What a place is called has a big impact on a restaurant’s identity. A name becomes the driving force behind an establishment’s vibe and the decor, the style of the menu, and the story behind a place. We asked a few local restaurant owners how they decided on their names, and what their restaurant was almost called. —Kristen Wile

Good Food on Montford

The story behind it: When owner Bruce Moffett told a barista he planned on opening a restaurant on Montford, she advised him against it, saying it was a bar street. “There’s no good food on Montford, there probably will never be good food on Montford,” she told him. His joking response was, “Just to prove you wrong, I’m going to call it Good Food on Montford.” Once he said it, though, he couldn’t get that name out of his head.
It could have been: “We could never come up with a second runner-up name,” Moffett says.

The Fig Tree

The story behind it: Greg and Sara Zanitsch, owners of The Fig Tree, renovated a 1913 bungalow to open the restaurant. They struggled with a name, Sara says, but during construction, found roots from a Fig Tree were causing damage to the restaurant’s foundation and had to be removed. They replanted four new fig trees in the front yard and, after learning the trees symbolize peace and prosperity, decided to name the restaurant The Fig Tree.

It could have been: The Bungalow, but after doing so much research on bungalows to renovate the building, the Zanitsches grew sick of the word.

Fin & Fino

The story behind it: The plan for the restaurant was always to be a seafood spot with a significant sherry program, which helped inspire the name. Fin refers to the seafood side of things, while Fino is a dry style of sherry. The full name is Fin & Fino: A Social Seafood House to emphasize that it’s a shared plates spot focusing on seafood, general manager Tim Buchanan says.

It could have been: Santiago’s Muse or The Alma

The Stanley

The story behind it: The Elizabeth area surrounding Paul Verica’s restaurant used to be called Stanleyville. You can still see an indicator of that on the back of the building, where “The Stanleyville Bar and Grill” is still faintly painted. Verica wanted the name of his restaurant to tie back to the neighborhood. “That was something that was important to me, as much as we’re a destination, we want to be a neighborhood place too.”

It could have been: Verica and his son Alex initially really wanted to call the place 2.0, as in Heritage 2.0, the upgraded version of Verica’s Waxhaw restaurant. Another option was Papillion, which means butterfly in French.

Dot Dot Dot

The story behind it: Owners Stefan Huebner and Conrad Hunter both liked the idea of using a literary term for the bar’s name, and they liked implications of wanting to know more and continuity that “…” brought to the name. They thought about leaving what it was called up to guest interpretation, with Dot Dot Dot, Three Dots, and Dots fair interpretations. Naming a restaurant without any words, however, brought some complications, like Google search and liquor license issues, and they decided to call it Dot Dot Dot.

It could have been: Ellipses, but Huebner says they wanted a name that “evoked more questions.” Another problem: “I had an issue with people not knowing how to spell it and that it sounded like a ’90s rave bar.”

N.C. Red

The story behind it: The name is meant to mirror the restaurant’s fusion of North Carolina and Rhode Island Cuisines. The state bird of Rhode Island is the Rhode Island Red Rooster, inspiring the “Red” piece of the name. It’s not, as some have apparently surmised, a reference to Moffett’s political affiliations.
It could have been: South by North