South Carolina restaurant named after Saskatoon

Edmund Woo might live in Greenville, South Carolina, but he says “Welcome to Saskatoon” about a hundred times a day.

Woo owns Saskatoon Restaurant, a rustic cabin-themed eatery that specializes in “steak, fish and wild game.” Woo said even though he’s never been to Saskatoon, he wanted a name that matched the restaurant’s outdoor lodge vibe.

“I think I hit it right, even though I understand Saskatoon is not quite that,” he said. “But when people comment on the name and how great the name is, that’s the impression that they get.”

The idea for the name began with a late-night brainstorming session and a few bottles of wine. Woo said he was looking for something with three syllables and initially wanted to incorporate Saskatchewan in the name, but his friends quashed the idea when they realized Woo wasn’t very proficient at pronouncing the word.

“And then the other guy goes ‘well you know, my girlfriend goes to a place in Saskatchewan called Saskatoon’ and I go ‘hey that’s it, I love that name.’”

Woo said he had heard of Saskatoon and Saskatchewan before naming his restaurant, but he adds 99 per cent of the time his customers have not. He trains his staff to give customers a brief education on the City of Bridges, which includes explaining its geographical location and its namesake berry.