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| Hair salon in Westminster, London |
Once, when I was in Middleton near Manchester, I spotted a beauty salon that specialised in sun bed treatments. It was called "Tanya Whitebitz". At first, I didn't get it. I thought that the owner, Tanya, was probably of Polish descent. Then the penny dropped.
Over the years I have mentally noted the quirky names of several hairdressing salons and indeed fish and chip shops too. It seems that small business people are frequently filled with creativity when sitting down to come up with fresh names for their new ventures.
Here are the names of some hairdressing businesses - "Hairport", "Choppers", "British Hairways", "Comb Together", "Hairwaves", "Edge Cutters" (at Nether Edge, Sheffield), "Clippity Do-Da" and "Ahead of Time".
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| In Southampton |
When it comes to fish and chip shops, there's "The Codfather", "Chip-In-Dales", "Oh My Cod", "Frydays", "Fishcotheque" and "New Cod on the Block" You have also got "Our Plaice" and "Captain Haddock" after that character from TinTin.
In Britain there are many pub names that end with the word "Arms" and were invariably named after noble families. For example, around Sheffield, we have several pubs called "The Devonshire Arms" and "The Norfolk Arms". However, when I was a university student I noticed a pub in Glasgow called "The Muscular Arms".
Do you know any similarly eye-catching business names? Perhaps places you have seen or read about along the way. Please add to my little list.
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| Pub in St Albans, Hertfordshire |
I could tell you a few quirky names of hair salons around here, but they are in German and would not work for you if you are not fluent in the language.
ReplyDeleteOkay. Don't remind me of my linguistic failings!
DeleteYou have found some good ones here! I've seen a few: BookMarx bookstore, Glazed and Confused ceramics studio, Vincent Van Doughnut bakery, Ash Wipers Chimney Sweep and I almost hate to list this bar and restuarant named Big Dick’s Halfway Inn. And yes, these are real businesses.
ReplyDeleteBig Dick's Halfway Inn? Brouhaha!
DeleteThat made me laugh out loud, literally. Thanks Bonnie!!
DeleteA shoe shop - Scarpe Diem. Scarpe = shoes.
ReplyDeleteA parlour sellings wedding dresses - Scacco Matto (Checkmate)
Greetings Maria x
Oh I see! Do you mean "cheque"as in money? I know that wedding dresses cost a lot of lira!
DeleteNo, checkmate as in the game of chess
Deletex
Ye Olde Fighting Cocks is near here (Harpenden)......it is believed to be one of, if not the oldest pub in England ! I have never been in. It is situated at the bottom of the hill down from St. Albans Abbey, next to the River Ver and Verulamium Park.
ReplyDeleteThe " bistro" just a few minutes from us is called " The Amble Inn", with a picture of Anne Boleyn on the sign! .
I have actually been in "Ye Olde Fighting Cocks". I loved the name "Amble Inn" - even without the Ann Boleyn reference. You amble in, you don't dash or burst in.
DeleteThai restaurants are the pun masters in Australia - in my local area alone there is Spice I Am, Thaitanic, Appethai and AppeThaiZing - they just go on and on. Extraordinary too, is that so many of the restaurant owners are new Australians and English is their second language. Puns must be a big thing in Thailand.
ReplyDeleteI used to teach a boy called Pun in Bangkok.
Deletereminds me of the Public Hair Salon in Scunthorpe , some wag stole the L , it was like that for years
ReplyDeleteI should pop in for a trim some time.
DeleteIt's best to steer clear of those fighting cocks. They're a wayward lot! Nuts, the lot of them!
ReplyDeleteWe used to have a nightclub on the edge of Sheffield called Fannies. I enjoyed my visits.
DeleteIf there's not a Mexican restaurant called Nacho Daddy there ought to be.
ReplyDeleteHa-ha! Nice one Bob.
DeleteMy favorite name for a hair salon is Curl Up and Dye but that may or may not be a real thing.
ReplyDeleteNo. I do believe that is a real name Ms Moon.
DeleteYes! There's one in South London! (Though it might be Curl Up and Dry -- I can't remember.)
DeleteI guess you have had several appointments there Steve!
DeleteThat pub used to be my local when I lived in St Albans.
ReplyDeleteDid you see any cocks there?
DeleteYou've given me something to look for.
ReplyDeleteHow about The Micro Manager - husband training advice shop.
DeleteThere are about a hundred little cafes and bistros here in the U.S. called the Dew Drop Inn.
ReplyDeleteCentral Perk would make a great name for a New York coffee shop.
DeleteCentral Perk is the coffee shop from Friends, the long-running and perpetually re-run sit com about 6 friends in NYC. You know, the one show that everyone in the world has seen at least 1000 times in their life.
DeleteI have never heard of it. You must be kidding!
DeleteWell, I noticed the name of a "pot shop" while on my way through the Spanish enclave in Denver called "Da Bong". Others that I have seen are "The Green Solution", "Medicine Man", "Altitude", "Back to the Garden", "Ganjo Gourmet".
ReplyDelete"Back to the Garden"... as in Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock" song.
DeleteI can't think of any at the moment but I enjoyed the ones you mentioned and the rest in the comments. Did you ever notice that accountants and lawyers never do this? :)
ReplyDeleteWhat abour Sodom and Spender... and Cookham and Dashov?
DeleteDewy, Cheatum, and Howe is a popular law firm in the US.
DeleteThe British way of life is changing fast. We shouldn’t worry what a chip shop is called. It doesn’t matter. The influx of foreigners is too late to do snything about.
DeleteWhat should we bother about then?
DeleteThere is a restaurant in Pendleton, OR called "Moe Pho" :)
ReplyDeleteI must be a bit thick because I don't get that one Kelly.
DeleteMoFo = abbreviation for motherf*cker in American English. "Moe Pho" in the dining sense, I am assuming, is a Pho restaurant.
Delete(Correct me if I'm wrong, Kelly!)
Oh my giddy aunt! You Americans can be so crude!
DeleteAs you know, shopfronts are a specialty of mine, and I have photos of shops with the same names you mentioned (Codfather and Fishcotheque, for example). Whoever came up with "Tanya Whitebitz" gets a special award!
ReplyDelete"Reed!" would be a good name for a new bookshop that targets dyslexics.
Delete