, who owns the restaurant, was still being celebrated on the marquee. That’s when Samuel’s friend, Clarke Merrell, decided enough was enough. Clarke, who owns Dank Burrito just across the road, couldn’t resist calling out his buddy’s oversight. So, he put up a sign on his own marquee that read, “Ioanni’s quit being lazy change your sign.”

Clarke wasn’t going to let this one slide, either. “It’s three and a half weeks later, and I thought, ‘How long is Jeff’s birthday?’” he joked. But the sign war had only just begun. Not one to be outdone, Samuel quickly responded with his own marquee message: “Dank we are not lazy just busier than you.” And just like that, the battle of the signs was on.

Other local businesses couldn’t resist jumping into the fun. Hunting and fishing store EJW Outdoors chimed in with, “Guys do we need to taco bout it?” Dank Burrito, not missing a beat, shot back with, “Guac off EJW this is nacho beef.”

As the sign war grew, it caught the attention of local news outlets, and soon, nearly every business in town was putting up their best puns. Prime Bistro, another one of Clarke’s restaurants, put up a sign that said, “Boys do we need to have a meat-ing?”

Meanwhile, Glad Tidings Church got involved with a sign that read, “Ioanni’s & Dank lettuce break bread together Sunday at 10 AM.” Even a gas station got in on the action with a sign that said, “Don’t let Dank and Ioanni’s give you gas. Leave that to us!”

“It was freaking hilarious,” Clarke said. What started as a friendly jab between two buddies quickly spiraled into a community-wide phenomenon. Businesses that didn’t even have marquees found creative ways to participate. Jenny Summers, owner of Karma Cookies and Café, set up a chalkboard outside her shop. It read:

Hey guys can you quiche and make up? Come to Karma and share a cookie together.”

The sign war became so popular that people started creating TikTok videos of the signs, and a Facebook group dedicated to the Carteret County Sign Wars quickly gained nearly 12,000 members. “It’s really kind of remarkable,” said Jenny.

Some businesses even used the sign war to do some good. Gaffer’s of Emerald Isle partnered with the Carteret County Public School Foundation to raise funds to pay off student lunch debts. Their goal was $10,000, but thanks to the sign war’s popularity, they’ve raised over $21,000 so far.

Samuel, the man who unwittingly started it all, is still in shock at how far the sign war has spread. “Never in a million years did I think it would get as big as it did,” he said. For now, the battle rages on with his latest jab: “Taco break Dank y’all are losing the war.” But Dank Burrito isn’t backing down, firing back with, “Took a break our empty sign was still more popular than yours.”

Source: The Washington Post