diff --git a/src/main/java/com/graqr/threshr/model/queryparam/Place.java b/src/main/java/com/graqr/threshr/model/queryparam/Place.java
index 9ee3266..f797dba 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/graqr/threshr/model/queryparam/Place.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/graqr/threshr/model/queryparam/Place.java
@@ -3,6 +3,10 @@
 import io.micronaut.serde.annotation.Serdeable;
 import lombok.Data;
 
+/**
+ * Place is a query parameter used when querying nearby target store locations. The query accepts either a zipcode
+ * or a city-state combo. See {@link com.graqr.threshr.Threshr#queryStoreLocations(Place)}.
+ */
 @Serdeable
 @Data
 public class Place {
@@ -17,15 +21,15 @@ public Place(String zipcode) {
 
     public Place(String city, String state) {
         String errorMessage = "";
-        if (!String.valueOf(city).matches("^([a-zA-Z\\u0080-\\u024F]+(?:. |-| |'))*[a-zA-Z\\u0080-\\u024F]*$")) {
-            errorMessage = "Invalid city string provided, \"" + city + "\". String provided " +
-                    "must match this regex: \"^([a-zA-Z\\u0080-\\u024F]+(?:. |-| |'))*[a-zA-Z\\u0080-\\u024F]*$\".";
+        //match weird strings like D'Amoreport (texas) and Coeur D'Alene (idaho)
+        String pattern = "^([a-zA-Z|\\u0080-\\u024F]\\W?)*+$"; // *+ quantifier prevents backtracking
+        if (!String.valueOf(city).matches(pattern)) {
+            errorMessage = "Invalid city string provided, \"" + city + "\".";
         } else if (city.isEmpty()) {
             errorMessage = "String value for city cannot be empty.";
         }
-        if (!String.valueOf(state).matches("^[A-Z][a-z]+(?: +[A-Z][a-z]+)*$")) {
-            errorMessage = "Invalid state string provided, \"" + state + "\". String provided " +
-                    "must match this regex: \"^[A-Z][a-z]+(?: +[A-Z][a-z]+)*$\".";
+        if (!String.valueOf(state).matches(pattern)) {
+            errorMessage = "Invalid state string provided, \"" + state + "\".";
         } else if (state.isEmpty()) {
             errorMessage += "String value for state cannot be empty.";
         }