18 Gardner Street

Image: © Simon Carey Taken: 25 Sep 2011

Once one of three beer houses on the street, the others being Image and Image, it operated for just over a hundred years before it closed in the mid 1950s. After a brief stint as a shoe shop it became a coffee merchants that became well known for a coffee grinder it put outside its door which flooded the street with the smell of freshly ground coffee. The company traded here for 27 years before closing in the early 90s to be replaced by a hairdressers then a florist who originally traded at Image before moving here and trying the novel approach of joining forces with Jollygood Chocolates, who moved out of Image, to try and fleece gentlemen of even more cash when trying to apologise to their wife or partner after a minor indiscretion. It didn't work and they were replaced by the current incumbanys, Kissing Fish, who moved here from their original store in North Street to trade in ethnic and fair trade goods and gifts. OCCUPANTS 1845-48: BOOT/SHOE MAKER: Harry Osborne 1854-1954: BEER HOUSE: The Harp 1956-60: BAKER: Thomson's Bakeries 1962: SHOE SHOP: Avenue Shoe Company 1964-91: COFFEE MERCHANTS: Coffee Mill Ltd 1992-2001: LADIES HAIRDRESSER: Polo Hair Group 2002-05: FLORIST; Botanica 2006-11; GIFT SHOP: Kissing Fish

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