Lancashire restaurateur delighted by response to restaurant naming competition
In March, Mark O’Rourke, restaurant entrepreneur, invited the people of Lancashire to have their say in the naming of his next restaurant, which is due to open towards the end of June in Preston’s historic Miller Arcade.
Over 550 people responded with an array of ideas, the most popular linked to the arcade’s colourful history and characters, with several suggestions linked to the architect, Edwin Bush or to Nathaniel Miller, the investor who built the Miller arcade which was Preston’s first indoor shopping centre.
However, after much consideration, the name selected by Mark O’Rourke and his team is Bath House Bistro, a nod to the popular Turkish bath that was once located in the arcade’s basement.
Mark O’Rourke, commenting on the decision said “The Bath House idea stood out from the rest, as it was a little quirky and unexpected. We’re really delighted by the name, which is sure to stimulate interest and conversations with our future customers.
“The purpose of Turkish baths was to bring people together, for wellbeing and relaxation and that is our hope for Bath House Bistro. The restaurant will fuse the historic with the contemporary, in a British bistro offering a reliably indulgent experience.”
“We’re excited now to work on the logo and put the finishing touches on the restaurant, which should be open by the end of June.”
The reference to a ‘bath house’ featured in the suggestions of five people who entered. All five suggestions were then ‘put in the hat’ and the lucky winner, selected at random was Luke Unsworth from Fulwood who will be able to dine out, once a month for a year, in the restaurant he helped to name.
In his suggestion Luke explained his choice of name by saying “A bath house is a place to take care of the body and soul while meeting old and new friends.”
The four people who also submitted names related to the Turkish Bath will each receive a runners-up voucher for £100 which they can use in the Bath House Bistro.