Three years ago, I wrote about company names that have an association with songs, movies and TV shows, such as the Yum Yum Tree, Rosie’s Cantina, Sweet Leilani and Blue Hawaii. This week, I thought I’d take a look at more of these companies.

Borrowing a name from popular culture can be positive because there’s a built-in recognition factor and they’re generally not trademarked.

Out of Africa

This 1985 Sidney Pollack film won seven Oscars. It seems like a perfect name for a former company that imported Africa handicrafts and artwork. Out of Africa opened at Ward Warehouse around 1993.

Elephant Walk

This was a 1954 movie starring Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Finch. There was also a song called “Baby Elephant Walk,” written by Henry Mancini in the 1960 movie “Hitari.”

The Elephant Walk had stores in Ala Moana Center, at the Hyatt Regency, as well as Maui and Kauai. It sold jewelry, koa, fashion items and gifts.

Holiday Inn

Some might remember that this hotel chain got its name from the 1942 film starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. In the movie, they started a hotel that was only open on holidays (terrible business model). The first actual Holiday Inn opened in Memphis, Tenn., in 1952. Today, they have over 1,000 locations.

La Bamba

This former Kapahulu Mexican restaurant opened around 1988, three blocks makai of Leonard’s Bakery.

“La Bamba” is a traditional song from Veracruz, Mexico, possibly over 100 years old. Dance king Arthur Murray introduced the song and dance to America at the Stork Club in New York in 1945. Murray and his wife lived the last 30 years of their lives on Oahu.

In 1958, a rock ‘n’ roll version was released by Ritchie Valens (Ricardo Valenzuela), who died a year later in a plane crash with Buddy Holly. A film was made about his life in 1987, titled “La Bamba.”

“La Bamba” has no direct translation, but could mean “to shake” or “stomp.” One line in the song states, “to dance the bamba, you only need a little bit of grace.”

Under a Hula Moon

This Kailua store’s name came from a 1928 Ray Meany song with lyrics “I will remember that June, where a hula moon and a native tune, made me fall in love with you.”

The title was used again in a 1995 movie. There’s also a Hula Moon Boutique on the Big Island, and Hula Moon Press. And fellow writer Jocelyn Fujii wrote a book with that title.

Bali Hai Restaurant and the Happy Talk Lounge

These two places on Kauai’s north shore both derive their names from James Michener’s book “Tales of the South Pacific.” Both became songs in the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein play and 1958 movie.

Michener was stationed in Vanuatu in World War II. Bali Hai is a fictional, nearby volcanic island. The leader of the island in Michener’s book was called Bloody Mary. She sings about the island to Lt. Joe Cable to entice him to visit and meet her daughter, Liat.

After he meets Liat, Bloody Mary sings “Happy Talk,” to them about the happy life the two of them would have together.

Cheeseburger in Paradise and Margaritaville

Jimmy Buffett has a history of opening restaurants based on his songs. It’s a brilliant but ironic move for a singer whose persona is a lazy beach bum. I guess he’s more entrepreneurial than he lets on.

Margaritaville is a 1977 song about carefree island life. It gave Buffett the money to buy his first boat, he says. He founded the first Margaritaville restaurant in Key West, Fla., in 1985. Today there are over 30 in the chain but the one in Waikiki has since closed.

Cheeseburger in Paradise was a 1978 song about Buffett’s boating accident where he had to eat peanut butter and canned food until his boat limped into port. He said he kept dreaming about cheeseburgers.

Laren Gartner and Edna Bayliff named their Lahaina restaurant Cheeseburger in Paradise in 1989, based on the song. Buffett launched his chain in 2002.

Moose McGillycuddy’s

This Lewer’s Street bar opened as Bullwinkle’s in 1980 but was challenged by the owners of the cartoon character. In 1983, they kept the moose logo but changed the name. You also can find one in Kihei, Maui.

Jay Ward and Alex Anderson created the “Frostbite Falls Revue” in 1958, starring Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle, naming him after Bullwinkel Motors in Berkeley, Calif., they said.

My friend June Foray, who worked with my mother in the cartoon business, voiced Rocky as well as Natasha Fatale.

Other places associated with cartoons or comics include Popeye’s, and Wimpy Burger Drive-In, on Dillingham Boulevard and Puuhale Road around 1960. There was also a Wimpy Cafe at one time on Beretania Street in downtown.

J. Wellington Wimpy was one of the characters in the long-running comic strip “Popeye,” created by E.C. Segar in 1934. He loved hamburgers.

Donald Duck Drive-in had to change its name to Bea’s when Disney objected to the use of its trademark.

Sunset Grill

This former “exhibition- style rotisserie” restaurant at Restaurant Row (now called Waterfront Plaza) was opened in 1987 by the owners of Compadres restaurant (located in Ward Center at that time). I loved their grilled mozzarella cakes with spinach and pine nuts. Yum!

Don Henley of the Eagles wrote a 1984 song about a “Sunset Grill” restaurant in Hollywood that had opened in 1948. There also was a 1993 movie with the same title.

Da Big Kahuna’s Pizza

The earliest use of this term I could find was about 1895 and referred to someone who was masterful. The 1959 movie “Gidget,” starring Sandra Dee, had a character with the Big Kahuna name, played by Cliff Robertson. That role inspired the pizza parlor’s name. They wanted to say they were masterful with pizza.

Nom Nom

You may have noticed that Hele has taken over the Tesoro gas stations and rebranded their mini-marts for the sound the Cookie Monster, on the TV show “Sesame Street,” makes when he eats.

“Sesame Street” took its name from the phrase “Open Sesame” from the book “One Thousand and One Nights.”

Puck’s Alley

William Shakespeare had a fairy or sprite with the name Puck in his “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” but the name may be even older than that.

James Wong developed Puck’s Alley on University and King streets as Hawaii’s first youth-oriented shopping center. Its grand opening was 45 years ago last week, on Sept. 28, 1973.

Some of the original tenants included Mr. Sub, Mama Mia Pizza, and Campus Cue.

The Ritz

Nenichi Kamuri and Tom Hanrahan opened their first shop on Union Street in downtown in 1938.

The former store’s name came from The Ritz Hotel, which Cesar Ritz opened in Paris in 1898. Ritz provided guests with superb accommodations, sublime cuisine and grand entertainment.

The name came to represent the pinnacle of luxury. Irving Berlin wrote the song “Puttin’ On The Ritz” in 1928 for the movie of the same name.

I can think of a dozen more companies whose name is associated with popular culture, but I’ll save them for another time.

The Rearview Mirror Insider is Bob Sigall’s weekly email that gives readers behind-the-scenes background, stories that wouldn’t fit in the column, and lots of interesting details. My Insider “posse” gives me ideas for stories and personal experiences that enrich the column. I invite you to join in and be an Insider at RearviewMirrorInsider.com. Mahalo!