With the Tartan Army filling Boston’s bars and shops, one liquor store—Jobi Liquors on Cambridge Street—has become a daily stop for Scottish visitors. The laughs start with the store name, which sounds like Scottish slang for ‘poop,’ even as the owner explains
On Cambridge Street, the line isn’t for a drink or a meal. It’s for a photo.
During the World Cup, Boston’s bars, breweries, and liquor stores are seeing a boost as Scottish fans arrive—often referred to as the “Tartan Army.” But Jobi Liquors has drawn visitors for an extra reason, the kind that turns into a story before the first pint is even poured.
“There’s groups,” store owner Jimmy Ryan said, describing the constant flow he’s been seeing. “Thousands. Every day, there’s groups.”
Ryan, 65, laughed about what happens after they walk in. “And at night, they’re in here lifting up their kilts, and they’re having a good old time.”
The attention began after a video circulated from a Scottish tabloid. posted to its Facebook page and later viewed more than 1 million times. In the video. a Daily Record reporter said the shop had been “the topic of much hilarity with the Scots. ” and Ryan—called on-camera—responded with a grin. “Yes it has,” he said. “Outside and inside. Yes sir.”.
The jokes aren’t subtle. One fan is quoted in the video saying. “You’ll never see a Jobi Liquors in Scotland.” Ryan later explained the misunderstanding that makes the store name so funny to Scottish ears: “To the uninitiated — and much to Ryan’s initial surprise — Jobi (or more commonly ‘Jobby’ or ‘Jobbie’) is slang for. well. ‘poop’ in Scotland.”.
That meaning is why the photos keep coming. One 63-year-old Scottish fan told the newspaper, “I saw a photo of the shop online and it was immediately top of my side-quest list.”
For Ryan, the surprise has been how quickly a name built on family turns into a spectacle thousands of miles away. He said the store’s naming story is straightforward: “My mum’s name is Joan, my father’s name is Billy, J-O-B-I.”
So the joke lands, but the origin doesn’t match the punchline. And in a city used to its own weird local liquor-store names, Boston isn’t exactly out of its depth. A Facebook commenter pointed to another Salem shop: “Don’t forget Bunghole Liquors in Salem.”
In the end, Jobi Liquors is doing what summer crowds in Boston always do—it’s becoming part of the trip. Only now, for thousands of Scottish fans, the stop comes with kilts, laughs, and a name that sounds like a punchline until the owner explains why it isn’t.
Boston Jobi Liquors Jimmy Ryan Cambridge Street Scottish fans Tartan Army World Cup kilts slang Joan Billy