All stories
Podcast
March 28, 2022
Episode
6

What’s in a name?

Episode
6
In episode 6, we talk about restaurant names and their importance; strategies for coming up with the right name and stories behind the name of 12 restaurants.
Podcast
March 28, 2022
Episode
6

“What's in a name?” Juliet famously asked. “That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.”

But what about a restaurant’s name? After all, it’s usually the first thing we learn about a place — in a newspaper review or on Instagram, on the awning or above the door, or whenever we ask someone for a restaurant recommendation or two.

And let’s be honest — we’re judging that name. Even in fair Verona, one imagines diners being picky about any new tavern with a stinker of a name.

So, in episode 6 of The Recipe, we explore why it matters what a restaurant is called and talk to Amy Dennis, whose branding agency helps owners come up with the right name for their new restaurant.

“Naming is probably one of the hardest jobs we encounter,” Amy says. “Naming is not easy, it's not simple, and it is one of the most opinion-based decisions that a restaurant owner is going to make.”

We also find how some leading restaurants got their name, discovering along the way which eatery shares its name with a Kanye West album, which restaurant got its name from an English-Esperanto dictionary, who renamed a countryside pub to avoid being associated with the bad reviews it had on TripAdvisor, and which celebrated chef found the name of his restaurant on a website called Word Hippo.


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