Mysterious, peculiar, odd, strange, quirky shops and businesses.

[TheTecknician]

Do you know of any place or company like this? I can think of a couple:

• A company close to my old home with a front and office door on the main road. It claimed to be a seller/stockist of sewing machine spare parts. Very niche but not completely out of the ordinary. The oddity was that in over twenty years I never once saw anybody going in or coming out of the premises. The only sign of occupation was a new telephone on a desk every now and then and perhaps some mail on the doormat. Otherwise there was no change. The same frosted glass and hard wood door and window frames which were likely already decades old. I won't reveal the name of the company as I think they're still in business, albeit elsewhere now. I suspect it was all a front for MI5.

• Another which is definitely consigned to history was in Richmond, North Yorkshire. A large, double-fronted store simply called 'Mr Coles and Mr Morris' which has now been gone for at least a decade, probably much longer. I never set foot in the place as I really had no need. It looked very out of place in the market square with no obvious purpose or retail type. Perhaps I was missing something. All quite bizarre.

We had a garden centre near us that inexplicably sold wagon wheels (actual wheels rather than the sweet snack) and had a totem pole out front

A restaurant opened up for a few months and was closed up overnight. For ages the front window showed the tables with cutlery and serviettes still on there. It’s now all frosted up and cleared, but it still has the name above the door and been empty for years. I often wonder about leases and rent and who owns the land of these abandoned places.

Some shops are fronts for the internet or money laundering places ( so I’m told) How that works I’ve no idea though.

There's a closed restaurant building at the bottom of my local high street. Never stays open for longer than a few months, changes name, changes hands, changes style. But it hasn't changed inside for at least two years. Chairs and place settings laid out and gathering dust. However, I don't believe there's any mystery about it. It's just too big to sustain and too far down the road for adequate footfall. The building was repossessed recently. It's a similar story for another large empty building further up the road.

When I lived in East Oxford in the late 80s there was a tiny corner shop opposite that looked run down and as if it hadn't been open since the 60s. It was ages before I realised that (IIRC) he only opened twice a day for about an hour each time.

I think he only sold the local Oxford Mail, so opened in the afternoon for an hour to sell that, and possibly cigarettes and a very limited supply of confectionary. Judging by the lack of opening times and customers I can imagine that the chocolate was probably out of date!

The sad thing was I'm pretty sure he was robbed or burgled one time as the police came round wondering if we'd seen or heard anything.

Anyone from the North East might remember Guru in Darlington. Not peculiar as in weird, but very quirky and fabulous!

Yes, a couple.

In a residential street, a shop advertised as Pest Control -GEOGRAPHICAL AREA. Not once have I seen any customers or staff.

Another street has a shop that sells hoovers and white goods. It's very small with nowhere to park, so even if you did have a burning desire to purchase a fridge in person, you'd have a hell of a job getting it on the 22a which stops a kilometre down the road.

Possibly weirdest of all... not my town but reasonably local. A shop that advertises photocopying, making flyers and sending faxes.

I kid you not. Faxes.

There's a quilting shop in a nearby town. Middle class middle England but a whole actual shop on the high street dedicated to it??

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186233-d23676968-Reviews-Dollectable-Chester_Cheshire_England.html

Sadly, the creepy doll shop closed last year, after 50 years of scaring the bejeezus out of passersby...

I loved that shop, smelt of patchouli, I bought some great stuff in there as a teen. Thanks for the memory.

People used to come from miles around to shop at Mr Coleman and Mr Morris! I remember it really well, it had everything. It was where we went to instead of home bargains and b&m before they existed. It was lovely at Christmas.
And I remember Guru too and all the staff! I can still remember the smell and how dark and magical it was inside.

Obviously my memory of Cole and Morris is fleeting. Must have been more to it than I remember. What became of it?

@TheTecknician i’m not sure . I’m quite disappointed to hear it no longer exists 🤣
But I imagine it wasn’t sustainable with competition from big superstores and an increasingly affluent area with higher rents etc.

