Porkestra is a hoax?

No one seems to know anything about the intriguing barbecue and strings spot with a sign up at 250 State

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Keen observers of the State Street restaurant scene might have noticed a sign go up in the old Cosi space at 250 State St. last Friday. "Porkestra," it read in a slick contemporary typeface, "a symphony of strings and swine. Southern Style BBQ, Classical Music and Atmosphere."

The announcement did create some social media buzz.

The Madison city clerk's office had no application for a restaurant or alcohol license for this address, however, and a call to the Mullins group, the rental company for the building, revealed that they had not rented the space — to anyone.

The sign (which was affixed to the outside of the window) was a mystery to them; and while their initial theory was that someone put the sign up on the wrong building, their query to the city also turned up no record of a business under this name (although restaurant licenses are often applied for fairly late in the process, as opposed to alcohol licenses).

Conceptual art project? Practical joke? It should probably be noted that "porkestra" is slang for "the sound made by a large group of fat people," among other less-than-polite definitions, according to Urban Dictionary.

As of 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, the sign was being removed, along with the last vestiges of the Cosi sign. The mystery remains.

Update: 

Isthmus has obtained a photograph of the sign being put up on Friday, May 29, at 1:30 p.m.. If you have further information, please contact us at edit@isthmus.com, subject: Porkestra Hoax?