A shop has just opened close to where I live. Notable enough in a recession, but what really caught my eye was the combination of services on offer: milkshakes and eyebrow threading. I wish Shake N Brow well, but this seems like a strange mix.
I've never had my eyebrows done, but I imagine it must be hard work to consume a milkshake at the same time as having your hair yanked out. And as someone with a bit of a hair phobia, I'm not sure I could buy a drink there in case there were any stray eyebrows floating around (it's given me flashbacks to Trev and Simon's legendary hair cupboard). But is it the weirdest combination out there?
A quick survey of colleagues and the internet suggests not. One peer mentioned a place selling guns and banjos referenced in an Eddie Izzard routine (although this may have been a comic invention), while stateside the American website Seriouseats has found a combined pizzeria and gun shop and an outlet offering trainers and burgers. Music and coffee shops, like Brill near the old Guardian offices, seem fairly common, even though cake crumbs and CDs are hardly a match made in heaven.
And, thinking about it, while familiarity has made shoe fixing and key cutting a normal mix, is there any reason why so many shops offer both (or why they are usually so close to the station)? I suspect this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to strange retail combinations – so what have you seen on your local high street?
