A bar named simply ‘So’ – the confident modern minimalism of the single, versatile, expressive little word
So Bar & Restaurant in Greenwich holds a hundred and eighty-one reviews and a 4.2 – a solid score on a fair sample – and it carries a strikingly simple, confident, minimalist name: “So,” the single little word, versatile and expressive, worn with modern confidence.
The single word
“So Bar” builds its name on one of the smallest and most versatile words in the language: “so.” There is a genuine confidence and modern minimalism in building a bar’s identity on such a tiny, simple word – just “So.” It is the very opposite of the grand, historic, elaborate names this survey has met – no kings or crowns, no ships or history, just the single, simple, confident word “So.” This kind of stripped-back, minimal, confident naming is a distinctly modern style – the bar so sure of itself that it needs only the briefest, simplest of names, worn with cool, understated confidence. There is real style in such minimalism – the confidence of simplicity.
The versatile little word
“So” is a wonderfully versatile and expressive little word, and the naming desk delights in its many uses. It can mean “very” or “to such a degree” (“so good,” “so lovely”) – suggesting a bar that is “so” good, “so” stylish, “so” enjoyable. It can be a word of consequence and connection (“and so…”), the word that moves a story or a thought along. It can be a word of agreement or affirmation (“just so,” “quite so”). It can even be a small word of invitation or beginning (“so, shall we?”). This versatility gives the simple name a pleasing openness and suggestiveness – “So” can mean whatever the visitor wishes, an open, versatile, expressive little word, full of possibility despite (or because of) its simplicity. There is real cleverness in choosing such a small, open, versatile word – it says everything and nothing, cool and confident and open.
The modern minimalism
The minimalist, single-word name is a genuine style of the modern age – the confident, stripped-back, cool simplicity that marks a certain kind of contemporary bar and restaurant. In a world of elaborate branding and grand names, the tiny, simple, confident name stands out precisely through its restraint – the cool confidence of understatement, the style of simplicity. “So Bar” embodies this modern minimalism perfectly – the single, simple, confident word, worn with cool understatement. It suggests a bar that is contemporary, stylish, confident and unfussy – letting the quality of the food, drink and atmosphere speak for itself, without the need for an elaborate name.
There is genuine style in this confident simplicity – the tiny, versatile, expressive word, worn with cool modern confidence. It is a clever and contemporary piece of minimalist naming, standing out through restraint. Its solid score across a fair sample suggests a genuinely good and stylish bar and restaurant, living up to the cool confidence of its minimal name. The Prat’s naming desk, which usually delights in the elaborate and historic, tips its hat to the opposite virtue here – the cool confidence of the single, simple, perfectly-chosen little word. So.
The bar
A solid, well-regarded bar and restaurant doing a fair 4.2 across a fair sample, minimally named “So” – the single, versatile, expressive little word, worn with cool modern confidence.
Verdict
Solid, well-regarded, and confidently minimal – So Bar, building its identity on the single, simple, versatile little word, with cool modern style.
Go to So Bar for stylish drinks and food, and enjoy the cool confidence of the name – “So,” the tiny, versatile, expressive little word, worn with the modern style of confident simplicity.
Alan Nafzger was born in Lubbock, Texas, the son Swiss immigrants. He grew up on a dairy in Windthorst, north central Texas. He earned degrees from Midwestern State University (B.A. 1985) and Texas State University (M.A. 1987). University College Dublin (Ph.D. 1991). Dr. Nafzger has entertained and educated young people in Texas colleges for 37 years. Nafzger is best known for his dark novels and experimental screenwriting. His best know scripts to date are Lenin’s Body, produced in Russia by A-Media and Sea and Sky produced in The Philippines in the Tagalog language. In 1986, Nafzger wrote the iconic feminist western novel, Gina of Quitaque. He currently lives in Holloway, North London. Contact: [email protected]