Just down the road in Leyburn, North Yorkshire were a handful of mystery businesses. The Bit Box stood at the western end of Market Square. I've no idea what it was - probably something equestrian given the area's horse racing connections. Next door but one was Isobel Aked. Again, never found out for certain but I've heard a solicitor's office and a ladies' outfitters being raised as possibilities. The launderette between the two is still there! Further down was a shop that sold seconds from large clothing chains. My Mum went there every time we were in Leyburn. Speaking from personal experience, it wasn't hard to see why the goods were rejects! Utter crap! It's now long gone but it must have done okay; there were other branches in Ripon, Richmond and Northallerton, I think. R&P Fashions rings a bell.

There used to be old hippy shops in SW London. Where I live down the road there’s a shop called Michael’s Fashions and it has dated looking clothes on 2 models, can’t see anything inside, but is never open and looks very dated.

@JaelsTentpeg There's an multi-space office building near me with a large sign outside with a woman's name who advertises "word processing" and "email" services. I imagine she was in great demand about thirty years ago but God knows how she makes a living now.

There's a shop I pass on the way to the station which used to be a lingerie place, but closed due to lack of footfall. It's since reopened and the windows are now all covered with frosted film, but if you peer through the gaps there are usually a couple of people inside sitting at desks with phones and computers. There's no signage outside, no obvious front entrance and I've never seen anyone going in or out. I think there's a flat above, but the ground floor is definitely not residential and it's driving me crazy trying to work out what's going on!

Woah!

If you hadn’t said you’d been there in person I would assume the website was an AI scam. It looks unreal!

@JohnTheRevelator I can confirm that the Jedi Robe is still there ..we pass it regularly on the way to my PILs . Never seen anyone go in or out!
Where I live there are two shops that spring to mind. One is called the Watch Box , which is a jewellery and watch repairs / pawnbrokers. It is really old fashioned and quite scruffy looking. It seems to be closed more than it opens either with the shutters partially closed or a little hand written note on the door saying "we will be closed for a short break from X to Y" . Clearly the term short is used fairly loosely as often the dates are about a month apart. I looked it up on Google maps and of the 15 dates it's pictured the shutters are closed 9 of them ! In 5 years I've seen one person entering/exiting and its somewhere I pass multiple times a week.

On the same walk into town there is a furniture showroom. The furniture is really quite expensive and quite a niche tàste! Once I saw 2 sets of people entering the shop and I had to call my husband it was such a newsworthy event!! They closed for refurbishment and took about a year to reopen. So it looks even fancier but I still see no custom.

There is a very old fashioned florist near me. I’ve been in a couple of times. I have no idea how it’s still going.

There was a business on a round very near me and I used to walk past it on my way to and from work. It was being done up by a couple - mid 20s? - who were always there painting etc. A sign went up 'Belle and Berts', then a notice in the window about how it was inspired by their road trip round the southwest USA. The tables went in, it was all ready to open, and then nothing. Weeks later aI noticed some of the kitchen equipment had gone. It always made me feel really sad that the business had failed before it started.

Not in UK but in the town where I grew up there was a gorgeous but teeny tiny storefront with a beautiful table set right in front of the door. Nice signage and scripted store name on the window but no posted hours. Found out years later they were a very successful rare and discontinued china dealer ONLINE but they got a special tax break by also having a brick and mortar "store" which was open "by appointment only", so, never.

A plumbers called GG Gooders and a car repair garage right next door. Apparently owned by a father and son but we never saw anyone in them, or any advert of any description for their services in over 50 years.

Yes, i think you’re right! Our two little market towns have a couple. Exquisite looking brightly coloured cakes, already sliced up. They just look too perfect to be real! The man stands in the door looking unwelcoming and I’ve never seen a single customer, they’re a tenner a slice too, which i suppose is also to deter customers.😂

There's a shop on Neston High Street that closed around 26 years ago - I think it was a dress hire shop. It's been boarded up all this time - no For Sale or To Let sign up, ever. Who owns it? Why don't they try to sell it? It's a mystery! 🤷‍♀️

Warhammer is hugely popular online, so probably make lots of sales there - and as you said, the shop will be used for evening workshops.