Tobacco Avenue

Confused by the pronunciation of Irish restaurant Sine, out-of-towner Hayden Goode passed by the downtown Richmond hangout spot a dozen times in search of a non-existent bar called Shinay, sources said.

The Louisville, Ky. resident said he was “completely lost” in trying to find Shinay - of which there is no such thing - and meet clients from Capital One, who were already inside Sine’s pub sipping pints of Guinness.

“The client told me to ‘Meet us at Shinay,’ but I can’t find the place anywhere,” said Goode, standing directly underneath the Irish flag flying over the East Cary Street entrance to Sine.  “The only thing that comes close in this area is some bar called ‘Sign,’ but spelled weird, as ‘S-I-N-E.’  Am I at the right place?  Maybe it’s down the street a bit.”

The 52-year-old added that if he could not find Shinay, he would drive around the corner and meet another client, who for some reason was drinking at a bank.